While most modern canon studies focus on the historical and empirical processes that produced Scripture's final form, this innovative work argues that the canon must be understood first as a theological reality. Far from being a merely historical artifact, the canon is a living witness that shapes, and is shaped by, the doctrines of the Christian faith.

Matthew Emerson offers a fresh approach that situates the question of canon within its proper dogmatic context. Surveying the history of scholarship on the canon, he shows how prevailing approaches have overlooked the theological dimension of Scripture's unity and authority. By recovering this dimension, Emerson illuminates how the canonical form of Scripture informs the church's understanding of key doctrines.

Professors and seminary students as well as pastors and lay readers seeking a deeper understanding of canon, doctrine, and hermeneutics will benefit from this volume.