Timothy Talks: A Completed Canon
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The Bible is the Word of God, the foundation of our faith and knowledge of God. How did we get it? Where are the original manuscripts? How do we know which books are part of the New Testament? We talk about these topics and more in today’s episode of Timothy Talks.
Listen to the episode, and don’t forget to send the keyword to timothytalkspodcast@gmail.com – you could win tickets to the upcoming G3 Missions conference. Or, if you can’t make it, these tickets would make a great gift!
Reminder: We will return to regular Monday morning blog posts soon. We are taking just a few weeks to highlight Timothy Talks. Please check it out if you haven’t already. Available on all your favorite podcast apps.
A great discussion!
It was pretty amazing to be reminded how of many manuscripts there are of Scripture, it really does build ones faith! I believe that Gods word is entirely true and accurate: yet, I was wondering where the four criteria of whether or not writings got into the New Testament came from?
Thanks Elizabeth! And you raise a really good question. In fact, there is no simple answer. Remember, the process of identifying the Canon didn’t take place at once by one person. Different congregations and different theologians had to wrestle with this question themselves. Looking back, we can see where they landed – but it wasn’t a simple process. Consequently, there isn’t a list of ‘four criteria.’ Rather, as we look back at those who wrestled with the question, we see them referring to these criteria. They may not all refer to all of them, but ultimately, these are the four criteria that stand out from a bird’s-eye view of the scene. These four criteria are mentioned, or at least hinted at, by different theologians who tried to identify the Canon. I know this may sound confusing, but I hope that helps explain!