Overview

What historical, political, and ecclesial realities drove the canonization of the New Testament? How are the doctrines of Early Christianity related to the formation of the New Testament? Should the New Testament differ in authority from other early Christian texts? As these questions demonstrate, the enduring influence of the New Testament does not lessen the dispute over the events and factors leading to its adoption. Five Views on the New Testament Canon presents five distinct ways of understanding how the New Testament came to be: A Conservative Evangelical Perspective -- Darian R. Lockett A Progressive Evangelical Perspective -- David R. Nienhuis A Liberal Protestant Perspective -- Jason David BeDuhn A Roman Catholic Perspective -- Ian Boxall An Orthodox Perspective -- George L. Parsenios Each contributor addresses historical, theological, and hermeneutical questions related to the New Testament canon, such as what factors precipitated the establishment and recognition of the New Testament canon; the basis of any authority the New Testament has; and what the canon means for reading and interpreting the New Testament. Contributors also include a chapter each responding to the other views presented in the volume. The result is a lively exchange suitable for both undergraduate and graduate students seeking to grasp the best canon scholarship in biblical studies.

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Reviews

"""Modern historians insist that the formation of the Christian biblical canon did not differ from other historical processes and was driven by human agency. What does this mean for biblical authority? This conversation among diverse scholars is a fascinating case study in the varied responses of Christian intellectuals to the challenges posed by modernity.""--David Brakke ""Joe R. Engle Chair in the History of Christianity and Professor of History, The Ohio State University"" (1/17/2022 12:00:00 AM) ""This collection of diverse perspectives on the formation and current status of the New Testament canon is an excellent guide for students in understanding a discourse of growing importance among biblical scholars. Stan Porter and Ben Laird's introductory and concluding chapters are exceptional and nicely frame and focus a series of essays from five scholars of differing faith traditions, East and West, and their competing perspectives on the global church's biblical canon(s). The social and historical contexts into which the canonical process was earthed in antiquity are carefully considered. But so are the variety of ongoing theological and existential implications that follow from each contributor's reconstruction of what happened at ground level when the New Testament was formed and received as the church's Scripture during the early centuries of the common era. This collection includes a dialogue between the different contributors that sound a range of agreements and disagreements that classrooms and conferences could take up and explore with new vitality. Like every good textbook, this collection invites more questions than it provides answers. I highly recommend Five Views on the New Testament Canon as a fluent and balanced introduction to students interested in the historical origins of the New Testament in both East and West; it is that rare introduction that promises to cue even more consequential questions of the New Testament's continuing importance in forming Christian faith.""--Rev. Dr Robert W. Wall, ThD ""The Paul T. Walls Professor Emeritus of Scripture & Wesleyan Studies, Seattle Pacific University and Seminary"" (1/17/2022 12:00:00 AM) ""This volume is a welcome addition to the Viewpoints series, for discussions on the canon of the New Testament have reached an exciting stage, and the five representative views clarify points of agreement and bones of contention between scholars and further the discussion in a useful way. What excites me most is that arguments over the historical origins and development of the canon have led to a fruitful consideration of the ways in which the canon influences the interpretation of the sacred books; the shape of the canon is hermeneutically significant; it makes a difference to how we read this collection of revered writings. In other words, scholars on canon are beginning to ask and answer the important ""So what?"" question. What difference does the position of a book in the canon or its place in a mini-collection of canonical books (e.g., the Four Gospels Corpus, the Catholic Epistles) make to how it is read and applied. The fact that the five scholars give different answers does not diminish the importance of what they are saying but only makes it more interesting, for this provides a range of interpretive options for Bible readers to consider.""--Greg Goswell ""academic dean, lecturer in Old Testament, postgraduate coordinator, Christ College"" (1/17/2022 12:00:00 AM) ""Without question, canon formation is one of the most challenging issues in Old and New Testament inquiry today. This is compounded because no one in antiquity preserved this story, and so multiple--often conflicting--interpretations have emerged from engagement with limited surviving primary sources often rooted in perspectives foreign to the sources themselves. The good news is that we now know more than was possible earlier because of careful scholarly research in recent years, including from the contributors to this volume. I applaud their efforts to bring greater clarity to this story and the multiple conflicting perspectives involved in it. I highly recommend this volume to readers.""--Lee Martin McDonald ""Acadia Divinity College, Acadia University"" (1/17/2022 12:00:00 AM)"

