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.
