📖
✦ Seminary Level
8 Sections

The Canon of Scripture

How We Got Our Bible and Why It Can Be Trusted. A comprehensive study of the formation, transmission, and reliability of the biblical canon — engaging both the historic Christian position and the most influential contemporary critics.

8 Sections
42 Lessons
18h Duration
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This Course Includes

42 in-depth lessons
18 hours of content
Extensive Scripture references
Progress tracking
Lifetime access
Course Overview

About This Course

How We Got Our Bible and Why It Can Be Trusted. A comprehensive study of the formation, transmission, and reliability of the biblical canon — engaging both the historic Christian position and the most influential contemporary critics.

This comprehensive course is designed to take you from foundational concepts to advanced application, building progressively through each section.

Each section contains multiple lessons that combine theological depth with practical application. You'll encounter extensive Scripture references, discussion questions for deeper reflection, and real-world examples to help you apply what you learn.

"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."

— 1 Peter 3:15
Curriculum

Course Sections

8 comprehensive sections building from foundations to practical application.

01

Foundations — What Is the Canon?

5 lessons
1
What Do We Mean by "Canon"?
2
Did the Church Create the Canon or Recognize It?
3
Criteria of Canonicity
4
Inspiration and Canon
5
Does the Text Have Meaning?
02

The Old Testament Canon

5 lessons
1
The Formation of the Hebrew Bible
2
The Development of Israelite Religion
3
The Septuagint Question
4
The Apocrypha / Deuterocanonical Books
5
Jamnia and Beyond
03

The World of the New Testament Manuscripts

5 lessons
1
How Ancient Books Were Made
2
The Manuscript Evidence
3
Textual Criticism 101
4
Significant Textual Variants
5
"The Bible Has Been Changed"
04

The Formation of the New Testament Canon

6 lessons
2
From Apostles to Scripture
4
Marcion and the First "Canon"
6
Irenaeus and the Four Gospels
8
The Muratorian Fragment
10
Origen and the Categories of Canon
12
Athanasius and the Councils
05

The "Lost" Scriptures

5 lessons
1
The Gnostic Gospels
2
The Gospel of Thomas
3
Other "Lost" Gospels
4
Books That Almost Made It
5
Did Early Christianity Have "Many Christianities"?
06

The Reliability of the Text

7 lessons
1
Can We Trust the Gospels?
2
Eyewitness Testimony and Oral Tradition
3
The Synoptic Problem and Its Implications
4
"The Bible Doesn't Say That"
5
Contradictions in the Bible?
6
Archaeology and the New Testament
7
The Telephone Game Objection
07

The Canon and Its Critics

5 lessons
1
Bart Ehrman and the New Popular Skepticism
2
The Bible on Social Media
3
Canon as Power
4
Dale Allison and Honest Doubt
5
Catholic and Orthodox Perspectives on the Canon
08

The Canon for the Church Today

4 lessons
1
The Sufficiency of Scripture
2
Translations and the Canon
3
Reading the Canon as Scripture
4
Defending the Canon with Confidence

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