Category: New Testament Canon

6 Ways that Christian Students Can Prepare for College: #1 Take This Transition Seriously

Well, it’s that time of year. By now, many high school seniors have heard where they have been accepted to college. Others are still waiting. But all are beginning to think about the next stage of their life post-high school.

And for Christian students this time of anticipation can be particularly acute. It is natural for them to wonder, How am I going to survive at a big university as a Christian? Am I ready to handle the challenges coming my way? What if I don’t have all the answers?

Of course, this sort of angst is not just felt by the students. It is also felt (and maybe felt … Continue reading...

A Curious Clue about the Origins of the New Testament Canon

Although most discussions about the development of the canon focus on the patristic period (second century and later), there is much canonical gold yet to mine from the pages of the New Testament itself.  Unfortunately, this step is often skipped.

There are a number of possible reasons for why it is skipped.  But perhaps most people just assume that the whole idea of a “canon” is a late development anyway, and thus we wouldn’t expect to find anything about it in the New Testament books themselves.

Aside from the fact that such a position already presupposes an entire canonical “worldview” known as the extrinsic model (for my critique of this … Continue reading...