Eerdmans Gospel Studies Collection (19 vols.)
Overview
The Eerdmans Gospel Studies Collection brings together 19 volumes examining the accounts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. With these texts, readers can learn about Jesus’ use of parables, analyze the literary features of the canonical Gospels, and examine the Gospel of Thomas. This collection also includes an introduction to the Synoptic Gospels, studies on the named women of the Gospels, and comprehensive guides to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These thorough studies are ideal for New Testament scholars and students, and anyone interested in furthering their study of the Bible.
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- 19 studies on the Gospels
- In-depth analysis of the canonical Gospels
- Works by leading New Testament scholars
- Title: Eerdmans Gospel Studies Collection
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Volumes: 19
- Pages: 7,729
Partially includedThe Logos Bible Software edition of the Eerdmans Gospel Studies Collection is designed to enhance your study and understanding of the Gospels. Scripture passages link directly to your English translations and to the original language texts, and important theological concepts link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. In addition, you can perform powerful searches by topic to find what other authors, scholars, and theologians have to say about the Synoptic Gospels, reading the Gospels as eyewitness testimony, and Jesus’ parables.
This volume is a combined edition of Kenneth Bailey’s intensive studies of the parables in the Gospel of Luke, Poet and Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes.
Bailey begins by surveying the development of allegorical, historical-eschatological, aesthetic, and existential methods of interpretation. Bailey combines an examination of the poetic structures of the parables with information about the cultural contexts in which the parables were told. Through its combination of literary and cultural analyses, Bailey’s study makes a number of profound advances in parabolic interpretation.
Bailey combines his rich personal experience of peasant life in and around the Holy Land with a penetrating theological and pastoral approach. . . . An informative and stimulating resource.
—Markus Barth, former professor of New Testament studies, University of Basel
Kenneth E. Bailey is Canon Theologian of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and research professor emeritus of New Testament at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute, Jerusalem.
Gospel Women: Studies of the Named Women in the Gospels offers fresh perspectives on the women who appear of in the Gospels. Richard Bauckham provides an in-depth study of both the individual women who appear in the Gospels and the specific passages in which they appear. This unique approach reveals that there is much more to be known about the women than previous studies have assumed. Employing historical and literary readings of the biblical texts, Bauckham successfully captures the uniqueness of each woman he studies.
Richard Bauckham . . . has produced an unusual book in which his great learning is clearly on display. Not only is Bauckham very well-versed in the New Testament, but he demonstrates an encyclopedic knowledge of both early Judaism and early Christianity. . . . Heartily recommended to all serious students of the Gospels.
—Concordia Journal
The texts that deal with women in the New Testament have been worked over so often it might seem that there is nothing left to say. In this masterful study Richard Bauckham easily proves this is not the case. Bauckham’s acquaintance with feminist criticism and other approaches to these texts, his careful attention to the details of the narratives, and his fresh historical research bring an unparalleled depth to his work.
—Marianne Meye Thompson, George Eldon Ladd Professor of New Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary
Richard Bauckham is well known for his encyclopedic knowledge of early Judaism and its offshoot, early Jewish Christianity. Here he applies that depth of knowledge to a specific important subject—the named women in the Gospels. The results are not only illuminating but exciting. This is an invaluable resource on the subject. Highly recommended!
—Ben Witherington III, professor of New Testament interpretation, Asbury Theological Seminary
This book is an interesting combination of theology, feminist thinking, and history. Richard Bauckham’s erudition in the ancient Christian sources within the New Testament and without is impressive. His use of information derived from completely different disciplines as far afield as epigraphy and Targum is instructive and enlightening. This is not just another book on New Testament women. It is essential to all who are interested in women, history, ancient Judaism, and ancient Christianity.
—Tal Ilan, professor of Jewish Studies, Freie University
Bauckham has written an outstanding scholarly study of the women of the Christian Scriptures . . . At times, his speculations and findings, as in the substantial middle section on the Apostle Joanna, are nothing less than astonishing. A fine and perceptive book for scholars and lay readers alike; highly recommended.
