The Question of Canon

Dr. Michael J. Kruger speaks with Christ the Center about his recent book, The Question of Canon: Challenging the Status Quo in the New Testament Debate. The book deals not with why we have the books we do in the canon but with the question of the very definition of “canon” and the origin of the idea. Contemporary biblical scholars insist that the idea of canon was a late development in the construction of the New Testament, which imbued with authority texts whose authors did not think of them as authoritative. Dr. Kruger insists that the concept of a set of authoritative books for the New Covenant era of redemptive-history existed from a very early date in the ancient church. Dr. Michael Kruger is President and Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC. He received his B.S. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his M.Div. from Westminster Theological Seminary in California, and his Ph.D. from New College, The University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He is the author of three books on the issue of canon, Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books (Crossway, 2012), The Early Text of the New Testament (Oxford, 2012; edited with Charles Hill), and now, The Question of Canon. In addition to his faculty duties, he currently serves part-time as the Pastor of Discipleship Training at Uptown Christ Covenant Church in downtown Charlotte. Dr. Kruger has spoken on Christ the Center episodes 217 and 283, and his wife, Melissa Kruger, has spoken on episodes 276, 297, and 301.

Participants: Camden Bucey, Jared Oliphint, Michael Kruger, Nick Batzig