Introduction to New Testament (RLST 152)
The Christian faith is based upon a canon of texts considered to be holy scripture. How did this canon come to be? Different factors, such as competing schools of doctrine, growing consensus, and the invention of the codex, helped shape the canon of the New Testament. Reasons for inclusion in or exclusion from the canon included apostolic authority, general acceptance, and theological appropriateness for "proto-orthodox" Christianity.
00:00 - Chapter 1. Canon vs. Scripture
16:17 - Chapter 2. The Forming of Canons
27:04 - Chapter 3. The Invention of the Codex
32:50 - Chapter 4. A Slowly Developing (and Incomplete) Consensus
42:02 - Chapter 5. The Reasons for Canonical Inclusion and Exclusion
Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: open.yale.edu/courses
This course was recorded in Spring 2009.