Many people imagine that the New Testament canon was decided all at once, perhaps when Athanasius of Alexandria sent out his Thirty-Ninth Festal Letter in 367 AD, listing the twenty-seven books we know today, or when the Councils of Hippo and Carthage confirmed that list in the late fourth century. According to this view, the…
A major question in New Testament studies is whether the people who wrote these texts thought of them as Scripture. Put more directly: did they see their work as inspired by God and connected to the sacred writings of Israel, or did they simply think they were writing letters, stories, and advice for their own…
Most scholars argue that Mark was the first Gospel to be written. This seems rather obvious, as both Matthew and Luke clearly borrowed from Mark. So where we place Mark in history will influence the dating of the other Gospels. If Mark were shown to be a product of the early first century, a work…