—Library Journal
Richard Bauckham is professor emeritus of New Testament studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and senior scholar at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. A fellow of both the British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, he has also written Bible and Mission: Christian Witness in a Postmodern World.
In Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony, Richard Bauckham argues that the four Gospels are closely based on the eyewitness testimony of those who personally knew Jesus. Drawing on internal literary evidence, the use of personal names in first-century Jewish Palestine, and cognitive psychology, Bauckham challenges the prevailing assumption that the accounts of Jesus circulated as “anonymous community traditions.” Instead, he asserts that they were transmitted in the names of the original eyewitnesses.
Bauckham’s proposal is both path-breaking and a tour de force.
—First Things
As in all of his works, Bauckham has ransacked obscure secondary literature for little-known but immensely helpful information. He has thought creatively about time-worn problems and uncovered possible interpretations of subtle features of ancient testimony—both in the Gospels and about them—with the shrewdness of a good detective.
—Trinity Journal
Bauckham has delivered a remarkable and insightful volume that is sure to offer a much-needed challenge to the status quo in modern gospel studies.
—Westminster Theological Journal
Richard Bauckham is professor emeritus of New Testament studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and senior scholar at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. A fellow of both the British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, he has also written Bible and Mission: Christian Witness in a Postmodern World.
In recent years, the disciplines of biblical studies and systematic theology have grown apart and largely lost the means of effective communication with one another. Due to its profound influence on the development of Christian theology, John’s Gospel is an ideal base for rekindling dialogue between biblical studies and systematic theology. The essays here consider this Gospel from many angles, addressing a number of key issues that arise from a theological discussion of this text: John’s dualism in our pluralist context, historicity and testimony, the treatment of Judaism, Christology, and more.
Contributors
Richard Bauckham is professor emeritus of New Testament studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and senior scholar at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. A fellow of both the British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, he has also written Bible and Mission: Christian Witness in a Postmodern World.
Carl Mosser is assistant professor of biblical studies at Eastern University, St. Davids, Pennsylvania.
In this challenging book, rising New Testament scholar Simon Gathercole contradicts a commonly held view among biblical scholars—that the Gospel of John is the only Gospel to give evidence for Jesus’ heavenly identity and preexistence. The Preexistent Son demonstrates that Matthew, Mark, and Luke were also well aware that the Son of God existed with the Father prior to his earthly ministry. Gathercole supports his argument by considering the “I have come” sayings of Jesus and strikingly similar angelic sayings discovered in Second Temple and Rabbinic literature. Further, he considers related topics such as Wisdom Christology and the titles applied to Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels.
The Preexistent Son investigates and sheds considerable light on an important but neglected theme. Simon Gathercole, who has emerged in recent years as a major player in New Testament scholarship, demonstrates mastery of the relevant primary and secondary literature. I am impressed by the way he sifts through a great deal of complicated material and presents it in a clear and compelling way. Gathercole has thrown down the gauntlet . . . I recommend this book enthusiastically.
—Craig A. Evans, Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Acadia Divinity College
Gathercole makes a strong case with scrupulous attention to the evidence and the views of others. The ramifications of this timely study are numerous and powerful.
—Larry W. Hurtado, emeritus professor of New Testament language, literature, and theology, University of Edinburgh
Gathercole’s monograph is a model of cogent argumentation . . . Provides sufficient evidence to open the question of preexistence in the Christologies of the Synoptic Gospels anew.
—Review of Biblical Literature
This is an academic study of the highest caliber . . . it is also an excellent example of how good scholarship can support rather than undermine commitment to the truth of Scripture.
—The Covenant Witness
Gathercole’s study is both thoroughly exegetical and theologically sensitive . . . This book is as important for systematic theology as for biblical studies.
