January 30, 2015 at 9:30 PM EST
411 Willard Straight Hall
Today, many scholars argue that secular and church politics, not divine guidance, determined the 27 New Testament books, and this decision was not until after Constantine became the first Christian emperor of Rome in the fourth century C.E. Following the decisive moment in early Christian history, the winning side in a lively debate rewrote its history, but there are other, even better books that could have been chosen.
In this opening session, Dr. Blomberg will address these historical claims and issues surrounding the canon of Scripture. He will also discuss the choice of books for the Old Testament, where Protestants and Catholics still disagree.
Dr. Craig Blomberg joined the faculty of Denver Seminary in 1986. He is currently a distinguished professor of New Testament. He completed his PhD in New Testament, specializing in the parables and the writings of Luke-Acts, at Aberdeen University in Scotland. He received an MA from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a BA from Augustana College. Before joining the faculty of Denver Seminary, he taught at Palm Beach Atlantic College and was a research fellow in Cambridge, England with Tyndale House.
In addition to writing numerous articles in professional journals, multi-author works and dictionaries or encyclopedias, he has authored or edited 20 books, including The Historical Reliability of the Gospels, Interpreting the Parables, Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey, From Pentecost to Patmos: An Introduction to Acts through Revelation,Christians in an Age of Wealth: A Biblical Theology of Stewardship, Neither Poverty nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions, Making Sense of the New Testament: Three Crucial Questions, Preaching the Parables, Contagious Holiness: Jesus’ Meals with Sinners, and Handbook of New Testament Exegesis, and commentaries on Matthew, 1 Corinthians and James.
Co-sponsored by Bethel Grove Bible Church and New Life Presbyterian Church