Foundations in New Testament Criticism – serie

A study of the apostle to the Gentiles, combining exceptional scholarship with an interpretation of Paul's theology in the light of his Jewish background.Since its first publication in German in 1959, Paul has been hailed as a major study of the apostle to the Gentiles, combining exceptional scholarship with an unusual approach. Schoeps interprets Paul's theology in the light of his Jewish background, which coloured and conditioned his Christological teaching. Paul's conception of Jesus differs from that of the Synoptics: what and how extensive the difference is and whence it is derived are among the questions Schoeps examines.After surveying major problems in Pauline research, the Author relates the apostle to primitive Christianity, discussing his eschatology and his teachings on salvation, the law, and saving history. The final chapter shows that Paul's distinctive doctrines result from two converging factors: that Paul never saw Jesus in the flesh, and the influence of Jewish teaching. The consequence was his concern with the resurrected Saviour of the world, the pre-existent and eternal Son of God. Schoeps shows that Paul betrayed a fundamental misconception of the law and the covenantal agreement between God and his chosen people. The result is a thought-provoking, and somewhat startling, study of the first, the greatest, and the most difficult of all Christian theologians.

Combining depth and readability, Leenhardt's commentary on St Paul's Epistle to the Romans has won a distinguished place in New Testament scholarship.Amongst all the commentaries on St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, Leenhardt's has won a distinguished place. First published in 1957, his analysis is marked by freshness and lucidity combined with a firm grasp of the inner essentials of the Epistle. The result is both scholarly and readable.Leenhardt brings a fresh assessment of righteousness, not as an intrinsic attribute of God but as a description of God's relationship with humanity, and traces this back to God's saving acts within the covenant relationship of the Old Testament. Through careful attention to the original Greek, he also reinterprets the central Jew-Gentile dichotomy that characterises much of the previous scholarship on Romans. Throughout, his bold overarching thesis is combined with an even-handed approach free of oversimplification. The result is a work that has become an enduring voice in Pauline studies.

Combining depth and readability, Leenhardt's commentary on St Paul's Epistle to the Romans has won a distinguished place in New Testament scholarship.Amongst all the commentaries on St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, Leenhardt's has won a distinguished place. First published in 1957, his analysis is marked by freshness and lucidity combined with a firm grasp of the inner essentials of the Epistle. The result is both scholarly and readable.Leenhardt brings a fresh assessment of righteousness, not as an intrinsic attribute of God but as a description of God's relationship with humanity, and traces this back to God's saving acts within the covenant relationship of the Old Testament. Through careful attention to the original Greek, he also reinterprets the central Jew-Gentile dichotomy that characterises much of the previous scholarship on Romans. Throughout, his bold overarching thesis is combined with an even-handed approach free of oversimplification. The result is a work that has become an enduring voice in Pauline studies.

A biblical-theological appreciation of Revelation using the tools of narrative criticism, showing how the complex themes fit into a meaningful whole.The Book of Revelation can be read in various ways. Where interpretation opts not to venture beyond Revelation or approach the book as a forecast of end-time events, it typically favours either going behind the text, in search­­­ of a socio-historical context of origin to which it might refer, or else standing in front of the text and investigating the book's reception history, or its present relevance and impact. Comparatively little interpretative work has been undertaken inside the text, exploring the mechanics of how Revelation 'works', still less how its complex parts might fit together into a meaningful whole. Gordon Campbell considers Revelation to be a coherent narrative composition that draws its hearer or reader into its text-world. In Reading Revelation: A Thematic Approach, Campbell gives an innovative account of Revelation's sophisticated thematic content. Mindful of Revelation's narrative verve, or its architecture en mouvement (as Jacques Ellul once put it), Campbell plots a series of thematic trajectories through the book. On this reading, parody and parallelism fundamentally shape the whole narrative. As a first-ever integrated account of Revelation's macro-themes, Reading Revelation makes an important contribution to Revelation scholarship. In its light, the book may justifiably be seen as the 'crowning achievement' of the Scriptures.

An erudite introduction to relevance theory and its application to biblical criticism, illustrated through an examination of various New Testament texts.In A Relevant Way to Read, Margaret G. Sim draws on her in-depth knowledge of New Testament Greek to forge a new exegesis of the Gospels and Paul's letters. Locating her studies in the linguistic concept of relevance theory, which contends that all our utterances are laden with crucial yet invisible context, Sim embarks on a journey through some of the New Testament's most troubling verses. Here she recovers some of that lost information with a meticulous analysis that should enlighten both the experienced biblical scholar and the novice.Whether discussing Paul's masterful use of irony to shame the Corinthians, or introducing the ground-breaking ideas behind relevance theory into a whole new field of study, Sim demonstrates her vast learning and experience while putting her complex subject into plain words for the developing student.

