Jesus, the New Testament, and Christian Origins

“Panoramic in scope, sensitive in exposition, richly informed by illustrative detail: Jesus, the New Testament, and Christian Origins offers the reader a wonderful introduction both to the field of New Testament Studies and to the ancient world from which its texts sprang.”

— Paula Fredriksen

author of From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of the New Testament Images of Christ

“Jesus, the New Testament, and Christian Origins is an impressive multi-authored work that combines several discrete subdisciplines: the history of New Testament scholarship; the political, social, and literary milieux within which early Christianity originated and developed; New Testament introduction and theology; early church history; and methods of biblical interpretation. Although a collective effort, the work is clear and coherent, reflecting strong editorial leadership. Special strengths include comprehensive reviews of current scholarly thinking on major interpretative issues such as Life-of-Jesus research, the ‘new perspective’ on Paul, the ‘parting of the ways,’ and the delineation of six identifiable streams of early Christian thought. Ample bibliographies, along with numerous diagrams, tables, and boxes of supplementary material, enhance its pedagogical value. A remarkable synthesis that deserves to become a ‘pull-down’ book for biblical scholars, theological students, and pastors.”

— Carl R. Holladay

Emory University

“Classroom reader, comprehensive encyclopedia, exegetical handbook, and more, this engaging, up-to-date volume attends to issues that mattered both in antiquity and today, including Jewish-Christian relations, gender and sexuality, the Roman Empire, and the means by which texts and interpretations become authoritative. A splendid achievement.”

— Amy-Jill Levine

Vanderbilt University

“Whereas the vast majority of introductions to the New Testament are more than content simply to describe the contents and contexts of the twenty-seven documents that comprise the same, in Jesus, the New Testament, and Christian Origins, twenty-two skillful, Scandinavian scholars, led by editors Dieter Mitternacht and Anders Runesson, not only orient students to the New Testament and its bewildering world but also illustrate how these fascinating texts can continue to be interpreted and appropriated in variegated ways. The upshot of this expansive, extensive edited volume is nothing less than a valuable, accessible reference resource for those who are wanting and willing to grapple with the meaning(s) of the New Testament.”

— Todd D. Still

George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University

“Not a New Testament introduction in the usual sense, this impressive text nonetheless provides a well-paved, well-lit path into serious New Testament study. The authors cultivate historical, textual, and readerly interests, all in the service of equipping their own readers with competence and confidence for interpreting these canonical texts.”

— Joel B. Green

Fuller Theological Seminary

“This unique introduction to early Christianity provides a textual resource without parallel for academic courses concerned with a comprehensive, multidimensional treatment of the historical study of early Christianity in all its complexity.”

— David E. Aune

from the foreword