The Heresy of Orthodoxy, ch. 5

This chapter seeks to establish that the scantly-cited evidence from the New Testament and early apostolic fathers indicates an early canon that was recognized by churches and leaders. The authors do an excellent job of making a plain case of how Peter and Paul referred to works as Scripture and how the dating indicates an early reception of this view. While some in the Bauer-Erhman camp would argue against this, like in the last chapter, this is more determined by an interpretive paradigm that rejects anything contrary to their own thesis (as well as circular arguments) than it is a fair view. The idea that the NT books were accepted at an early date (before 150 AD) is supported by the use, descriptions, and the language of the early church fathers such as the Didache, Clement, Barnabas, Ignatius, Polycarp, and Papias.