The seminal text addressing the presentation of Jesus’ self-perception in the Gospel of Mark.William Wrede was among the first to recognise the creative contribution of the Gospel writers. His work thus laid the foundation for the work of the Form Critics, Redaction Critics and Literary Critics whose scholarship dominated New Testament studies during the twentieth century. This highly influential work was throughout this period the departure point for all studies in the Gospel of Mark and in the literary methods of the evangelists. It remains highly relevant for its ground-breaking approach to the classically complicated question of whether Jesus saw himself and represented himself as the Messiah.

The classic introduction to Form Criticism in the study of the New Testament.First published in 1919, From Tradition to Gospel introduced and established Form Criticism in New Testament scholarship, and it remains the classic description of the field. Dibelius outlines the twofold object of Form Criticism, firstly to explain the origin of the tradition about Jesus, and secondly to uncover with what objective the earliest Churches learnt, recounted and passed on the stories and sayings of Jesus, which gradually developed into the Gospel narratives. In doing so, he begins to answer questions as to the nature and trustworthiness of our knowledge of Jesus. As new sources come to light and new critical techniques are developed, the original investigation into the Gospels along Form-Critical lines is as relevant as ever.

Uncovering hidden meaning and authorial craft in the Gospel of Luke.How did the author of the Gospel of Luke intend it to be read? In The Spiral Gospel, Rob James shows that the assumptions many modern readers bring to the text - that it claims to be historically factual, or merely regurgitates existing stories - are not those of antiquity. Building on the central insight that it was written for a community who would have used it as their pre-eminent text, James argues convincingly for a continuous, cyclical reading of Luke's narrative.The evidence for this view, and also its consequences, can be seen in the gospel's intratextuality. Context is given at the end of the gospel that informs the beginning, and there are countless other intratextual elements throughout the text that are most readily noticeable on a second or subsequent reading. This deliberate, creative interweaving on the author's part opens up new levels of appreciation and faith for those who read in the way Luke's first audience received his work.

For the Christian faith, questions relating to God can essentially be viewed as centred on the person of Jesus Christ. In The New Testament Concept of Atonement, H.D. McDonald uses this key insight to examine mankind's redemption, focussing on Christ's atoning act as crucial in shaping God's relation to humanity and the world. McDonald analyses elements which hold vital meanings and messages for the Christian doctrine of salvation. In the first six chapters he investigates single terms within the New Testament, such as 'tree' or 'blood' whose metonymical association with Christ's redeeming act has often become obscured over time. Then, various biblical interpretations of the Calvary event are studied. In the final section, he analyses the importance of the findings in previous chapters and their implications for Christology. Detailed research underpins the text, in the tradition of Reformed biblical scholarship, with care taken to suggest further reading and trace sources.

First published in 1941, The Historic Mission of Jesus is one of the landmark texts on the life of Jesus, his relation to the Father and his earthly task. Counter to the prevailing scepticism of the reliability of the Synoptic sources chronicling Jesus' life, Cadoux presents a sweeping yet detailed illustration of the evidence, while advancing theories for its interpretation that would go on to be significant facets of New-Testament study.While not going to the same lengths as Albert Schweitzer, Cadoux nevertheless advances a thoroughly eschatological interpretation of Jesus' self-perception. He thus emphasises the nation-wide character of his appeal, his concern for the redemption of the Gentiles through Israel's fulfilment of the universalistic aspirations of the Old Testament, his eager endeavour to avert a military clash between the Jews and the Roman Empire, and his early expectation of being accepted and loyally followed by his fellow-countrymen as a whole. The result is a prime early example of the revival of interest in the historical Jesus on theological grounds.

First published in 1941, The Historic Mission of Jesus is one of the landmark texts on the life of Jesus, his relation to the Father and his earthly task. Counter to the prevailing scepticism of the reliability of the Synoptic sources chronicling Jesus' life, Cadoux presents a sweeping yet detailed illustration of the evidence, while advancing theories for its interpretation that would go on to be significant facets of New-Testament study.While not going to the same lengths as Albert Schweitzer, Cadoux nevertheless advances a thoroughly eschatological interpretation of Jesus' self-perception. He thus emphasises the nation-wide character of his appeal, his concern for the redemption of the Gentiles through Israel's fulfilment of the universalistic aspirations of the Old Testament, his eager endeavour to avert a military clash between the Jews and the Roman Empire, and his early expectation of being accepted and loyally followed by his fellow-countrymen as a whole. The result is a prime early example of the revival of interest in the historical Jesus on theological grounds.

