Posted by Jeff Short on April 7, 2019 · Leave a Comment
How Does the New Testament Use the Old Testament?: A Survey of the Major Views by Michael Vlach
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This booklet is helpful in summarizing the seven major views of how the New Testament writers used/interpreted the Old Testament. Vlach outlines the views in the words of their proponents and provides a few test cases of passages and how the different views read them. This is a complicated issue, particularly when it comes to the hard cases. However, Vlach points out that the majority of uses inarguably use a contextual interpretation. From that perspective, too much can be made of the relatively few places that are harder. These are important issues for they ultimately involve how the Bible is put together, issues of continuity and discontinuity between the testaments, and the possibility of Christians after the Apostles to follow their exegetical methods.
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Posted by Jeff Short on December 22, 2018 · Leave a Comment
Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books by Michael J. Kruger
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Kruger has given us an excellent treatment of the subject of canon. He evaluates various canonical models, and seems to treat each fairly. He ultimately makes the case for the self-authenticating model of canon. He also gives serious considerations to objection to this model, as well. This is not a book trying to prove the existence of a canon to skeptics. Kruger is rather investigating whether there are sufficient reasons to acknowledge a complete canon of Scriptures. Though not a work of apologetics
per se, Kruger also makes a case for presuppositionalism more generally. This shouldn’t surprise us because there is always a degree of circularity when dealing with ultimate questions, e.g., authority, reality, epistemology, etc.
While exploring the self-authenticating model, he also gives an introductory primer on the relationships between Scripture, Apostles, Holy Spirit, and churches. I enjoyed this book on various levels. This is a book that pastors and preachers ought to read and keep a copy around for reference.
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