The newest issue of Modern Reformation is in the mail to subscribers and available online. The theme and title of the issue is Canon Formation. Executive Editor, Dr. Ryan Glomsrud, explains the issue:
“Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?” is one of those questions signaling an unanswerable conundrum. This issue takes up the question of the formation of the Bible or “canon,” meaning the official list and “rule” of Old and New Testament books. Readers may come to this topic from different starting points, but here is the question that frames much of what follows: Does the Word of God create the church or does the church officially decide what constitutes the Word of God? Put another way: Did the church establish the canon or did the Bible create the church that afterward recognized the books of the Bible to be what they are, the canonical Word of God?
Unfortunately, many evangelicals today think this is either an unsolvable “chicken or egg” conundrum, or worse, that the church acted out of its own authority to create the Bible, which is the Roman Catholic position. From a biblical and Reformation perspective, however, canon formation is not a chicken/egg conundrum but a problem of some who would mistakenly put the cart before the horse. Therefore, our common theme once again is that it is God who works and we who respond; the Word and Spirit together found the community of faith who maintain these books for the purpose of preserving the record of God’s promises.
If you haven’t yet taken advantage of our free trial offer, do so today and get access to almost twenty years worth of online content in addition to the current issue. The folks at the home office will also send you a White Horse Inn introductory CD. On the other hand, if you’re ready to subscribe you can do that, too! In fact, your subscription extends the reach of Modern Reformation into foreign countries, like the Philippines, Brazil, and Korea. Your subscription allows us to grant permission to missionaries in Latvia, Poland, and Germany to reproduce and repost translations of Modern Reformation articles. Your subscription allows us to send Modern Reformation to prisoners across the nation who are starting their own Reformation journeys within the confines of a prison cell.
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