Craig D. Allert on the State of the NT Canon in the 2nd Century

The following article is now on-line in PDF:

Craig D. Allert, "The State of the New Testament Canon in the Second Century: Putting Tatian's Diatessaron in Perspective," Bulletin for Biblical Research 9 (1999): 1-18.

Abstract:

In contemporary discussions of the NT canon, focus has been on its polem­ical aspects, that is, when it was closed. By so doing the idea of a canonical process suffers. In attempting to understand Tatian’s Diatessaron in this process it is argued here that the very existence of the harmony testifies against a closed fourfold Gospel canon in the mid-second century. A proper distinction between canon and scripture is foundational in this under­standing. Discussions about the closed NT canon belong to a day far re­moved from Tatian’s. By placing Tatian’s Diatessaron in the perspective of process we are less tempted to view his use of the four Gospels as proving their canonicity, a view which is anachronistic and inaccurate.