—J. Louis Martyn, Edward Robinson Professor Emeritus of Biblical Theology, Union Theological Seminary
Simon J. Gathercole is lecturer for the faculty of divinity at the University of Cambridge. His other works include Heaven on Earth and Divine and Human Agency in Paul and His Cultural Environment
The Gospel of Thomas—found in 1945—has been described by Professor Bart D. Ehrman as “without question the most significant Christian book discovered in modern times.” Often Thomas is seen as a special independent witness to the earliest phase of Christianity and as evidence for the view that this earliest phase was a dynamic time of great variety and diversity.
In contrast, Mark Goodacre makes the case that, instead of being an early, independent source, Thomas actually draws on the Synoptic Gospels as source material—not to provide a clear narrative, but to assemble an enigmatic collection of sayings to affect the reader. Goodacre supports his argument with illuminating analyses and careful comparisons of Thomas with Matthew and Luke.
Meticulous, adroit, and closely reasoned, this work will immediately become the definitive presentation of the case that Thomas draws on the Synoptics. Those who take the contrary position truly have their work cut out for them.
—Dale C. Allison Jr., Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament Studies, Princeton Theological Seminary
Written with both verve and calm intelligence, this book is head and shoulders above most of the rest of scholarship on Thomas and the Synoptics. It grapples skilfully with both the nitty-gritty of the Greek and Coptic texts and the various scholarly minefields. Read it!
—Simon Gathercole, Director of Studies, Theology & Religious Studies, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University
Mark Goodacre offers a bold and distinctive approach to the ongoing debate about the relationship between the Gospel of Thomas and the Synoptic Gospels. Rightly rejecting the tendency to label and thereby dismiss opposing views as either ‘liberal’ or ‘conservative,’ he focuses instead on the textual evidence on which any responsible historical conclusion must be reached.
—Andrew Gregory, Chaplain and Fellow, University College, Oxford
This book is quietly revolutionary, turning on its head 60 years of scholarship . . . Those on both sides of the divide have much to learn from Goodacre’s meticulous scholarship.
—Nicola Denzey Lewis, visiting associate professor of religious studies, Brown University
With firm and vigorous (but never shrill) argumentation, incisive critique of other views, and full and clearheaded handling of the data, Mark Goodacre mounts a cogent, persuasive case that the Gospel of Thomas reflects acquaintance with the Synoptic Gospels. This is not a rehash of earlier arguments but a creative treatment that introduces new analysis of this important early Christian text.
—Larry W. Hurtado, emeritus professor of New Testament language, literature, and theology, University of Edinburgh
Mark Goodacre is associate professor in New Testament at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. His other books include The Case Against Q: Studies in Markan Priority and the Synoptic Problem.
This accessible work explores the major theological dimensions of John’s Gospel, including God, the world and its people, Jesus, the crucifixion and resurrection, the Spirit, faith, and discipleship. Craig Koester’s Word of Life is notable for its comprehensive treatment of themes and its close, careful focus on the narrative of the biblical text.
Reading The Word of Life is like taking a guided tour through the intriguing world of John’s theology, a tour led by one of the world’s most able and experienced Johannine scholars. Craig Koester integrates the history of interpretation with thorough and responsible theological analyses of the text of the Gospel in ways that constantly enrich the reader.
—Jan Van der Watt, chair in New Testament and Source texts of early Christianity, Radboud University
Craig R. Koester is professor and Asher O. and Carrie Nasby Chair of New Testament at Luther Seminary in St Paul, Minnesota. He received his PhD in New Testament from Union Theological Seminary in New York.
In Studies in Matthew, one of the world’s foremost New Testament scholars, Ulrich Luz, gathers 18 penetrating studies of Matthew’s Gospel, available here in English for the first time. Luz’s groundbreaking work ranges widely over the critical issues of Matthean studies, including the narrative structure and sources of the Gospel and its presentation of such themes as Christology, discipleship, miracles, and Israel.
