half of the second century.3 John Barton has argued that by that time the principal elements of the NT were already functioning as scripture, if not referred to as such.4 Needless to say, any discussion of canon or scripture stands on the shoulders of such contemporary figures as James Barr, Brevard S. Childs, and James A. Sanders, not to mention Bruce M. Metzger.5 Their contributions and such proposals as I have just mentioned are significant as well as fascinating to me, but I want to pursue a