Phronesis

A  New Testament Studies  publication by the eminent Francis Watson on the nature of the New Testament canon has recently been published.  Entitled "Critical Reflections on the Role of the Canon in New Testament Scholarship," Watson seeks to outline the categorical priorities in current New Testament studies and proposes that our present conception of the canon and the boundaries it delineates are problematic for a purely historical analysis. Out of all the discussions about the canon I have read, I have found this article to be especially pivotal in contributing to our understanding of the New Testament collection in modern scholarship. For starters, Watson prefers to refer to our familiar 27-book New Testament as an "anthology" as opposed to other labels such as "collection." It highlights the nature of the New Testament as being selective in its inclusion and exclusion of other documents and provides those who interact with it a normative guide of value

Slowly but surely, I am reaching the end of my Bible diploma at UWTSD. The modules have given me an unprecedented appreciation for the humanities and scholarly approaches to the texts in the Bible and I am very grateful to all my lecturers (particular thanks to Prof. Catrin Williams, Dr. Jessica Keady, Angus Slater, and Beatrice Bandeniece). In some strange but inevitable way, however, there has been an increasing tension between my studies —reading the literature for myself, taking notes, and learning what the experts say —and the popular level apologetic discourses on the internet that we've all become so familiar with.  In recent memory there have been too many incidents of pointless beef between online interlocutors for me to ignore, with both laypersons and accredited academics getting involved in reactionary personal drama over what someone said concerning the Bible. Some instances I have given my thoughts on over the last few months, particularly the incendiary galivanting o