Ulrich Luz is professor of New Testament at the University of Bern in Switzerland. His published works in English include Jesus in Two Perspectives: A Jewish-Christian Dialogue, Matthew 1–7, Matthew in History: Interpretation, Influence and Effects, and The Theology of the Gospel of Matthew.
This collection of essays from the 2005 Tyndale Fellowship conference covers topics pertinent to the entire first Gospel, including Matthew’s sources, the role of Jerusalem, the problem of anti-Semitism, Matthew’s portrayal of salvation history, and more.
Contributors
- Armin D. Baum
- Stephanie L. Black
- Jeannine K. Brown
- Roland Deines
- Mervyn Eloff
- R. T. France
- Daniel M. Gurtner
- Donald A. Hagner
- James M. Hamilton Jr.
- David Instone-Brewer
- John Nolland
- David Wenham
Matthean scholars will want to engage the various voices in this volume. Several offer fresh extrinsic approaches, including concrete analogies with other ancient Jewish sources. Others engage earlier debates on exegetical cruxes, address intertextuality with the Hebrew Bible, and especially advance cases relevant to current discussions on Matthew’s relationship with contemporary Judaism.
—Craig S. Keener, professor of New Testament, Asbury Theological Seminary
John Nolland is academic dean and lecturer in New Testament studies at Trinity College, Bristol, England. An ordained minister of the Church of England, he is also the author of the three-volume Word Biblical Commentary on the Gospel of Luke.
Daniel M. Gurtner is assistant professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota. His previous work includes The Torn Veil: Matthew’s Exposition of the Death of Jesus.
Stories with Intent offers pastors and students an accessible and comprehensive guide to Jesus’ parables. Klyne Snodgrass explores in vivid detail the context in which these stories were told, the purpose they had in Jesus’ message, and the ways they have been interpreted by the church and modern scholarship. While holding a consciously evangelical approach, Snodgrass deals throughout with a broad spectrum of opinions and interpretations.
This book is a simply stunning achievement. Klyne Snodgrass discusses Jesus’ parables with theological sensitivity, with careful attention to comparable Jewish and Greco-Roman traditions, and in dialogue with the mountain of secondary literature. Scholar and student alike will appreciate its admirable clarity and its numerous fresh suggestions. This wide-ranging book has no rival: it will be the book on the parables for the next decade and beyond.
—Graham Stanton, Lady Margaret’s Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge
Convinced that the parables are the most certain avenue for access to Jesus’ teaching, Klyne Snodgrass analyzes all of them with skill, care, and imagination. As a seasoned teacher and scholar, he outlines steps for the interpreter to follow, provides historical and cultural background materials, and engages the parables theologically. No one has located the parables as clearly and forcefully within the prophetic tradition of Israel, thereby providing a new approach to their vitality.
—Arland J. Hultgren, professor emeritus and former Asher O. and Carrie Nasby Chair of New Testament, Luther Seminary
I have been looking for a book like this on the parables all my career. I celebrate its appearance.
—Charles H. Talbert, distinguished professor of religion, Baylor University
Here in one volume is the latest and best interpretation of the parables of Jesus. This book is sure to be received as a fine resource for engaging proclamation of the parables.
—John Painter, professor of theology, St. Mark’s School of Theology, Charles Sturt University
Stories with Intent is a very helpful and inspiring book, written for pastors and scholars, for students of the Bible, and for laypeople interested in the teaching of Jesus. It contains an abundance of well-arranged valuable information about the history of research and the Old Testament, Jewish, Greco-Roman, and social backgrounds of the parables, at the same time leading readers to the center of Jesus’ teaching. A wonderful book.
—Martin Hengel, former emeritus professor of New Testament and early Judaism, University of Tübingen
Klyne R. Snodgrass is Paul W. Brandel Professor of New Testament Studies at North Park Theological Seminary, Chicago, Illinois.