The Titles of Jesus in Christology was recognised as a major contribution to Christological study when it was first published in German in 1963. Its translation into English a few years later cemented this status. Hahn undertakes a massive and detailed examination of the various traditions that led to the use of names for Jesus that we now recognise as characteristic of the very early Church. Moreover, he carefully distinguishes between the different Christological conceptions present in these differing branches of primitive Christianity, and embodied in the terms they produced. His analysis and categories have been followed by many later scholars, who built on his detailed study of the peculiarities of the different titles given to Jesus by the different communities that followed him.

The Titles of Jesus in Christology was recognised as a major contribution to Christological study when it was first published in German in 1963. Its translation into English a few years later cemented this status. Hahn undertakes a massive and detailed examination of the various traditions that led to the use of names for Jesus that we now recognise as characteristic of the very early Church. Moreover, he carefully distinguishes between the different Christological conceptions present in these differing branches of primitive Christianity, and embodied in the terms they produced. His analysis and categories have been followed by many later scholars, who built on his detailed study of the peculiarities of the different titles given to Jesus by the different communities that followed him.

A fascinating contribution to biblical theology, showing the figure of Jesus in terms of the concepts of Messiah and kingship developed in the Old Testament.A fascinating glimpse into the debate in Scandinavia concerning a number of inter-related Biblical themes focused on the concept of the Messiah, a debate associated with scholars such as Mowinckel, Pedersen, Widengren, and Bentzen himself.The argument traces the development of the Messianic figure from its Old Testament roots, starting with the Messiah of many of the Psalms, which represents a demythologised form of the Oriental conception of kingship, through the eschatologised Messiah of the prophetic thought of Isaiah and Micah, and then to the prophet-Messiah of Second Isaiah, which although still a present and entirely human figure, embodies the insight that the saviour of Israel must suffer and be cast in the rôle of a “Moses Redivivus” as leader of a new Exodus. The Son of Man of Daniel 7 carries this eschatologising process even further, until the Christology of the New Testament emerges as a creative synthesis of these Old Testament types. In this synthesis, Jesus is a new Adam, the Messiah present in the flesh and present still in His body the Church, the suffering Prophet playing the part of the new Moses and the once and future Divine King.Bentzen argues that ultimately this figure of Christ the Messiah transcends not only the Old Testament types on which it is based, but also the subsequent historical development of the Christian Messianic tradition.

What is the nature of Christian unity? Is it Sacramental, Organic, Federal, Spiritual? These are questions that demand careful examination when different Christian traditions are drawing closer to one another in a common desire to heal the divisions that hinder the witness of the Church to the world. In any attempt to deal with these questions, full weight must be given to the evidence of the New Testament itself: what kind of unity does it reveal?In New Testament Pattern, Jean-Louis Leuba reveals a two-fold framework of unity in the New Testament. One strand - in its witness to Christ, to the Apostles and to the Church - emphasises the institutional, traditional and particular. The other strand emphasises the personal, dynamic and universal. Yet the two strands are actually one. Their unity is more comprehensive, more creative, than any undifferentiated unity could be, with important implications for ecumenism and broader scriptural study.

For the Christian faith, questions relating to God can essentially be viewed as centred on the person of Jesus Christ. In The New Testament Concept of Atonement, H.D. McDonald uses this key insight to examine mankind's redemption, focussing on Christ's atoning act as crucial in shaping God's relation to humanity and the world. McDonald analyses elements which hold vital meanings and messages for the Christian doctrine of salvation. In the first six chapters he investigates single terms within the New Testament, such as 'tree' or 'blood' whose metonymical association with Christ's redeeming act has often become obscured over time. Then, various biblical interpretations of the Calvary event are studied. In the final section, he analyses the importance of the findings in previous chapters and their implications for Christology. Detailed research underpins the text, in the tradition of Reformed biblical scholarship, with care taken to suggest further reading and trace sources.

A classic guide to New Testament theology, showing that the multiple depictions of Jesus conceal an underlying unity.Is it possible to find in the New Testament a single coherent theology? In Jesus Through Many Eyes, Stephen Neill makes the case convincingly for a unified faith underlying the many traditions and interpretations of Jesus within scripture, which can be summed up in the words Resurrection-Spirit-Reconciliation. First published in 1976, his exposition remains relevant to general readers and specialist scholars alike. Neill provides detailed explanations of more obscure concepts and references, along with comprehensive notes and bibliographies to each chapter, making this an ideal introductory textbook. Meanwhile, those familiar with his arguments will benefit from new insights and interpretations.