In the modern church, there’s little doubt that the Gospel of John is one of the most—if not the most—beloved Gospels. If forced to pick just one Gospel, many would prefer the Gospel of John. On the rare occasion when a singular Gospel is published as a stand-alone book (or booklet), it is almost always […]| Canon Fodder
This week, Aug 4-8, I am teaching my long-running elective at RTS Charlotte entitled, “The Origin and Authority of the New Testament Canon.” In this class, we will be covering not just the history and development of the canon, but also its theological meaning, and its epistemological foundation. In other words, we will not only […]| Canon Fodder
The other day I was telling my kids about how, many years ago, I used to sit in a pub named the Jolly Judge on cold winter days in Edinburgh, Scotland, tucked up close to a coal-burning fire and talking with my doctoral advisor Larry Hurtado about ancient Christian manuscripts. We used to spend hours […]| Canon Fodder
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 […]| Canon Fodder