Wednesday, April 29, 2015

The General Epistles and the Antilegomena

After considering the epistles of Paul, with some of the introductory and theological issues they present, we come to hte so-called "general" epistles and Revelation.  Several of these books have been called "antilegomena" since at one point or another someone has spoken against their authenticity and/or canonicity.  Sometimes the issue is uncertainty regarding authorship (e.g. Hebrews) or supposed "stylistic" or theological differences with accepted books (e.g. I Peter and 2 Peter on style, James and Paul on theology).  A couple of the books were little letters with limited circulation and so were questioned as well (2 and 3rd John).  All in all, the church came to a clear consensus and recognized the canonicity of these books among the collection we know as the New Testament.  As you read and ponder the message of these books I encourage you to hear afresh the message the Divine Author has for you in each of them.
Dr. Nash

1 comment:

  1. I have found deep personal messages/applications in these epistles. So, my vote would certainly have gone for including them in the canon. David Varney

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