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Twenty self-selected New Testament scholars and national church leaders convened in New Orleans to vote on adding a selection of ancient Christian books to the canon. The results appear as A New New Testament, from Harper Collins in 2013, edited by Hal Taussig, longtime professor of New Testament at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Ten new books were chosen, all of them believed to have been written by A.D. 175 at the latest, to be added to the traditional 27. Most of these are Gnostic writings like the Gospels of Thomas and Mary, the Gospel of Truth, and Thunder: Perfect Mind. But other documents appear as well, including the ascetically minded Acts of Paul and Thecla and the anti-imperial Secret Book of Revelation. These documents are interspersed among the standard New Testament works, and many books are rearranged, being grouped together according to similar form or content. Bridging the sections are the Odes of Solomon, a series of early Christian hymns. The book begins and ends with chapters explaining the project and discussing issues surrounding the origins of Christianity. Each individual book of this new New Testament is also briefly introduced and a fresh, idiomatic translation of it is presented. Members of the New Orleans Council were motivated to add these books to the canon by a desire to offer spiritual renewal to mostly liberal churches. Most participated because they had already experienced positive reactions to these additional books when introducing them to church groups. Even though well intended, the creation of a new canon of Scripture raises serious concerns for evangelicals who believe that the 27 books of the existing New Testament, and only those books, were uniquely inspired by God and therefore uniquely authoritative for Christian thought and life. Could it be that this venture is simply another expression of our tendency to idolize the new at the expense of the tried and true? If that's the case, why stop with these additions? Why not add little-known orthodox Christian literature from the second century? The very demand for newness dooms this project to rapid obsolescence from the outset, unless it is regularly revised so that we have A New New New Testament and then A New New New New Testament, and so on. Maybe someday we will relearn the perspective of the Hebrew Scriptures: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls" (Jer. 6:16). Craig L. Blomberg, PhD DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF NEW TESTAMENT Dr. Blomberg joined the Denver Seminary faculty in 1986 with degrees from Augustana College and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a PhD from Aberdeen University in Scotland. He has authored or edited 21 books and contributed to a number of professional journals. 20 SPRING 2014 A New New Testament? Our desire for the "new" can overwhelm our need to be grounded in the faith. CULTURE