New Testament Survey

Key Concepts of Scripture and Canonicity

God’s Communication through Scripture

  • Prolegomena: Refers to the foundational concepts before delving into the subject of Scripture.

  • Key Verse: 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21 highlights that Scripture is God-breathed.

  • God communicates in various ways:

    • Dictation: Sometimes God dictates the content.

    • Human Participation: Humans actively participate in conveying God’s message.

    • Inspiration: God inspires human authors to communicate divine truths.

Characteristics of Scripture

  • God-breathed: All Scripture is considered God-breathed, indicating its divine origin.

  • Truthfulness of Data:

    • Absolute: Historical, scientific, and numeric data in Scripture is accurate.

    • Eul: Accommodates phenomenological language, colloquialisms, and estimations.

    • Limited: While salvation doctrine is infallible, empirical data may have inaccuracies.

Common Critics of Inerrancy

  • Example criticisms and their contexts:

    1. Bats as Birds (Leviticus 11:13-19) - Bats categorized incorrect versus biological classifications.

    2. Flying Insects with Four Legs (Leviticus 11:20-22) - Misinterpretation of terms.

    3. Pi is 3 (1 Kings 7:23-24) - Approximation rather than an exact mathematical figure.

    4. Mustard Seed as the Smallest Seed (Mark 4:31) - Context-dependent description.

    5. Earth as Immovable (Psalm 104:1-5) - Reflective of ancient cosmology, not modern science.

Composition of the New Testament

  • Structure: New Testament composed of distinct literary forms and styles.

  • Sections of the New Testament:

    1. Gospels: 4 accounts of Jesus’ life.

    2. Acts: Early church history.

    3. Paul's Epistles: Letters attributed to Paul.

    4. General Epistles: Letters written by other apostles.

    5. Revelation: Apocalyptic literature.

The New Testament's Recognition as Scripture

  • Timeline of Writing: The New Testament was written much faster than the Old Testament.

  • Authorship: Primarily authored by Apostles for communal and missional reasons.

  • Canonicity: How the New Testament was recognized as Scripture.

    • Definition of Canon: Refers to a measuring rod or standard for collection of Scriptures.

  • Criteria for Canonicity:

    1. Apostolicity: Work must be linked to an Apostle.

    2. Consistency with Previous Revelation: Must align with Old Testament and other accepted writings.

    3. Conformity to the Rule of Faith: Adherence to core beliefs recited in creeds based on apostolic teaching.