Irenaeus, the Scriptures, and the Apostolic Writings: Reevaluating the Status of the New Testament Writings at the End of the Second Century (The Library of New Testament Studies, 659)

"Kenneth Laing challenges the concept of Irenaeus as the primary witness to the point at which the New Testament achieved scriptural status, and calls into question some of the most basic conclusions and assumptions of New Testament canon formation scholarship. Laing proposes a new interpretation of Irenaeus' understanding of the nature and basis of authority of the New Testament writings, based on his christocentric theology of revelation. By exploring the texts themselves, the concept of authority, scriptural tradition and the question of inspiration, Laing argues that while the writings possess authority equal to the Jewish scriptures, it is their apostolic origin and the apostles' relationship to Christ - not inspiration - which forms the basis of the unique revelatory authority of the New Testament writings. Laing thus stresses that Irenaeus regards the New Testament writings as a written record of the apostolic tradition and the primary means of accessing its content, rather than as a purely scriptural text."--.. "Kenneth Laing advances a new interpretation of Irenaeus' view of the nature and basis of authority of the writings that would come to be known as the New Testament. He challenges the longstanding view of Irenaeus as the primary witness to the point at which the New Testament achieved scriptural status, and in doing so, calls into question some of the most basic conclusions and assumptions of New Testament canon formation scholarship. Through an exploration of Irenaeus' treatment of the apostolic writings and his concepts of tradition, the rule of truth, and inspiration, Laing proposes a two-part thesis. He argues first that Irenaeus conceives of the apostolic writings as the written record of the apostolic tradition rather than as scripture equivalent to the Jewish Scriptures; and second, that the unique revelatory authority of the apostolic writings are based on their apostolic origin and the apostles' direct relationship to Jesus Christ, rather than on their inspiration by the Spirit. Irenaeus' conception of the apostolic writings is understood to be a function of his overarching trinitarian theology of revelation in which Jesus Christ, the Word of God, eternally acts as the only Revealer of the Father." -- Back cover Cover Series Title Page Copyright Dedication Table of contents Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction Part 1 Assessing the Traditional Interpretation 1 The Apostolic Writings and the Use of ..af. 2 Authoritative Texts or Authoritative Authors? Conclusion to Part 1 Part 2 Constructing an Alternative Interpretation 3 The Apostolic Writings and the Tradition, the Rule of Truth, and the Jewish Scriptures 4 The Question of Inspiration Conclusion Bibliography Index Index of References to Irenaeus’ Works "This book challenges the customary view of Irenaeus' conception of the nature and authority of the New Testament writings"-- Provided by publisher