by Michael J. Kruger | I think it’s fair to say that the last decade has witnessed a bit of a resurgence of academic interest in early Christianity. By “early Christianity,” I don’t mean the Christianity represented by the major figures in the fourth and fifth centuries when the church had risen to power—e.g., Athanasius, Constantine, Augustine. Rather, I am referring to...

Resources New - Canon Fodder

https://michaeljkruger.com/resources-new/?swcfpc=1&jsf=jet-engine&tax=featured-categories:1453

Christianity at the Crossroads

SUMMARY: The final binding decision on the list of books in the NT has been made at a 4th century council, that is true, but apart from a few quarrels on Hebrews, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, the letters by Jude and James, and the Revelation, all the other books were unanimously accepted by the Church from early on. And the canon was not "disputed" and decided on Nicea, but only confirmed officially, what had been clear for at least 150 years more or less, and the Gospels have always been accepted and none of the "apocryphal gospels" has ever been accepted by the Church. Nicea did not make any "new" decisions in this regard. It was not that they had a long list of possible gospels and then selected the current four. No other gospel has ever had any acceptance in the Church. *** 🔸the four New Testament Gospels were received as authoritative from the beginning, 🔹the New Testament Gospels were traced to testimony from apostles and eyewitnesses from the beginning The four Gospels were not randomly selected from a larger sampling of Gospels; they were the standard by which other texts were tested from the first century forward. The New Testament Gospels, written while eyewitnesses were still living and traced from the beginning to firsthand testimony, remain the most reliable surviving accounts of the life of Jesus Christ. ~ Timothy Paul Jones *** Our earliest gospel manuscripts contain the titles that attribute these books to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. *** Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, around A.D. 180: “It is not possible that the gospels can be either more or fewer than the number they are. For, since there are four zones of the world in which we live and four principle winds… [and] the cherubim, too, were four-faced.” *** ⬇CHECK OUT⬇ *** http://www.answering-islam.org for more excellent articles! AND http://www.timothypauljones.com/gospels-written-while-eyewitnesses/ AND https://michaeljkruger.com *** ⬆⬆⬆ ***

by Michael J. Kruger | It probably comes as no surprise that the most common question I receive from both Christians and non-Christians is “How do I know the Bible is the Word of God?” And the reason this question is at the top of the list is not hard to...

by Michael J. Kruger | The lovable Disney film Moana, tells the story of a young girl who lives on a Polynesian island and is the daughter of the chief. Like many fathers, the chief is overly protective of his daughter, and also of the people he rules...

by Michael J. Kruger | To read the Gospels as covenant documents keeps the larger redemptive-historical narrative of the Bible front and center, allows us to see how the whole of Scripture is unified around the person and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, and reminds us what makes the canonical gospels distinctive from the other “gospels” in the ancient world...

by Michael J. Kruger | My interest in the origins of the New Testament canon began probably 30 plus years ago. At the time, there was a general interest in the subject, but it was still pretty niche. One had to dig around to find works on the canon that went beyond the well-known volumes by the likes of Bruce Metzger or F.F. Bruce...

by Michael Kruger | "What is Reformed theology?" This is the question I get asked all the time. Especially since I teach at a school called Reformed Theological Seminary! While there are many ways to answer that question, I have found that the 5 Solas of the…

by Michael Kruger | “One of these things is not like the others.”  That was a classic segment on Sesame Street, as well as the title of a popular children’s book. It proves again that everything you need to know in life you probably learned in Kindergarten...

by Michael J. Kruger | If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times. It’s the idea that John presents Jesus as divine and the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) present Jesus as a mere man. And when you combine all the Gospels together, only then do you end up with a vision of Jesus as both God and man...

by Michael J. Kruger | Covenants were largely conceived as something written or read; i.e., something in a book.  It is precisely for this reason that warnings were given not to change the text of the covenant (Deuteronomy 4:2), and there were concerns about it being in the proper physical location...

by Michael Kruger | Last week I announced the upcoming release of my new book, Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church (Zondervan, 2022). The book releases on November 1st. As a lead up to the book release, I am launching a new blog series entitled, “5 Misconceptions about Spiritual Abuse.”  In my research for the book...

by Michael J. Kruger | For those reading this blog, I trust you’ve benefited from the variety of posts that deal with issues related to the origins of the NT canon (or text). I have written those posts with a wide audience in mind, hoping they are helpful for just about anybody who wants to learn more...

Resources New - Canon Fodder

https://michaeljkruger.com/resources-new/?swcfpc=1&jsf=jet-engine&tax=featured-categories:1453

How to teach the book of Romans an interview with Nancy Guthrie part 2

Resources New - Canon Fodder

https://michaeljkruger.com/resources-new/?swcfpc=1&jsf=jet-engine&tax=featured-categories:1453

How to teach the book of Romans an interview with Nancy Guthrie

Resources New - Canon Fodder

https://michaeljkruger.com/resources-new/?swcfpc=1&jsf=jet-engine&tax=featured-categories:1453

Encountering Challenges to Biblical Inerrancy