10 Misconceptions about the NT Canon: #1: “The Term ‘Canon’ Can Only Refer to a Fixed, Closed List of Books”
Note: This is the first installment of a new blog series announced here.
Graham Stanton has correctly observed, “In discussions of the emergence of the canon, whether of the Old or the New Testament writings, definitions are all important, and the devil is in the detail.”[1] Indeed, one’s definition of canon drives one’s historical conclusions about canon–particularly regarding its date. And precisely for this reason, there has always been a vigorous debate amongst scholars over what we mean by the term “canon.”
However, in recent years, that debate has taken an interesting turn. One particular definition of canon has begun to emerge as the dominant one. In fact, … Continue reading...
New Blog Series:10 Common Misconceptions About the NT Canon
Over the next month or so I plan to write a new blog series on 10 common misconceptions (or misunderstandings) about the origins and development of the NT Canon. These are misconceptions that are not only held by the average layman, but are often shared by those in the academic community as well.
It is always difficult to know how such misunderstandings develop and are promulgated. Sometimes they are just ideas that are repeated so often that no one bothers (anymore) to see if they have merit. In other cases, these ideas have been promoted through popular presentations of the canon’s origins (e.g., The Da Vinci Code). And in … Continue reading...
Christian Humility and the World’s Definition of Humility
One of the most common objections made to the absolute claims of Christianity is that Christians are arrogant. Christians are arrogant to claim that they are right; arrogant to claim others are wrong; arrogant to claim that truth can be known. Unfortunately, in the midst of such accusations, no one bothers to ask which definition of humility is being used. Over the years, the definition of humility has undergone a gradual but nonetheless profound change. Especially in the intellectual community. In the modern day, humility has basically become synonymous with another word: uncertainty. To be uncertain is to be humble. To be certain is to be arrogant. Thus, the … Continue reading...
‘Hoist with His Own Petard’: Keener Turns the Tables on the Academic Elite
I recently wrote a review of Craig Keener’s wonderful (and lengthy!) new book, Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts (Eerdmans, 2011). Although the review will soon be available on the Themelios webpage, I thought I would mention one particular positive here. As one might expect, Keener devotes a substantial portion of the book refuting Hume’s well known argument against the possibility of miracles. The problem, as he so deftly points out, is that Hume’s argument is fallaciously circular.
Keener observes, “[Hume] argues, based on ‘experience,’ that miracles do not happen, yet dismisses credible eyewitness testimony for miracles (i.e., others’ experience) on his assumption that miracles do not happen” … Continue reading...
Wayne C. Kannaday, Apologetic Discourse and the Scribal Tradition, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 48 (2005)
…Continue reading...