canonical criteria Essay

Bruce offers a solid explanation of the formation of the canon chronologically starting with the Hebrew scriptures (p. 21) until the 4th century where church councils started to present the first spoken finished canon (p. 97). Bruce shows the importance of the Old Testament scriptures, but writes most about the New Testament. He not only shows how the New Testament came to be a canon but offers a deep analysis of non-canonical scripture called the Apocrypha (pp. 48, 90-93).

Sacred texts and writings are very beneficial for Christian people since they are the word of God and can be deliberated as supportive indication of understanding the principle beliefs of Christianity which include the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the nature of god and the nature of trinity, revelation and salvation. This essay aim’s at assessing the significant role of the sacred text in providing authentic information in regards to sacred texts.

Evidence for OT and NT canonicity and tests for canonicity are for the OT canonicity is seen in “the Law” originating from the Old Testament in Law of Moses is seen as being “authoritative”. Examples of scripture that supports this are “1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 14:6 and Ezra 6:18”. These writings help justify the first five books of the Old Testament that Moses contributed in writing. Second “from the prophets” is another example of evidence seen where the prophets were inspired with the word from God. The gospels of Joshua, Chronicles, and Daniels are examples of supportive books in the gospel. Third example is “from Malachi 4:5” where the prophecy ends with Malachi and resumes with John the Baptist. Evidence for the NT is “quotations of the old testament to the new”, which shows “250 quotes from the old testament” being used. Second, “Matthew 5:17” shows the Law and the Prophets holding power as spoken by the Lord. Third, “Luke 11:51” the condemnation of Jewish leaders for murdering the Lord's messengers throughout time. The tests for canonicity are first “the test for authority” where the books of the canon were backed up by an authoritative prophet or apostle. Second, “the test for uniqueness” where evidence had to be unique to be placed in the canon. Third, “the test of acceptance by the churches”, where the books had to gain acceptance by the

The Bible is divided into two sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. This paper mainly focuses on the Old Testament. The Old Testament has 39 books in total which is also subdivided into four categories namely; Pentateuch books (5 books), the historical books (12 books), the poetic books (5 books) and the prophetic books (17 books). The Old Testament books were written back in 1400 B.C. The Pentateuch books were written by Moses during his time in Canaan, while the other 34 books were also written by different authors at different stated time. The aim of this paper is therefore, to analyze the authorship, dating, content, outline, themes, and unique features of one book of the Old Testament, and the book chosen is the book of Leviticus.

Hartley, J. E. (1999). 1994 קָוָה. (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke, Eds.) Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Chica

Vine, W. E. (2006). Vine's concise dictionary of the Bible. Nashville TN: Nelson Reference & Electronic.

Sensitivity relating to the perceived expiration of the first Mosaic covenant has brought forth a minor controversy in recent decades about the political correctness of referring to the Old Testament as being "old." Some Catholic Scripture professors express a preference for "Hebrew Scriptures," while others apologetically retain the old reference to prevent confusion. (Pazcuzzi 2/97). The issue of Judaism having been superceded by Christianity will be addressed at various points in this paper.

The book of Genesis is one of the better-known books of the Bible. Not only is it the first book of the Bible it is also the first documentation of our existence. The book was originally written in Hebrew with the title of bereshit, which means “in the beginning.” (Bible.org)

So what is the criterion for determining whether or not certain writings were to be included in the New Testament canon? In the process of determining the inclusion some books were immediately received while others when through much scrutiny before they were accepted. We can see that some books were accepted into the canon of Scripture and others were not.

Blomberg, Craig L. The New American Commentary: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture: Matthew. Tennessee: Broadman Press, 1992.

Blomberg, Craig L., Jennifer Foutz Markley. A Handbook of New Testament Exegesis. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010.

This method examines the unique literary features and the social function of the genre, canon, paying particular attention to the way in which once historically conditioned literature is given a new authoritative function as the comprehensive word of God to later communities of faith.

Greidanus, Sidney. “Preaching Christ from the Old Testament.” Bibliotheca Sacra 641, no. Jan (2004): 4–13.

Elwell, Walter A., and Barry J. Beitzel. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988. Print.

During the early history of the church, there was no such thing as a New Testament “canon.” The selection of books that were to be included or excluded from the texts used by the church was the responsibility of each individual church body, and thus varied greatly from location to location. Because there was no canon – (books considered