How did we end up with 27 books in the New Testament? Are these books authoritative because they were selected as part of the NT canon, or were they selected because they were authoritative? Various groups within Christendom think about the NT canon differently. The contributors to this monograph are Darian R. Lockett (conservative evangelical), David R. Nienhuis (progressive evangelical), Jason David Beduhn (liberal Protestant), Ian Boxall (Roman Catholic), and George L. Parsenios (Eastern Orthodox). I am reading this monograph coming from a conservative evangelical viewpoint with a historic fundamentalist heritage. I am not unaware of my bias in this review, but I am not ashamed of it either. In all honesty, no one approaches the discussion with complete neutrality. So the editors, Stanley E. Porter and Benjamin P. Laird, write in the introduction, We further anticipate that many readers will be confronted with viewpoints and perspectives that they have not seriously considered and that they will be encouraged to carefully examine the merits of their own positions and to engage in further research and reflection.”
Reviews, Reflections, & Research 