Modern historians insist that the formation of the Christian biblical canon did not differ from other historical processes and was driven by human agency. What does this mean for biblical authority? This conversation among diverse scholars is a fascinating case study in the varied responses of Christian intellectuals to the challenges posed by modernity. --David Brakke Joe R. Engle Chair in the History of Christianity and Professor of History, The Ohio State University (1/17/2022 12:00:00 AM) This collection of diverse perspectives on the formation and current status of the New Testament canon is an excellent guide for students in understanding a discourse of growing importance among biblical scholars. Stan Porter and Ben Laird's introductory and concluding chapters are exceptional and nicely frame and focus a series of essays from five scholars of differing faith traditions, East and West, and their competing perspectives on the global church's biblical canon(s). The social and historical contexts into which the canonical process was earthed in antiquity are carefully considered. But so are the variety of ongoing theological and existential implications that follow from each contributor's reconstruction of what happened at ground level when the New Testament was formed and received as the church's Scripture during the early centuries of the common era. This collection includes a dialogue between the different contributors that sound a range of agreements and disagreements that classrooms and conferences could take up and explore with new vitality. Like every good textbook, this collection invites more questions than it provides answers. I highly recommend Five Views on the New Testament Canon as a fluent and balanced introduction to students interested in the historical origins of the New Testament in both East and West; it is that rare introduction that promises to cue even more consequential questions of the New Testament's continuing importance in forming Christian faith. --Rev. Dr Robert W. Wall, ThD The Paul T. Walls Professor Emeritus of Scripture & Wesleyan Studies, Seattle Pacific University and Seminary (1/17/2022 12:00:00 AM) This volume is a welcome addition to the Viewpoints series, for discussions on the canon of the New Testament have reached an exciting stage, and the five representative views clarify points of agreement and bones of contention between scholars and further the discussion in a useful way. What excites me most is that arguments over the historical origins and development of the canon have led to a fruitful consideration of the ways in which the canon influences the interpretation of the sacred books; the shape of the canon is hermeneutically significant; it makes a difference to how we read this collection of revered writings. In other words, scholars on canon are beginning to ask and answer the important So what? question. What difference does the position of a book in the canon or its place in a mini-collection of canonical books (e.g., the Four Gospels Corpus, the Catholic Epistles) make to how it is read and applied. The fact that the five scholars give different answers does not diminish the importance of what they are saying but only makes it more interesting, for this provides a range of interpretive options for Bible readers to consider. --Greg Goswell academic dean, lecturer in Old Testament, postgraduate coordinator, Christ College (1/17/2022 12:00:00 AM) Without question, canon formation is one of the most challenging issues in Old and New Testament inquiry today. This is compounded because no one in antiquity preserved this story, and so multiple--often conflicting--interpretations have emerged from engagement with limited surviving primary sources often rooted in perspectives foreign to the sources themselves. The good news is that we now know more than was possible earlier because of careful scholarly research in recent years, including from the contributors to this volume. I applaud their efforts to bring greater clarity to this story and the multiple conflicting perspectives involved in it. I highly recommend this volume to readers. --Lee Martin McDonald Acadia Divinity College, Acadia University (1/17/2022 12:00:00 AM)

Author Information

Benjamin P. Laird (PhD, University of Aberdeen) serves as associate professor of Biblical Studies at the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, Liberty University. He is the author of the forthcoming volume The Formation, Publication, and Circulation of the Pauline Corpus in Early Christianity. Stanley E. Porter is president, dean, professor of New Testament, and Roy A. Hope Chair in Christian Worldview at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario.

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