Michael W. Holmes is a reliable source in his writing the book, The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies. He has received a BA, MA, and Ph.D. in theological studies and currently works as a professor of Biblical Studies at Bethel University. It was very easy to find out who he was and see all of his published works with a simple google search of his name. This makes me trust that he is a reliable source as he has the academic background and necessary exposure to write on the subject of ‘The Biblical Canon’. Just because Dr. Holmes is experienced in theological studies does not mean he had no biases on the matter. Especially with his current job at Bethel University, a Christian college, he may have opinions on the Bible that other doctors in theological studies do not agree with.
This book was published by Oxford University Press in 2008. This gives me more confidence in the book, as it has a reputable publisher which makes me trust in the sanctity of the information. According to the Oxford University Press website, authors must develop high-quality work and go through rigorous proposals before having their work accepted for publishing. This again proves that the work we are dealing with for class is reputable.
During this lesson, I learned a lot about reliable sources and how to tell if something is unreliable. This will be helpful both finding sources for this class, but in all my other classes as well. I learned that just because someone is a professor, or because they have received their Ph.D. does not mean they are a reliable source of information. In order to use reliable sources, I must be willing to put in the work by researching the authors I am using in my sources in order to determine what their biases might be and if their opinions are extremely against the norm. I have learned to become a more critical information gatherer in order to use the best sources possible from the most informed authors on specific subjects.