A key component of the post-modern perception of reality since the 1960s is the question of the meaning of the Bible as canon. Spinoza's questions about the sources and original intentions of the biblical texts were progressively carried by Enlightenment critics into modern historical criticism. Subsequently, focus on the biblical canon as a whole revealed a fixed as well as a dynamic set of principles inherent in these scriptures. These two concerns are treated here, together with their implications for the future of biblical studies as new horizons within historical criticism begin to emerge with fresh and challenging questions.
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