For most of us, the key question about the NT canon is “Why these books and no others?” But, I think there is another, more foundational question (that is asked much less frequently), and that is, “Why is there a New Testament at all?”
The answer, according to some scholars, is not to be found in the first-century—there was nothing about earliest Christianity (or the books themselves) that would naturally lead to the development of a canon. Instead, we are told, the answer is to be found in the later Christian church. The canon was an ecclesiastical product that was designed to meet ecclesiastical needs. Sure, the books themselves were produced at a much earlier point, but the idea of a canon was something that was retroactively imposed upon these books at a later time. Books are not written as canon—they become canon.
This idea that the New Testament canon was not a natural development within early Christianity, but a later artificial development that is out of sync with Christianity’s original purpose, is, in my opinion, a central framework that dominates much of modern canonical (and biblical) studies.
This same framework was observed by Brevard Childs,
It is assumed by many that the formation of a canon is a late, ecclesiastical activity, external to the biblical literature itself, which was subsequently imposed on the writings.
It is this overall canonical approach (which I call an “extrinsic” model of canon) that I address in my forthcoming book: The Question of Canon: Challenging the Status Quo in the New Testament Debate (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2013). Are we really to think that “nothing dictated that there should be a NT” prior to these later ecclesiastical actions? Was there nothing about earliest Christianity that might have given rise to such a collection? Was the idea of new Scriptures entirely foreign to the early followers of Jesus?
The goal of my book is to offer a well-intended corrective to the extrinsic model’s assessment and interpretation of some of the historical evidence. Paradigms always need adjustments and refinement and this volume hopes to take a helpful step forward in that direction. It is not designed to offer the final word on the very complex subject of canon, but to reopen dialogue on a number of key topics where the dialogue, at least in appearance, seems to be closed.
The table of contents is as follows:
1 The Definition of Canon: Must We Make a Sharp Distinction between the Definitions of ‘Canon’ and ‘Scripture’?
2 The Origins of Canon: Was There Really Nothing in Early Christianity That May Have Led to a Canon?
3 The Writing of Canon: Were Early Christians Averse to Written Documents?
4 The Authors of Canon: Were the New Testament Authors Unaware of Their Own Authority?
5 The Date of Canon: Were the New Testament Books First Regarded as Scripture at the End of the Second Century?
The book is due out in November, 2013.
Chris says
I’m looking forward to the book! I just finished the iTunes U 4-part lecture “The Canonization Of The New Testament” that you gave on a Saturday recently. I was so edified by what I learned and am truly grateful. May the Lamb continue to receive the praise He is due as He continues His work in and through you.
Ed Dingess says
OK Dr. Kruger, I have committed to buying everything you write after reading The Heresy of Orthodoxy, Revisiting the Canon, and The Earliest Manuscripts of the New Testament. I am seriously petitioning the Lord to extend some extra grace on this one. Either keep the $$ low or get my $$ up! 🙂
Seriously, thank you for taking up the banner in this field. I am convinced that our fiercest battles will ALWAYS be related to our doctrine of Scripture in one way or another. May God raise up more scholars like you to provide the community with valuable tools with which we can take every thought raised up against the knowledge of Christ, captive and destroy every unfruitful speculation that contradicts the truth of God
John Roden says
Obviously I haven’t read Dr. Kruger’s book, since it has not yet been published, but I have looked over the Table of Contents in an effort to see what it is about. I confess that I am not a Biblical scholar, but I do study diligently, and meditate daily, upon the Word of God. For me, it is God’s infallible revelation of truth, from Genesis to Revelation. My question is, “Why is the sovereignty and providence of God in preserving His written Word not made a major part of the book?” Yes, we can talk about the human element in the formation of the canon of the New Testament, but more importantly, should we not recognize that our sovereign God in His providence has given us in the New Testament canon precisely what He wants us to have, precisely what we need, and nothing more and nothing less? All Scripture is “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16), and that includes Matthew through Revelation as well as Genesis through Malachi!
CMA says
“Why is the sovereignty and providence of God in preserving His written Word not made a major part of the book?”
The contents of the book as revealed in the table of contents and the answer to your question are the very same. What does it mean for the “sovereignty and providence of God” to inspire Scripture?
No doubt it means that there were some metaphysical things going on.
But, it also certainly means that the writers saw the text as Scripture long before it was canonized. It means that a cultural affinity for a written codex unique to Christianity (Larry Hurtado) and the expectation that God would reveal his new covenant in written form put in place the idea of canon long before the canon. And that they were not averse to written documents. And that they were not unaware of the potential for the authority their inspired words would carry – like the prophets from the OT.
All of this (taken from the TOC) is certainly how God worked out His “sovereignty and providence…in preserving” what he wanted to preserve.
God’s inspiration would have been meaningless had it not been worked out in actual time, space and paper as addressed in the subjects covered in Kruger’s book.
anaquaduck says
Its one thing to profess your faith & another to defend it in the realm of academic arguments within the Christian & secular mindscape. Just a thought, but when Paul wrote those inspired words initially to Timothy the context would have meant the OT ?
When we consider God & His salvation, he has always had a strong human element. I think Dr Kruger’s focus is on the development of the NT, the inspiration & timing is a given as far as God goes. In defending the Bible he is preserving the sufficieny of Scripture also.
Stan McCullars says
What will this volume offer beyond Canyon Revisited?