The Heresy of Orthodoxy, ch. 4

One of the key questions in this discussion is that of the New Testament Canon. If it can be established that there should be a canon and that it was considered by the early church (prior to the 3-400s) to be the standard of orthodoxy, there is little room left for debate with the Bauer-Ehrman devotees. I have to admit that I have wondered, with Gamble, how we can establish a NT canon and the groundwork that makes it shaky is if the writers knew they were writing canon. If the canon was established later, it seems possible to claim there should be no canon at all. The authors rightly frame the discussion in covenant. The chapter demonstrates how covenant written codes were structured, how the redemptive story is necessarily covenantal, and how the New Testament follows this covenantal structure. Beyond that, they establish the community's recognition of the covenant writings as established by the authority of the apostleship, rather than a later maneuver to squelch differing views. This can only be understood if you also accept the work of the Holy Spirit, as Bauer and Ehrman seem to reject out of hand.