Misconceptions About the New Testament Canon

There exist a plethora of misconceptions about the New Testament. They range from theological, textual, and canonical. They are likewise shared by a wide array of people, from the lay to the academic.

Michael Kruger observes,

"It is always difficult to know how such misunderstandings develop and are promulgated. Sometimes they are just ideas that are repeated so often that no one bothers (anymore) to see if they have merit. In other cases, these ideas have been promoted through popular presentations of the canon's origins (e.g., The Da Vinci Code). And in other cases, scholars have made sustained arguments for some of these positions (though, in my opinion, those arguments are not, in the end, convincing). Either way, it is time for these issues to be dusted off and reconsidered."

And Michael Kruger has done just that for the canonical misconceptions, covering what he considers the top 10, or most common, misconceptions about the New Testament canon. 

Read them on this blog; links are provided below. 

1. The Term “Canon” Can Only Refer to a Fixed, Closed List of Books

2. Nothing in Early Christianity Dictated That There Would be a Canon

3. The New Testament Authors Did Not Think They Were Writing Scripture

4. New Testament Books Were Not Regarded as Scriptural Until Around 200 A.D.

5. Early Christians Disagreed Widely over the Books Which Made It into the Canon

6. In the Early Stages, Apocryphal Books Were as Popular as the Canonical Books

7. Christians Had No Basis to Distinguish Heresy from Orthodoxy Until the Fourth Century

8. Early Christianity was an Oral Religion and Therefore Would Have Resisted Writing Things Down

9. The Canonical Gospels Were Certainly Not Written by the Individuals Named in Their Titles

10. Athanasius’ Festal Letter (367 A.D.) is the First Complete List of New Testament Books

If you want to dig deeper about issues surrounding the canon of the New Testament, we recommend Kruger’s Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books.

Craig Evans (Acadia Divinity College & Acadia University) says,

“Michael Kruger has written the book on the canon of Scripture that has been much needed for a long time. His focus is not on the process, but on the vitally important question of how Christians can know that they have the right books in their canon of Scripture. The question is an excellent one and needs to be addressed honestly and competently. Kruger does just that. This excellent book goes a long way toward clearing up confusion and misguided theories. I highly recommend it.”

You can purchase the book on Amazon.