The God of the Gospel of John offers a comprehensive study of the concept of God in John’s Gospel. Marianne Meye Thompson shows that one must first grasp the importance of God to John before one can properly appreciate the Gospel’s Christology and overarching message. By arguing that John is rightly understood to be a “theocentric” work, Thompson challenges the prevailing theory that John is primarily concerned with Christology. While Thompson uses traditional historical and exegetical approaches to the New Testament and ancient sources, her study is mainly theological in scope. She asks how John portrays God and how, after reading the Gospel, we ought to speak of the identity of God.
Thompson provides sure-footed and wisely judged analysis of the subtle and sometimes complex way that the Gospel of John both presents Jesus with reference to God and emphasizes that God is truly revealed in Jesus. This distinctive and valuable study is important for any serious student of the New Testament and early Christianity, a ‘must’ for studies of the Gospel of John, and should be acquired by any serious library serving these fields.
—Larry W. Hurtado, emeritus professor of New Testament language, literature, and theology, University of Edinburgh
Characterized throughout by gracious, penetrating engagement with the Fourth Gospel and its modern readers and by maturity of reflection and insight, The God of the Gospel of John is a most welcome harbinger of the future of New Testament studies.
—Joel B. Green, professor of New Testament interpretation, Fuller Theological Seminary
This monograph is an incisive, well-written, mature and valuable study of God in the Fourth Gospel. It should be on the desk of every Johannine scholar and on the shelves of any serious theological library.
—Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses
Marianne Meye Thompson is George Eldon Ladd Professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, and an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Her previous books include the Two Horizons Commentary: Colossians and Philemon and The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: 1-3 John.
Redaction criticism attempts to identify biblical authors’ theological interests by examining their adaptation of sources. Focusing on representative studies of Jesus’ disciples in the Gospel of Mark, this pioneering book by C. Clifton Black has become the standard evaluation of that method’s exegetical reliability.
Comprehensively reviewing recent scholarship, Black identifies three distinctive types of redaction criticism in Markan interpretation. He demonstrates that diverse redaction-critical interpretations of the disciples in Mark have bolstered rather than controlled scholarly presuppositions to a degree that calls into question the method’s reliability for interpreting Mark. The book concludes by assessing redaction criticism’s usefulness and offering a more balanced approach to Mark’s interpretation.
A brilliant and necessary critique . . . It shows the potential of studying the history of research in order to challenge and redraw the contours of biblical criticism.
—Theological Book Review
As a whole, this study is a tribute to its author’s remarkable capacity to engage in sustained, penetrating critique . . . [Black’s] dissection is accomplished with a measured evenhandedness.
—Catholic Biblical Quarterly
Black’s trenchant critique of one aspect of recent scholarship on the New Testament is sobering, but it should stimulate discussion on what it is that we aim to accomplish.
—Catholic Biblical Quarterly
C. Clifton Black is Otto A. Piper Professor of Biblical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. His other books include Anatomy of the New Testament and Communicating Good News.
The Way according to Luke unlocks the big picture of Jesus’ mission by attending to the repetition, patterns, and other clues of oral narrative. In this single volume Paul Borgman lays out a holistic view of the organic unity between Luke and Acts while demonstrating that the meaning of Luke-Acts is uniquely embedded in its narrative. Borgman’s distinctive work makes available both reading the Bible as great literature and the insight gained from receiving Scripture as it was originally delivered.
Paul Borgman’s book on hearing the whole story of Luke-Acts presents rich insights into how these two books of the New Testament represent a dramatic unity and how the structure of oral literature forms the written text that we have today. This is a must-read for those who really want to understand Luke-Acts and the pattern of repetition that yields meaning.
—Chuck Stetson, chairman and CEO, Essentials in Education
In this exploration of Luke’s literary art, Paul Borgman displays his significant gifts as sensitive reader and trusted guide. Although fully engaged with contemporary study of Luke-Acts, he is no slave to ‘the experts’ as he demonstrates again and again how Luke’s narrative works to shape our grasp of Luke’s literary and theological agenda. Biblical studies is the richer on account of this sort of interdisciplinary work.
