We don’t determine the value of something generally based on its lack of value for a particular purpose. If I need a hammer for a particular job for which my screwdriver is not helpful, it doesn’t therefore follow that my screwdriver is worthless and should be thrown away. If I want to play football, I […]
Books that Didn’t Make the Cut: The Apocrypha
October 29, 2015 By
At the end of each summer, every NFL team must winnow its roster to 53 players. The very best make the cut; many hopeful young men see their hopes dashed with news they didn’t make the cut (or, more graphically, they’ve “been cut”). This is true in all walks of life – whether you are […]
Questions of Canon – Who Gets to Decide What’s in the Bible? The New Testament
September 24, 2015 By
It’s been said that necessity is the mother of invention. The Space Race and the urgency to outstrip the Soviets on the way to the moon led to an enormous proliferation of scientific advance. And I don’t just mean Tang. Really significant stuff. But it took the crisis to make those advances necessary. Think of […]
Questions of Canon – Who Gets to Decide What’s in the Bible? Criteria for Recognition
August 6, 2015 By
I once won a wrestling match 0-0. How can you win a match when no one scores any points? In this case, because we were tied at the end of an overtime period, the referee was forced to consult the criteria for a tie break. The first five criteria didn’t apply, so he was forced […]
Questions of Canon – Who Gets to Decide What’s in the Bible?
July 30, 2015 By
In the last few posts we’ve been dealing with text criticism (in general, for the OT, for the NT), the art and science of studying the biblical manuscript tradition to arrive at the most accurate possible text of scripture (from which all of our English translations are derived). This leads to great confidence in the […]
