The Marcion Problem: Select Bibliography

Over the past several months, I have been running a series entitled “The Marcion Problem,” where I have been examining Marcion of Sinope’s influence on the development of the New Testament canon. In light of yesterday’s final post in this particular series, I felt it worthwhile to post my select bibliography from this project. AsContinue reading “The Marcion Problem: Select Bibliography”

The Marcion Problem: Conclusions

This post is the final in the series examining Marcion of Sinope and his influence of the formation of the New Testament canon. By way of closing both our section on modern perspectives on Marcion as well as this series as a whole, I offer the following conclusions. First, upon the review of the variousContinue reading “The Marcion Problem: Conclusions”

The Marcion Problem: Canon Refinement (Part IV)

This post is part of an ongoing series examining Marcion of Sinope and his influence of the formation of the New Testament canon. Having examined the particular perspectives of the Canon Refinement School, we now turn to several concerns stemming from these works. First, we must consider the arguments of this school of thought concerningContinue reading “The Marcion Problem: Canon Refinement (Part IV)”

The Marcion Problem: Canon Refinement (Part III)

This post is part of an ongoing series examining Marcion of Sinope and his influence of the formation of the New Testament canon. We now turn to two of the most prominent modern perspectives for the Canon Refinement School, those of Lee Martin McDonald and John Barton. In The Biblical Canon: Its Origin, Transmission, andContinue reading “The Marcion Problem: Canon Refinement (Part III)”

Finding a Definition of “Canon”

Use of the term “canon” has long been subject to debate within the study of early Christianity, as scholars often discuss precisely when the Christian New Testament canon came into existence. Among modern scholars three primary perspectives have emerged as to the meaning of canon. This post outlines these schools of thought.

The Marcion Problem: Introducing Modern Scholarship

This post is part of an ongoing series examining Marcion of Sinope and his influence of the formation of the New Testament canon. The history of the modern interpretation of Marcion has been — not surprisingly — closely linked with general canonical research. In canonical studies in particular, there has been the tendency to formContinue reading “The Marcion Problem: Introducing Modern Scholarship”

The Marcion Question: Sources

This post is part of an ongoing series examining Marcion of Sinope’s influence on the formation of the New Testament canon. When examining Marcion, one must be careful to note his long and varied history of interpretation. For centuries Marcion, his writings, and his followers were generally conceived of in terms of their theological content,Continue reading “The Marcion Question: Sources”

ECA: The Canon Debate

This post is part of the ongoing series examining Early Christian Authority. Use of the term “canon” has long been subject to debate among those studying the formation of the New Testament. The word itself comes from the Greek kanonikos, the basic meaning of which is “of one rule.” So a canon is something thatContinue reading “ECA: The Canon Debate”

NT Canon: What You Need to Know

Most Christians, and I would dare say most Americans, know some basic things about the Christian New Testament. But many people don’t know (or don’t want to know) how the New Testament came into being. Some people seem to think that Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation fell from the sky in a nicely leather boundContinue reading “NT Canon: What You Need to Know”

Forming and Defining the New Testament Canon

Questions concerning the Bible have long surrounded the Christian Faith.[1] What is the Bible? Where did it come from? Who wrote the books that are in Bible? Can we trust that fallible human beings wrote and chose the correct books for canonization? Occasionally, scholars will doubt the historical veracity of Christian Bible based upon itsContinue reading “Forming and Defining the New Testament Canon”