—Joel B. Green, professor of New Testament interpretation, Fuller Theological Seminary
Paul Borgman gives us an engaging and lively reading of Luke-Acts that attends to the balanced patterns, narrative echoes, and interlocking themes of Luke’s two-part story. By reading the narrative on its own terms as narrative art, Borgman recovers what is often missed—a coherent and compelling story of God’s message of peace. The Way according to Luke sets high the standard for how to read and hear New Testament narratives, and is certain to stir interest in biblical stories as artistic, unified narratives.
—James L. Resseguie, distinguished professor emeritus of New Testament, Winebrenner Theological Seminary
A splendid example of what literary critics have to teach exegetes. Borgman’s insistence on ‘Hearing the Whole Story’ reminds us importantly that Luke, like all the NT authors, wrote primarily to be heard . . . Read this book for the breath of fresh air that it brings.
—Scripture Bulletin
We need more books like this, where something more substantial can be provided to the general reader in a responsible, well-thought-through, and passionate manner.
—Review of Biblical Literature
Paul Borgman is professor of English at Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts. A specialist in biblical narrative, he is also the author of Genesis: The Story We Haven’t Heard.
This book offers a new explanation of the development of the first three Gospels based on a careful examination of both patristic testimony to the “Hebrew Gospel” and internal evidence in the canonical Gospels themselves. James Edwards breaks new ground and challenges assumptions that have long been held in the New Testament guild.
This landmark study, a decade in the making, advances a bold and fresh interpretation of Gospel origins that seems sure to generate interest, debate, and controversy for some time to come. Against the established ‘Two Source’ (Mark and ‘Q’) and the increasingly popular ‘Farrer-Goulder’ (Mark-Matthew-Luke) hypotheses, Edwards revives an older scholarly fascination with the mysterious ‘Hebrew Gospel’ that was held in high regard by many church fathers and attributed to Matthew the apostle . . . This is an important and exciting work that offers students an excellent introduction to early Christian views of the Gospel tradition—and it gives Synoptic scholars much to chew on!
—Markus Bockmuehl, professor of biblical and early Christian studies, University of Oxford
For a long time, scholarship on the Synoptic Gospels has stalemated around well-worn questions. James Edwards’s fascinating and well-researched study opens up an angle that needs to be heard today. This book is a real contribution that will be studied and discussed for years to come!
—Loren T. Stuckenbruck, Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament Studies, Princeton Theological Seminary
James R. Edwards is the Bruner-Welch Endowed Professor of Theology at Whitworth University, Spokane, Washington. His books include the Pillar New Testament Commentary volume on Mark and Is Jesus the Only Savior? which was the 2006 Christianity Today Book of the Year in apologetics.
In Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels, respected New Testament scholar Pheme Perkins delivers a fresh introduction to the earliest written accounts of Jesus—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—situating those canonical Gospels within the wider world of oral storytelling and literary production of the first and second centuries. Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels presents a balanced look at how the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke came to be and what they mean.
Pheme Perkins provides an accessibly written, evenhanded, and carefully reasoned guide to major issues in Gospel studies. In economical fashion she enables the reader to gain a sure understanding of the place of Synoptic and apocryphal Gospels in ancient literary culture and in the development of early Christianity. Highly recommended.
—Margaret M. Mitchell, Shailer Mathews Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Literature, University of Chicago Divinity School
Pheme Perkins provides a comprehensive and up-to-date discussion of each Synoptic Gospel and a balanced analysis of all the apocryphal and Gnostic Gospels that have attracted so much attention recently. Her knowledge of the ancient texts, long experience as a teacher, sound judgment, and clarity of expression make this book a reliable guide for college and seminary students and for all who are perplexed about the Gospels and the development of early Christianity.
—Daniel J. Harrington, chair of the biblical studies department, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry
This book not only provides a much-needed general introduction to the Synoptic Gospels but also introduces its audience to the apocryphal Gospels, including the Gospel of Judas. Perkins’ treatment is fair and balanced, and her analogies to contemporary culture are inspired and illuminating.
