Norman Perrin – författare

'Theological students for many years to come will find this book indispensable. It summarises the teaching of theologians on the key subject of the Kingdom of God during this century, with a brief backward look at Schleiermacher and Ritschl. Concisely and fairly Dr Perrin traces the development, from Johannes Weiss and Schweitzer and the unsuccessful reaction against them, on to Dodd, Manson and Bultmann. He well illustrates the inexorable dialectic of theological thought, and the impossiblity of a mere return to older positions, however much one may react against current expositions. It is a fascinating story, enlivened by occasional tart observations.' (Church Times)'Dr Perrin's book gives the impression that real progress has been made in the century of scholarship it surveys, and ends with a discussion of the questions which remain outstanding for future research, including some radical questions about the meaning and intention of biblical eschatology and its relation to the course of history and to the purposes of God.' (Expository Times)'As well as being a valuable treatment of the subject in its own right, this volume is an important contribution to the continuing debate about christology. which has an obvious relation to the kingdom theology of the gospels.' (The Churchman)

'Many Christians who find themselves affirming the reality of the resurrection gladly and meaningfully every Easter morning may find themselves in a more reflective moment not knowing quite what to make of the resurrection stories in the gospels.' This is the audience for which Professor Perrin has written. He discusses the narratives in the first three gospels, not so much asking which of them is historically correct, as, what is Mark trying to say to us by deliberately omitting appearance stories, or Matthew by locating the major appearance in Galilee, or Luke by limiting appearances to the Jerusalem area ? These are the questions that matter because they are questions about the motivations and convictions of the evangelists themselves, and unless they are understood and thought about, it will prove impossible to see what the evangelists are really trying to say.