Includes bibliographical references (pages 335-338) and index.

Holy Scripture -- The law and the prophets -- The Greek Old Testament -- The Old Testament becomes a new book -- The Christian canon of the Old Testament: in the east -- The Christian canon of the Old Testament: in the Latin west -- Before and after the Reformation -- Writings of the new era -- Marcion -- Valentinus and his school -- The Catholic response -- The muratorian fragment -- Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Novatian -- Tertullian, Cyprian and others -- The Alexandrian fathers -- Eusebius of Caesarea -- Athanasius and after -- The west in the fourth century to Jerome -- Augustine to the end of the middle ages -- The New Testament canon in the age of printing -- Criteria of canonicity -- A canon within the canon? -- Canon, criticism and interpretation.

"After nearly nineteen centuries the canon of Scripture still remains an issue of debate. Protestants, Catholics and the Orthodox all have slightly differing collections of documents in their Bibles. Martin Luther, one of the early leaders of the Reformation, questioned the inclusion of the book of James in the canon. And many Christians today, while confessing the authority of all of Scripture, tend to rely on only a few books and particular themes while ignoring the rest. Scholars have raised many other questions as well. Research into second-century Gnostic texts have led some to argue that politics played a significant role in the formation of the Christian canon. Assessing the influence of ancient communities and a variety of disputes on the final shaping of the canon call for ongoing study."--Publisher description.