Category: Apologetics

How We Got Our Bibles (Part 7): Disputed and Apocryphal Books

September 30, 2019 / Sam

In this final article in our series, we will briefly examine various disputed and apocryphal books that arose in early Christianity. Some were books that did not receive immediate acceptance but are now in our New Testament. Others are orthodox writings that were rejected as Scripture, while others were heretical works written by fringe sects.

Canonical Books

Although such a fact may be surprising for some Christians, the following New Testament books did not receive the widespread acceptance that they now receive today for a variety of reasons including questions of authorship and dating.… Read more

How We Got Our Bibles (Part 6): The Corporate Reception of the Canon

August 26, 2019 / Sam

In this penultimate article, we will explore the final quality of canonicity, which is corporate reception. This states that Christians will hear the voice of God speaking through his Word and will receive it as such. Thus, Christians will know what is God’s Word and what is not. As Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

Despite the truth of corporate reception, we must make a few qualifications.… Read more

How We Got Our Bibles (Part 5): The Apostolic Origins of the Canon

July 8, 2019 / Sam

With the divine qualities of the canon now established, we can now begin to explore what is known as the apostolic origins of the canon. To understand this, we must first understand certain implications of the Old and New Covenants.

Whenever covenants were enacted between two parties in the Near East, there would be an accompanying set of covenant documents, detailing the stipulations that both parties had to abide by. God’s covenants were the same way.… Read more

How We Got Our Bibles (Part 4): The Divine Qualities of the Canon

April 25, 2019 / Sam

In this part of our series on the New Testament canon, we’ll be exploring the first of the three attributes of canonity – the Divine Qualities of the canon. This is seen in Scripture’s beauty, power, and unity.

The Beauty of Scripture

When we speak of the beauty of Scripture, we are not just talking about literary or rhetorical beauty – we are saying that it is beautiful because it bears the attributes of God, as he is speaking to us through it.… Read more

Is God Illogical?

April 10, 2019 / Sam

Peter Atterton, professor of philosophy at San Diego State University, recently wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times, detailing apparent logical inconsistencies in the idea of God. In this effort, he presents the same arguments that have been repeated ad nauseum by modern atheists – arguments that represent ignorance of the basic tenets of the Christian faith.

In his effort to disprove Christianity, he grapples with the basic question, “Does the idea of a morally perfect, all-powerful, all-knowing God make sense?… Read more

How We Got Our Bibles (Part 3): The Self-Authenticating Model

February 23, 2019 / Sam

With the Catholic and Evangelical models refuted, we must now move on to the biblical understanding of how we can know we have God’s Word – the Self-authenticating Model.

Quite simply, this model states that Scripture itself gives us the standards by which it is authenticated. If we believe that it is the ultimate authority for our lives, then we must naturally conclude that Scripture will also give us the standards by which we may understand it.… Read more

How We Got Our Bibles (Part 2): Catholic and Evangelical Errors

February 2, 2019 / Sam

Before we understand how we can know we have God’s Word and understand the history behind it, we must first examine many of the common but false understandings that have been posited throughout history on how we can know we have the canon. How we think we know shows the ultimate authority that we are placing our knowledge in, and sometimes that authority rests on very shaky ground. Here, we will examine the common Catholic and Evangelical understandings of this issue, and the foundational errors that both of them make.… Read more

How We Got Our Bibles (Part 1): How Seminary Revolutionized How I Saw the New Testament

January 24, 2019 / Sam

Last year, I took a course at Reformed Theological Seminary entitled The Origin and Authority of the New Testament Canon, taught by Dr. Michael Kruger. I thought this would be a course more or less on how and why certain books were picked to be in the New Testament and why others like the Gospel of Peter or the Gospel of Thomas were not. Although the history of this was covered, it ended up being so much more than that and revolutionized the way I understood the Bible. … Read more