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More About This Textbook
Overview
Reading the New Testament offers an exciting and contemporary approach to New Testament Studies, which have changed dramatically in the past thirty years. James G. Crossley combines an introduction to traditional methods of source, form and social-scientific criticism with postcolonial, gender and political frameworks. He discusses reception history, covering areas such as popular culture, party politics, historical theology and the politics of contemporary scholarship. He discusses Paul and Christian origins in continental philosophy, as well as offering a more traditional analysis of Paul's theology and the quest for the historical Jesus. A selection of readings from contemporary scholarship is provided in the final chapter of the book.
Reading the New Testament has been carefully designed to help students think critically and in wide-ranging ways about the texts of the New Testament and will prove a valuable resource for everyone engaged in serious study of the Bible.
Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
'This is an outstanding introduction to the New Testament, and especially to the many varied ways in which it is being interpreted in contemporary scholarship. It is the only introduction known to me which gives a comprehensive introduction to contemporary New Testament scholarship, and it does so with the exemplary clarity needed by elementary students. This also reflects the author’s exceptional learning.' – Maurice Casey, University of Nottingham, UK'This book is essential reading for students and scholars alike, not only within biblical studies but also in those several fields like philosophy, critical theory, and psychoanalysis which have become aware once more that there is no critique of Western culture without a reworking of biblical traditions and their place in this legacy.
James Crossley has emerged as one of the most brilliant and productive of a new generation of biblical scholars able to articulate the profound significance of understanding biblical traditions for contemporary political and cultural analysis. Those who learn to read the New Testament with Crossley will discover not only the original culture within which the New Testament writings were written but also contemporary politico-cultural contexts from which new and often explosive interpretations continue to emerge.
Crossley’s book is a call for contextually engaged reading and creative rethinking of biblical texts and their ongoing life in a post-secular culture. There are many good introductions to the New Testament on the market today, but Crossley’s is the only one that is absolutely essential.' – Ward Blanton, University of Glasgow, UK
Product Details
Related Subjects
Meet the Author
James Crossley is Senior Lecturer in New Testament Studies at the University of Sheffield. His research interests include the New Testament and biblical scholarship in historical, cultural and political contexts. His publications include Jesus in an Age of Terror (Equinox, 2008).
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements xi
1 Introduction: How to Read the New Testament 1
What is 'The New Testament'? 2
Part 1 History 7
2 Reading Historical Documents Historically: From Historical Criticisms to Literary Criticisms and Back Again 9
What is History? 9
Storytelling and Haggadah 12
Historical Approaches and the New Testament I: Source Criticism 15
Historical Approaches and the New Testament II: Form Criticism, Redaction Criticism and Literary Criticism 20
Historical Approaches and the New Testament III: Social Scientific Criticism 25
Summary 31
Key Words 31
Further Reading 32
3 Contemporary Historical Approaches to the New Testament: Identity and Difference 33
Identity and Difference 33
Identity, Networks and Christian Origins 36
Postcolonial Criticism 38
1 Peter and Revelation in Postcolonial Contexts 40
Summary 43
Key Words 44
Further Reading 44
4 Applying Methods Old and New 45
Mark 6.17-29: Form and Context 45
Storytelling 48
Telling Stories about Men and Women 49
Historical and Literary Locations: from Precise Datings to Postcolonial Mimicry 51
Summary 54
Key Words 54
Further Reading 55
5 The Quest for the Historical Jesus 56
The Criteria of 'Dissimilarity' and 'Embarrassment' 56
The Criterion of Historical Plausibility 59
The Criterion of Multiple Attestation 63
The Criterion of Multiple Criteria 63
The Resurrection and the Supernatural 67
Summary 70
Key Words 70
Further Reading 71
Part 2 Revolutionary Origins of Christian Beliefs? 73
6 The New Testament and the Origins of Major Christian Theological Ideas 75
Christology, the New Testament and the Origins of Christianity 75
Why Did Christology Happen? 81
Summary 84
Key Words 84
Further Reading 85
7 Paul, the Law, Faith and Salvation: Old Perspectives, New Perspectives, Different Perspectives 86
Perspectives on Paul 86
Was Paul consistent? 88
Origins of Paul's Theology: Jesus? 91
Social Origins of Paul's Theology 93
Summary 96
Key Words 97
Further Reading 97
8 Paul's Revolution for Our Times? Paul and Continental Philosophy 99
Jacob Taubes 99
Alain Badiou and Slavoj Zizek 103
Paul among the Marxists 106
Paul the Totalitarian? 109
Summary 113
Key Words 113
Further Reading 113
Part 3 Reception 115
9 What is 'Reception History'? 117
Reception History and Historical Theology 118
Reception History: An Aid to 'Correct Interpretation'? 119
Reception History: Anything Goes? 122
A Fear of Ancient History? 128
Summary 129
Key Words 130
Further Reading 130
10 Methods and Questions in Reception History 131
Reception History and Historical Criticism 132
Reception History: Historical Change and Cultural Contexts 133
Reception History: National and International Contexts 136
Reception History and Individual Influence 139
The 'Effects' of New Testament Texts and New Testament Narratives 141
Summary 148
Key Words 148
Further Reading 148
11 How to Read New Testament Scholarship 150
New Testament Scholarship and the 'Great Man' View of History 150
Race, Ethnicity and Judaism in New Testament Scholarship 153
'The Arab World' in New Testament Scholarship 157
Are New Testament Scholars a Threat to Anyone? 159
Final Remarks 161
Summary 162
Key Words 162
Further Reading 163
Part 4 Extracts from New Testament Scholarship 165
12 Scholars Reading the New Testament 167
Justin Meggitt on Living Standards in the Ancient World 167
Stephen Moore on Postcolonialism and the Book of Revelation 169
Markus Bockmuehl on Reception/Effective History 171
Shawn Kelley on Rudolf Bultmann and Reading Scholarship in Context 173
Notes 176
Index 183