Holy writings, sacred text

In this book John Barton examines the complex relationship between the canonical texts of the Old and New Testaments. He pays particular attention to historical questions -- How did the biblical canon develop? How did the church come to accept as authoritative a New Testament containing no more and no less than 27 books? Why did the church place alongside these books the Hebrew Scriptures? In responding to such questions, Barton draws a valuable distinction between the notion of "scripture" and that of "canon". - Back cover.