—Adela Yarbro Collins, Buckingham Professor of New Testament Criticism and Interpretation, Yale University
Perkins’ book is an excellent resource that deserves to be read widely. . .It should be on the reading list for undergraduates and ordinands, and would make an excellent (and affordable) refresher for clergy wanting to reacquaint themselves with recent developments in the academic study of the Synoptic Gospels.
—Church of England Newspaper
The author’s long experience as a teacher, her knowledge and love of the ancient texts, sound judgment and clarity of thought and expression make this introduction to the Synoptic Gospels a trustworthy guide for all who are perplexed about Christian origins. It can serve as a fine textbook for college and seminary courses, as well as a reliable survey for all those who want to know where Gospel studies are today.
—America
Pheme Perkins is professor of New Testament in the theology department at Boston College. Among her many published books are Reading the New Testament, Gnosticism and the New Testament, Galatians and the Politics of Faith, and Peter: Apostle for the Whole Church.
In this book Charles Puskas and David Crump provide a solid introduction to the four Gospels and the book of Acts. The authors lead readers through the texts, highlighting the various literary devices and themes, and pointing out the historical and cultural contexts. The coverage of the Gospels and Acts is comprehensive and well documented. Maps, charts, outlines, and tables round out the wealth of information offered here.
This well-written book admirably summarizes the contemporary results of the scientific study of the Gospels and Acts in language accessible to the general reader. Puskas and Crump handle the complex and often pedantic scholarly debates in a lucid and non-polemical way. Their documentation covers all sides of the discussion of critical issues. Deftly facing the challenges to a discriminating study of the Gospels, they deal with the problems in a fair-minded manner, providing readers with the scholarly information necessary to make their own decisions.
—Charles W. Hedrick, distinguished emeritus professor of religious studies, Missouri State University
The authors’ stated aim is to fill a gap in current literature by providing a concise, single-volume introduction for students, pastors, and teachers that covers both the Gospels and Acts . . . This concise and affordable introduction succeeds handsomely in what it sets out to accomplish.
—Brandon D. Crowe, assistant professor of New Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary
An Introduction to the Gospels and Acts is a current, concise, and clear introduction to the historical study of the Gospels and Acts. It is an excellent resource for New Testament introduction courses in colleges and seminaries, particularly because many students today find the historical dimensions of Gospel study so challenging. Students with no previous foundation in academic biblical study . . . will find this book especially valuable.
—Robert Van Voorst, professor of New Testament, Western Theological Seminary
Puskas and Crump do a fine job of balancing various scholarly opinions, striking a charitable tone that reflects the authors’ different theological perspectives (mainline and evangelical), without offering quick solutions or unnecessary judgments.
—Journal for the Study of the New Testament
Puskas and Crump have produced a concise book, packed with information, introducing the Gospels and Acts in a non-technical fashion that, as intended, appeals to a broad audience. Regardless of what position on the Gospels and Acts each reader may hold, each will be challenged by this book’s objective, thought-provoking presentation.
—Trinity Seminary Review
David Crump is professor of religion at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the author of Jesus the Intercessor: Prayer and Christology in Luke-Acts and Knocking on Heaven’s Door: A New Testament Theology of Petitionary Prayer.
Charles B. Puskas Jr. holds a PhD in biblical languages and literature and serves as field sales executive for Convivium Press. His other books include An Introduction to the New Testament and The Conclusion of Luke-Acts: The Significance of Acts 28:16-31.
Having four canonical versions of one Gospel story is often seen as a problem for Christian faith: where Gospels multiply, so do apparent contradictions. In Gospel Writing, Francis Watson argues that differences and tensions between canonical Gospels represent opportunities for theological reflection, not problems for apologetics. Watson presents the formation of the fourfold Gospel as the defining moment in the reception of early Gospel literature—and also of Jesus himself as the subject. As the canonical division sets four Gospel texts alongside one another, the canon also creates a new textual entity more than the sum of its parts. It must play its part within an intricate fourfold composition, transforming its meaning and significance. In elaborating these claims, Watson proposes nothing less than a new paradigm for Gospel studies—one that engages fully with the available non-canonical material to illuminate the historical and theological significance of the canonical.
