I’ve been using the social site GoodReads quite a bit, to track my reading for 2015. Below is an expanded review of a recent book I read; be sure to check the site for more reviews.
WTS bookstore had a great deal on this e-book so I picked it up. It does a great job at introducing the Bauer hypothesis that there were many Christianites and the proto-orthodox group won out in the 4th century. It also does a good job refuting it, although I would have liked to see it be a bit longer and go more into depth.
In the refutation, the book shows that in most of the early centers of Orthodoxy, (Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Edessa, etc) arrived earlier than heterodoxy. The second half of the refutation shows that Orthodoxy was more united than the heterodoxies. While this isn’t conclusive, it points to Orthodoxy being larger and more unified, an actual continuation of the Apostolic Tradition, and not just one of many equally valid “Christianities”. The third and final section looks at the textual evidence of the NT books, and other earlier writings, both showing that the NT books are earlier than others, and were generally well known to the early church. The idea of cannon was in existence well before 4th century Christianity. The authors also discuss textual criticism as a way of refuting Bart Erhman’s popularization of the theme that we cannot rely on the NT text.
In summary, it is a great and short read, leaving you wanting more. I highly recommend you pick it up.
Literary Ales 