Michael J. Kruger – författare

The Early Text of the New Testament aims to examine and assess from our earliest extant sources the most primitive state of the New Testament text now known. What sort of changes did scribes make to the text? What is the quality of the text now at our disposal? What can we learn about the nature of textual transmission in the earliest centuries? In addition to exploring the textual and scribal culture of early Christianity, this volume explores the textual evidence for all the sections of the New Testament. It also examines the evidence from the earliest translations of New Testament writings and the citations or allusions to New Testament texts in other early Christian writers.

While there has been renewed scholarly interest in paratextual features of early Christian manuscripts, that interest has rarely extended to the size of manuscripts, particularly the format known as the miniature codex. Such neglect is surprising given that this miniature format was a notable part of early Christian textual culture, emerging as early as the second century and visible well into the seventh century and beyond. So established was this format among Christians during this period, that C.H. Roberts once surmised (incorrectly) that, "The miniature codex would seem to be a Christian invention."Many of these tiny books were elegant, well-crafted, and could contain a surprising number of pages. Currently, we have over 60 such codices, which contain a wide range of Christian literature including New Testament books, patristic and non-canonical writings (e.g., the Didache, Acts of Paul, and apocryphal gospels), and even liturgical-ritual texts. This volume is the first full-length monograph on the phenomenon of the miniature codex, offering a framework for distinguishing miniature codices from other tiny texts (e.g. amulets), exploring their practical and iconic functions, and, perhaps most importantly, assembling a detailed catalogue of all known Christian and Greek miniature codices. This distinctive book format provides an essential window into the textual, literary, and visual culture of early Christianity, shedding fresh light on how and why Christians were considered people of the book.

As the value and importance of the non-canonical Jesus tradition continues to be recognized, there is an ever-increasing need for scholarly introductions to this tradition. This co-edited edition comprises the Greek critical editions, with full translations, of several key gospel fragments including P.Egerton 2, P. Oxy. 840, and P.Oxy. 1224. These fragments, preserved despite the widespread destruction of non-canonical manuscripts, are invaluable primary witnesses of ancient Christianity and the transmission of early Christian texts. Introductions to the fragments discuss dates, origins, interpretations, and the relationship of the texts to the canonical gospels. Detailed commentaries expand points of interest to facilitate further scholarly research on these texts in the future.

The Early Text of the New Testament aims to examine and assess from our earliest extant sources the most primitive state of the New Testament text now known. What sort of changes did scribes make to the text? What is the quality of the text now at our disposal? What can we learn about the nature of textual transmission in the earliest centuries? In addition to exploring the textual and scribal culture of early Christianity, this volume explores the textual evidence for all the sections of the New Testament. It also examines the evidence from the earliest translations of New Testament writings and the citations or allusions to New Testament texts in other early Christian writers.

It is the second century. Everyone who knew Jesus is now dead. Christianity has begun to spread, but there are serious threats to its survival. Christianity at the Crossroads examines the crucial issues that faced the second-century Church – a period often neglected or overlooked in other studies. It was during this period that the fledgling Church struggled to work out its identity and stay true to the vision of Christ and the apostles. Threatened by divisive controversies from within and fierce persecution from without, the Church’s response to these and other issues not only determined its survival; it was to shape the beliefs, values and lives of millions of Christians throughout the world over the next two millennia.

Are churches looking for the wrong kind of leaders? The last decade has witnessed a rising number of churches wrecked by spiritual abuse--harsh, heavy-handed, domineering behavior from those in a position of spiritual authority. And high-profile cases are only a small portion of this widespread problem. Behind the scenes are many more cases of spiritual abuse that we will never hear about. Victims suffer in silence, not knowing where to turn.Of course, most pastors and leaders are godly, wonderful people who don't abuse their sheep. They shepherd their flocks gently and patiently. But we can't ignore the growing number who do not. We have tolerated and even celebrated the kind of leaders Jesus warned us against.We need gentle shepherds now more than ever, and in Bully Pulpit, seminary president and biblical scholar Michael J. Kruger offers a unique perspective for both church leaders and church members on the problem of spiritual abuse, how to spot it, and how to handle it in the church."Every Christian from pulpit to pew needs to read this wise and timely work."- Karen Swallow Prior"Both urgent and timely."- Sam Storms"Thoughtful, wise, and biblical."- Mark Vroegop

Lead Your Family Through the Gospel of MarkIf you are like most parents, you may struggle to find the time to read the Bible for yourself, much less the time to instruct and train your children. That’s exactly why Michael and Melissa Kruger wrote The Good News Family Devotional.For each chapter in this 52-week journey through Jesus’s life, you’ll read a devotion written specifically for moms and dads, preparing you for your family discussion while encouraging your own study of Scripture. Then, you’ll find a clear, customizable guide for walking your children through this passage, along withspecific questions for both younger and older children to engage the whole familya one-sentence Big Idea for the Week that will aid your children’s memory and retention of key themesa family application question and closing prayer to help bring Christ’s teachings into your daily life togetherWritten for ordinary families with full schedules, this flexible, Christ-centered guide will help you engage your children with consistency and purpose. Let your hearts be refreshed each day as you meditate on the life and ministry of Jesus together.

