The State of the New Testament Canon in the Second Century: Putting Tatian's "Diatessaron" in Perspective

In contemporary discussions of the NT canon, focus has been on its polemical aspects, that is, when it was closed. By so doing the idea of a canonical process suffers. In attempting to understand Tatian's Diatessaron in this process it is argued here that the very existence of the harmony testi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: ALLERT, CRAIG D. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Eisenbrauns 1999
In: Bulletin for biblical research
Year: 1999, Volume: 9, Pages: 1-18
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:In contemporary discussions of the NT canon, focus has been on its polemical aspects, that is, when it was closed. By so doing the idea of a canonical process suffers. In attempting to understand Tatian's Diatessaron in this process it is argued here that the very existence of the harmony testifies against a closed fourfold Gospel canon in the mid–second century. A proper distinction between canon and scripture is foundational in this understanding. Discussions about the closed NT canon belong to a day far removed from Tatian's. By placing Tatian's Diatessaron in the perspective of process we are less tempted to view his use of the four Gospels as proving their canonicity, a view which is anachronistic and inaccurate.
ISSN:2576-0998
Contains:Enthalten in: Bulletin for biblical research
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.2307/26422226