De-Introducing the New Testament: Texts, Worlds, Methods, Stories

In De-Introducing the New Testament, the authors argue for a renewed commitment to the defamiliarizing power of New Testament studies and a reclaiming of the discipline as one that exemplifies the best practices of the humanities.

• A new approach that asks us to ‘defamiliarize’ what we think we know about the New Testament, articulating themes and questions about its study that encourage further reflection and engagement
• Looks behind the traditional ways in which the NT is “introduced” to critically engage the conceptual framework of the field as a whole
• Provides a critical intervention into several methodological impasses in contemporary NT scholarship
• Offers an appraisal of the relationship between economics and culture in the production of NT scholarship
• Written in a style that is clear and concise, ideal for student readership

Davina C. Lopez is the author of Apostle to the Conquered: Reimagining Paul's Mission (2008).

Todd Penner is the author of Contextualizing Gender in Early Christian Discourse (with Caroline Vander Stichele, 2009) and In Praise of Christian Origins: Stephen and the Hellenists in Lukan Apologetic Historiography (2004).

Both Lopez and Penner conducted research for this book as scholars-in-residence at the Burke Library of Union Theological Seminary/Columbia University between 2010 and 2011. In addition, they are both Senior Editors for the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Gender Studies (2014) and have co-authored numerous essays together related to method and its consequence for interpretation in the study of the New Testament.