Beginning with Walter Bauer in 1934, the denial of clear orthodoxy in early Christianity has shaped and largely defined modern New Testament criticism, recently given new life through the work of spokesmen like Bart Ehrman. Spreading from academia into mainstream media, the suggestion that diversity of doctrine in the early church led to many competing orthodoxies is indicative of today's postmodern relativism. Authors Köstenberger and Kruger engage Ehrman and others in this polemic against a dogged adherence to popular ideals of diversity.Köstenberger and Kruger's accessible and careful scholarship not only counters the "Bauer Thesis" using its own terms, but also engages overlooked evidence from the New Testament. Their conclusions are drawn from analysis of the evidence of unity in the New Testament, the formation and closing of the canon, and the methodology and integrity of the recording and distribution of religious texts within the early church.

This study of the New Testament canon and its authority looks deeper than the traditional surveys of councils and creeds, mining the biblical text itself for direction in understanding what the original authors and audiences believed the canon to be. Canon Revisited distinguishes itself by placing a substantial focus on the theology of canon as the context within which the historical evidence is evaluated and assessed. In effect, this work successfully unites both the theology and the historical development of the canon, ultimately serving as a practical defense for the authority of the New Testament books.

Read the New Testament from a biblical-theological perspective.Featuring contributions from nine respected evangelical scholars, this volume introduces each New Testament book in the context of the whole canon of Scripture, helping anyone who teaches or studies the Bible to apply it to the church today. Provides an accessible, cohesive introduction to the New Testament for preachers and Bible teachersWritten from a Reformed, covenantal, and redemptive-historical perspectiveIncludes contributions from nine world-class Bible scholars, including William B. Barcley, Robert J. Cara, Benjamin Gladd, Charles E. Hill, Reggie M. Kidd, Simon J. Kistemaker, Michael J. Kruger, Bruce A. Lowe, and Guy P. WatersIdeal for use as a Bible college or seminary textbookIncludes articles on four key questions about the New Testament: the Synoptic problem, the New Testament text, the canon, and the use of the Old Testament in the New TestamentForeword written by J. Ligon Duncan IIIDesigned as a companion to A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament

“I can’t imagine a college student—skeptic, doubter, Christian, struggler—who wouldn’t benefit from this book.” —Kevin DeYoungFor many young adults, the college years are an exciting period of self discovery full of new relationships, new independence, and new experiences. Yet college can also be a time of personal testing and intense questioning— especially for Christian students confronted with various challenges to Christianity and the Bible for the first time.Drawing on years of experience as a biblical scholar, Michael Kruger addresses common objections to the Christian faith—the exclusivity of Christianity, Christian intolerance, homosexuality, hell, the problem of evil, science, miracles, and the reliability of the Bible.If you’re a student dealing with doubt or wrestling with objections to Christianity from fellow students and professors alike, this book will equip you to engage secular challenges with intellectual honesty, compassion, and confidence—and ultimately graduate college with your faith intact. Written by a trusted New Testament scholar and parent of a college studentA helpful resource for college students struggling with questions about faithAddresses questions on hell, sexual ethics, science, and the inspiration of ScriptureA great graduation gift

For many years now, the topic of the New Testament canon has been the main focus of my research and writing. It is an exciting field of study that probes into questions that have long fascinated both scholars and laymen alike, namely when and how these 27 books came to be regarded as a new scriptural deposit.But, the story of the New Testament canon is bigger than just the "when" and the "how". It is also, and perhaps most fundamentally, about the "why". Why did Christians have a canon at all? Does the canon exist because of some later decision or action of the second- or third-century church? Or did it arise more naturally from within the early Christian faith itself? Was the canon an extrinsic phenomenon, or an intrinsic one?These are the questions this book is designed to address. And these are not micro questions, but macro ones. They address foundational and paradigmatic issues about the way we view the canon. They force us to consider the larger framework through which we conduct our research - whether we realized we had such a framework or not.Of course, we are not the first to ask such questions about why we have a canon. Indeed, for many scholars this question has already been settled. The dominant view today, as we shall see below, is that the New Testament is an extrinsic phenomenon; a later ecclesiastical development imposed on books originally written for another purpose. This is the framework through which much of modern scholarship operates. And it is the goal of this volume to ask whether it is a compelling one. To be sure, it is no easy task challenging the status quo in any academic field. But, we should not be afraid to ask tough questions. Likewise, the consensus position should not be afraid for them to be asked.