Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Foreword / by I. Howard Marshall -- Introduction: The contemporary battle to recast the origins of the New Testament and early Christianity -- The Bauer-Ehrman thesis : its origins and influence -- Unity and plurality : how early was early Christianity? -- Heresy in the New Testament : how early was it? -- Starting in the right place : the meaning of canon in early Christianity -- Interpreting the historical evidence : the emerging canon in early Christianity -- Establishing the boundaries : apocryphal books and the limits of the canon -- Keepers of the text : how were texts copied and circulated in the ancient world? -- Tampering with the text : was the New Testament text changed along the way? -- Concluding appeal: The heresy of orthodoxy in a topsy-turvy world.

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. 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. --from publisher description