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	• The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance Bruce M. Metzger Oxford University Press, USA, 1997 - 336 pages average customer review:based on 17 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

This book, however, is not specifically about where the individual books of the New Testament Canon came from. Meztger does talk about who wrote them, to be sure, but he is more concerned with how they actually came to be canonized. He discuses the outside elements that brought the church to seperate certain books as authoritative(canonize), and investigates various books that were eventually rejected. One thing Meztger seems to stress is that the decision to include books in the canon was not done over night in one council; but gradually over roughly 300 years of various(though similar) 'lists' of books. Eventually he concludes with the excellent illustration:"If, for example, all the academies of music in the world were to unite in declaring Bach and Beethoven to be great musicians, we should reply, 'Thank you for nothing; we knew that already.'" Same thing with the canon.

I found this book to be extremly boring in places; I'm not very proficient in scholarly works. This book seems to be meant for college students. Its very helpful, though, for those who want to know how the New Testament came to be labeled as authoritative, hence the five stars. Don't miss the concluding essays on modern questions concerning the canon. I recomend this to budding Bible scholars or mature Christians.

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Good Introduction to Subject

Bruce Metzger's "The Cannon of the New Testament" is an introductory-level overview of the development of the New Testament. Metzger is one of the best-known and most-respected contemporary writers in this area.

The author approaches the subject from a conservative academic perspective - his comments are reflective of mainstream New Testament scholarship. Given the text's introductory nature it does not advocate for any particular historical school of thought, but rather provides a relatively neutral starting point for readers. For readers new to serious New Testament study it does offer a reasoned antidote to some of the silliness that periodically pops at the popular level (e.g. components of Christian Cannon were arbitrarily selected under Roman state direction, many equally valid historic Gospels were suppressed, etc.). Metzger rightly notes that there are no compelling reasons for doubting the traditional view of cannon development - i.e. books were canonized because of their wide spread use and acceptance by the early church.

Some earlier reviewers have criticised Metzger as being biased. I must say that I am a strong supporter of open and honest discourse - my concern with these specific comments is that they appear to be largely based on Metzger being a Christian rather than his work (their comments on the handling of Thomas and Mark are misleading - Metzger actually offers comparatively liberal comments on both points). This type of argument based on a writer's supposed religious beliefs are not helpful - it is prejudice. I appreciate that at times personal attacks can be tempting and even have some short-term success. In the long-run, however, they inhibit civil discourse and contribute to intolerance toward those who do not share our views.

Overall, the book is an excellent starting point for all readers interested in the development of the New Testament. I highly recommended it to all students of religious studies or ancient history as well as the general reader. For readers seeking further, F.F. Bruce also has done some good introductory level work in this area.

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Church Father citations and book summaries are valuable

Some critical reviews associated with this title mention Metzger's approach to Mark on "page 92" of this book. However, page 92 of this book is part of the section discussing the heretic Marcion -- and has nothing to do at all with the Gospel of Mark. Perhaps these reviewers have confused this title (Canon of the New Testament) with another title from Metzger (Text of the New Testament). With that out of the way, the strengths of this book from Metzger are in the tracing of authoritative citations used by church fathers from the New Testament books prior to canonization. This information alone is valuable. In addition, Metzger's survey of the works of NT Apocrypha (books that weren't canonized, but were in circulation, at least amongst some groups) along with his clear and concise summaries of the contents of these books is quite valuable. These two items alone make the book a handy reference guide. The information on the process of canonization is good -- typical of Metzger's work, bringing the technical down to a level that is accessible by the non-expert.

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