Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on New Testament Canon. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 9 page research paper that examines the question as to why there are only 27 books in the New Testament. The writer shows how the process of selecting the New Testament canon from multiple versions of the gospels, as well as other early Christian literature, was quite lengthy and involved. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
9 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khntcan.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
of why the New Testament has precisely twenty-seven books is simply not something that most Christians stop and consider. Knight (2003) points out that the notion that there was a
complete and clear-cut canon of the New Testament existing from Apostolic times has no foundation in historical fact. As this suggests, the general Christian typically does not realize that
the process of selecting the New Testament canon from multiple versions of the gospels, as well as other early Christian literature, was quite lengthy and involved (Hartono, 1996). First
of all, the biblical student should understand that Jesus left posterity no written record and gave no commandment to his apostles to write down his teachings (Hartono, 1996). Neither
Jesus, nor his apostles (including Paul) offered to the generations any sort of guidance as to which accounts of Jesus life were accurate nor any sort of authentication for the
twenty-seven books of the New Testament (Hartono, 1996). However, it should also be pointed out that the first Christians did not consider oral teachings inferior to written texts; and, of
course, the original teachings of Christianity were handed down by oral tradition (Hartono, 1996). One of the first people to use the term "gospel" was Ignatius, bishop of Antioch,
in his letter to the Smyrnaeans (Hartono, 1996). Papias, bishop of Hierapolis (c. 125 AD) was known to be acquainted with the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. A generation later,
Justin Martyr referred to the memoirs of Peter, which is believe to be a reference to the Gospel of Mark, as well as the memoirs of the apostles. Tatian
introduced the Diatessaron, which is a document encompassing the four Gospels, but combined into one chronological order with the Gospel of John as a framework (Hartono, 1996). The Diatessaron
...