Canon and Criterion in Christian Theology provides an original and important narrative on the significance of canon in the Christian tradition. Abraham shows that the move to treat canon as a criterion of truth has had unsuspecting consequences for the history of theology and philosophy, from the Fathers to modern feminist theology.

1. Orientation:Authority, Canon, and Criterion ; 2. The Emergence of the Canonical Heritage of the Church ; 3. Canonical Division between East and West ; 4. Canon and Scientia ; 5. Theological Foundationalism ; 6. the Epistemic Fortunes of Sola Scriptura ; 7. Initiation into the Rule of Truth ; 8. Canonical Synthesis: The Anglican Via Media ; 9. The Rule of Reason ; 10. Theology within the Limits of Experience Alone ; 11. The Canons of Common Sense ; 12. The Rough Intellectualist Road of a Sound Epistemology ; 13. More Light Amid the Encircling Gloom ; 14. Ending the Great Misery of Protestantism ; 15. Digging Still Deeper for Firm Ground ; 16. Feminism and the Transgressing of Canonical Boundaries ; 17. The Canonical Heritage and the Epistemology of Theology

`Review from previous edition This book has a single idea, and a very good one. It is that Christians ought not treat their ecclesial canons as if they were epistemic criteria.' Paul J. Griffiths, (Blackwell Publishers, 2000). `The great virtue of Abraham's book lies not, I think, in its discussions of particular thinkers (interesting and challenging though these always are) so much as in its clear analysis of what it is to epistemize the canon and of the deleterious effects of doing so. For this alone the book ought to be widely read and used by theologians as a tool for intellectual self-examination.' Paul J. Griffiths, (Blackwell Publishers, 2000). `While this book is aimed primarily at his fellow philosophers and theologians, it deserves a wider readership as well. It is elegantly written and marked by numerous memorable lines and striking turns of phrase.' Jerry L Walls, Theology Today, January 2000 `This is an unusually ambitious book ... a considerable achievement. It raises important issues, and affords many valuable insights in the course of its historical reflections.' Maurice Wiles, Journal of Theological Studies `Every issue and thinker is expounded clearly and concisely, with attention always drawn to strengths as well as weaknesses. To this non-specialist the argument was always accessible and regularly persuasive.' The Expository Times