This clearly written introduction to the Gospels and Acts offers a student-friendly approach that is rooted in up-to-date scholarship and actual classroom experience. Particularly aimed at students of theology,
Exploring the New Testament: A Guide to the Gospels & Acts introduces
- Jewish and Roman background
- literary genres and forms
- conventional as well as new approaches to the study of the Gospels and Acts
- debated issues such as authorship, date and setting
- the quest for the historical Jesus
- content and major themes of each of the Gospels and Acts
- the intersection of New Testament criticism with contemporary issues of faith and culture
Written by seasoned New Testament teachers David Wenham and Steve Walton,
Exploring the New Testament: A Guide to the Gospels & Acts is especially suited for introductory courses that focus on Jesus and the Gospels or the Gospels and Acts. It is a comprehensive package with numerous features to facilitate learning, like
- clearly stated goals for each chapter
- "What Do You Think" boxes posing issues to consider
- "Digging Deeper" boxes exploring select topics in greater detail
- boxed summaries highlighting essential facts
- practical study aids, including how to use a Gospel synopsis and how to exegete a Gospel text
- charts visually organizing complex material such as chronologies and genealogies
- maps giving quick geographical and spatial orientation to events
- topics for essays or research papers suggested for each chapter
- "Further Reading" giving annotated bibliographies for each chapter, classified by introductory or intermediate levels
- pointers to relevant articles in IVP's Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, facilitating parallel use of this valuable reference tool
- quotations from relevant ancient texts such as Josephus
- double-column formatting for easy reading
- glossary of terms to aid beginning students
- subject and Scripture indexes for quick access to topics
David Wenham (Ph.D., Manchester) is tutor in New Testament at Trinity College, Bristol, having previously spent many years at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, where he served as dean and vice principal. He is the author of Paul: Follower of Jesus or Founder of Christianity? and coauthor (with Steve Walton) of Exploring the New Testament: A Guide to the Gospels and Acts.
Steve Walton is senior lecturer in Greek and New Testament studies and director of research at London School of Theology. He previously taught New Testament at St. John's College, Nottingham, and Bedford College. An ordained Anglican minister, he has worked in parish ministry in Merseyside and with the Church Pastoral Aid Society as their Vocation and Ministry Adviser. He is the author of Leadership and Lifestyle (Cambridge University Press, 2000), a major study of Paul's Miletus speech and 1 Thessalonians and A Call to Live: Vocation for Everyone (SPCK/Triangle, 1994). Walton also chairs the Acts seminar of the British New Testament Conference and is a member of the steering group of the Book of Acts Section of the Society of Biblical Literature.
