Here’s What I’ve Been Up to Academically
For those reading this blog, I trust you’ve benefited from the variety of posts that deal with issues related to the origins of the NT canon (or text). I have written those posts with a wide audience in mind, hoping they are helpful for just about anybody who wants to learn more.
At the same time, I know some of you may be interested to know of some more academic books or articles I have been working on over the last few years that deal with the NT canon, or NT manuscripts, on a more technical level. Those kinds of articles, because they are not “blog” articles, tend to get … Continue reading...
How Did We Get Our Bible? My Interview on the NT Canon at the Ligonier Conference
This past March I spoke at the Ligonier National Conference. My plenary address was on “The Truth about Marriage” (you can watch here), and I also did an enjoyable sit-down interview on the subject of the origins of the New Testament canon. You can watch below!
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Looking for Brief and Accessible Books on the Origins of the Biblical Canon? Here are Two Good Ones
Whenever I speak on the origins of the New Testament canon, I am regularly asked about whether there are brief, accessible books on the subject—the kind that could be given to lay folks in the church. Unfortunately, my books on canon usually don’t qualify (e.g., Canon Revisited clocks in at over 300 pages).
For years, I have been asked to write a shorter version, but just haven’t had the time. Thankfully, others have stepped in to fill that gap. Let me mention two wonderful little books that have just come out in the last few years.
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Just this year, Chuck Hill, professor emeritus of New Testament at RTS Orlando, has …
Did Justin Martyr Know the Gospel of John?
There has been a long-standing scholarly discussion about how far back we can trace the roots of the fourfold gospel. We certainly see it in Irenaeus, who is quite plain about his view:
“It is not possible that the gospels can be either more or fewer than the number they are. For, since there are four zones of the world in which we live and four principle winds… [and] the cherubim, too, were four-faced” (Haer. 3.11.8).
But, can we trace the fourfold gospel back even further? Justin Martyr, an early Christian apologist writing c.150-160, is a key player in this debate. He clearly knows the Synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark … Continue reading...
My Six-Part @Ligonier Video Series on The New Testament Canon
Since next month I will be speaking at the Ligonier National Conference in Orlando, FL, I thought I might highlight a video series I did for Ligonier a few years ago. It is a six-part video series (available here in either digital or DVD format) on the origins, authority, and development of the NT Canon.
One of the most common questions I am asked is whether I have introductory, lay-level material on the origins of the NT canon that people can use in their churches. For small group Bible studies or Sunday School classes, most people simply won’t read Canon Revisited or any of my other books.
So, my … Continue reading...