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...
The Heresy of Orthodoxy: When Was the Earliest Complete List of New Testament Books?
For the last few weeks, I have been posting a series of videos where Andreas Köstenberger and I discuss our response to Walter Bauer’s thesis on heresy and orthodoxy in early Christianity.
These discussions are based on our book, The Heresy of Orthodoxy: How Contemporary Culture’s Fascination with Diversity Has Reshaped Our Understanding of Early Christianity (Crossway, 2010).
You can find the prior three installments here, here, and here.
In this next video below, Andreas and I discuss the earliest complete list of New Testament books. For years, this was thought to be Athanasius’ Festal Letter of 367.
However, I have recently argued that a often-overlooked list … Continue reading...
My New Testament Canon Interview with @BillMounce Is Now Available
Back in March of this year, I sat down with Bill Mounce for about three hours to discuss the origins and authority of the New Testament canon.
Of course, Bill is the author of numerous books, but is known most for his excellent Greek grammar, Basics of Biblical Greek, which we use here at RTS Charlotte.
We covered all sorts of topics like the definition of canon, canonical models, the self-authenticating nature of canon, and the development of the canon in early Christianity.
These interviews are now available on the Bill’s Biblical Training website here (or click picture below).
As a side note, Bill has gathered a tremendous … 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...
Is the Existence of the NT Canon Incompatible with Claims of New Revelation?
“God has spoken to me.”
There are few statements that will shut down debate more quickly than this one. If Christians disagree over a doctrine, a practice, or an idea, then the trump card is always “God has spoken to me” about that. End of discussion.
But, the history of the church (not to mention the Scriptures themselves) demonstrates that such claims of private, direct revelation are highly problematic. Of course, this doesn’t mean that God doesn’t speak to people. The Scripture is packed with examples of this. But, these were typically individuals with a unique calling (e.g., prophet or apostle), or who functioned at unique times in redemptive history … Continue reading...