The New Testament Story - Softcover

Ben Witherington III

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802827659 ISBN 13: 9780802827654

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004

Synopsis

This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable.

This informative, clearly written book introduces the New Testament in two main ways: (1) it explains where the New Testament came from, and (2) it examines the New Testament writings themselves.

Ben Witherington first tells how and why the New Testament documents were written and collected and how they came to be known as the New Testament that we have today. He then discusses the main stories and major figures in the New Testament. Witherington looks particularly at the Gospels, examining how and why their stories differ and pointing out what these ancient biographies actually say about Jesus. He also surveys the ways that these stories were told and retold, explaining how this literary development has influenced Christian theology, ethics, and social thought.

At once scholarly and accessible — it really is written in plain English — Witherington's guide to the origins and message of the New Testament is eminently suitable as a text for college and seminary students. With each chapter followed by a section called "Exercises and Questions for Study and Reflection," The New Testament Story will also prove valuable to individual readers and ideal for church classes and group Bible studies.

About this title

About the Author

Ben Witherington III is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky, and is on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University, Scotland. Witherington has twice won the Christianity Today best Biblical Studies book-of-the-year award, and his many books include We Have Seen His Glory: A Vision of Kingdom Worship and socio-rhetorical commentaries on Mark, Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philemon, Colossians, Ephesians, and 1 and 2 Thessalonians. He writes a blog at patheos.com and can also be found on the web at benwitherington.com.

From the Back Cover

This informative, clearly written book introduces the New Testament in two main ways: (1) it explains where the New Testament came from, and (2) it examines the New Testament writings themselves.

Ben Witherington first tells how and why the New Testament documents were written and collected and how they came to be known as the New Testament that we have today. He then discusses the main stories and major figures in the New Testament. Witherington looks particularly at the Gospels, examining how and why their stories differ and pointing out what these ancient biographies actually say about Jesus. He also surveys the ways that these stories were told and retold, explaining how this literary development has influenced Christian theology, ethics, and social thought.

At once scholarly and accessible -- it really is written in plain English -- Witheringtonbs guide to the origins and message of the New Testament is eminently suitable as a text for college and seminary students. With each chapter followed by a section called bExercises and Questions for Study and Reflection, b "The New Testament Story" will also prove valuable to individual readers and ideal for church classes and group Bible studies.

Reviews

Witherington (The Brother of Jesus), a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, teams up with Asbury student Hyatt to introduce the New Testament to laypeople without sucking the life out of it, covering origin, plot and main characters. The first section is a thorough, lively discourse on the cultural background of the writing and compiling of the Testament. The second section delivers insights on entire books and individual passages, from the grand themes of Paul to the similarities among various episodes in the life of Peter. Readers used to taking scripture a few verses at a time may find that such observations inspire new appreciation for the New Testament as a whole. But lay readers might trip on the stumbling block of the book's scholarly bent; discussions of academic issues—such as the literary relationship among Matthew, Mark and Luke, or John's indebtedness to Wisdom literature—risk losing all but the most dedicated. Conservative evangelical readers should also know that the book casts doubt on Peter's authorship of 1 Peter and Paul's writing of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus. Nevertheless, the depth and big-picture perspective of Witherington's work will succeed in bringing serious Bible students a fresh appreciation for the New Testament story.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802827659
• ISBN 13: 9780802827654
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 293