Here’s the Cover for My New Oxford Volume on Miniature Codices

As I have mention in a prior post, I am thrilled about my forthcoming volume with Oxford University Press entitled, Miniature Codices in Early Christianity. It is in the proof stage now, and should be out sometime this Spring/Summer.

I have been working on the subject of miniature codices for more than twenty years now, ever since doing my thesis a while ago under Larry Hurtado on the apocryphal gospel fragment, P.Oxy. 840. I have also written on the miniature codex P.Ant. 12 (0232) which contains 2 John (see here, and inset picture), and a recent overview article on miniature codices in Paratextual Features in Early New Testament Continue reading...

What Is the Earliest Complete List of the Canon of the New Testament?

In the study of the New Testament canon, scholars like to highlight the first time we see a complete list of 27 books.  Inevitably, the list contained in Athanasius’ famous Festal Letter (c.367) is mentioned as the first time this happened.

As a result, it is often claimed that the New Testament was a late phenomenon.  We didn’t have a New Testament, according to Athanasius, until the end of the fourth century.

But, this sort of reasoning is problematic on a number of levels.  First, we don’t measure the existence of the New Testament just by the existence of lists. When we examine the way certain books were used by

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Headed to San Diego for the Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society

This week I’m headed to San Diego for the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS)—the largest gathering of evangelical scholars in the world. In addition to the normal meals, coffees, and meeting with old friends, here’s a little preview of what I will be up to.

1. RTS Faculty Dinner. Every year, all of the Reformed Theological Seminary faculty attending ETS gather for a faculty dinner. Normally I have to miss the faculty dinner because I have been attending the ETS banquet for the last seven years as a member of the executive committee. But this year I will finally be able to join my colleagues again

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