A wonderfully wide-ranging book, full of learning and insight. One of the most significant books on the Gospels in the last hundred years, this work will undoubtedly shake up the current study of the Gospels.
—Simon Gathercole, lecturer for the faculty of divinity, University of Cambridge
Francis Watson offers here a striking and powerful argument for the importance of reading Scripture as a canon. The argument is constantly historical as well as theological, exploring the character of the early church’s decision to accept a fourfold symphonic Gospel . . . All should celebrate the manner in which Watson sets a new agenda for those who ask why we continue to read the Gospel in this form.
—Lewis Ayres, professor of Catholic and historical theology, University of Durham
The scope of this major contribution is breathtaking. Watson expertly moves from Augustine to Lessing to Q to Thomas to the Synoptic Problem to the sources of John’s Gospel to the Gospel of Peter to the emergence of the fourfold Gospel canon to Origen to early Christian art and liturgy. The upshot is a slew of new observations and intriguing proposals that open up fresh lines of inquiry. Required reading for all students of the Gospel tradition.
—Dale C. Allison Jr., Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament Studies, Princeton Theological Seminary
Francis Watson holds a research chair in biblical interpretation at Durham University, England. Well-known for his work in both theological interpretation and Pauline studies, he is also the author of Paul and the Hermeneutics of Faith.
This innovative study is the first to consider the Gospel of John as story in the ancient media context of oral communication and oral performance. Richard Horsley and Tom Thatcher creatively combine the fields of Jesus studies and ancient media studies in their analysis. Taking the main conflict evident in John’s story of Jesus as the key to its plot, they discern how this Gospel portrays Jesus engaged in a concrete program of renewal and resistance.
Recent scholarship on John’s Gospel has opened fresh perspectives on the book’s historical context and its significance for the study of the historical Jesus. This welcome volume by Richard Horsley and Tom Thatcher invites readers to consider the Gospel in light of the socially complex world of Roman Palestine. Following an interdisciplinary approach, they engage not only the best recent literary and historical work on John but also major developments in the field of media studies. The result is a contribution that will engage the attention of scholars and students alike.
—Craig R. Koester, professor and Asher O. and Carrie Nasby Chair of New Testament, Luther Seminary
Two skilled scholars here provide a brilliant and creative synthesis of literary and social-historical-political approaches. Richard Horsley and Tom Thatcher offer fresh ideas in an area of scholarship that has sometimes become stagnant . . . Their holistic approach to the Fourth Gospel is innovative, well-informed, and informative.
—Craig S. Keener, professor of New Testament, Asbury Theological Seminary
Challenging an established scholarly history of isolating sayings from Gospel narratives and dissecting texts into sources, Horsley and Thatcher exhibit an admirable aptitude for synthesis. Their approach combines narrative criticism, text criticism, media studies, performance criticism, and a sociology of power relations into a unified theory. Thoughtfully perceptive and genuinely innovative, this timely book may well change the way we think about the Gospels as historical narratives, the feasibility of the Jesus quest, and the conventional divide between the Gospel of John and the Synoptics.
—Werner H. Kelber, Isla Carroll Turner and Percy E. Turner Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies, Rice University
Richard Horsley is distinguished professor emeritus of liberal arts and the study of religion at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Among his many previous books are Jesus and Empire and Jesus and the Powers.
Tom Thatcher is professor of biblical studies at Cincinnati Christian University and a founder of the John, Jesus, and history group in the Society of Biblical Literature. His other books include Jesus the Riddler: The Power of Ambiguity in the Gospels and Why John Wrote a Gospel: Jesus—Memory—History.
This single volume gathers Robert Farrar Capon’s widely praised trilogy on Jesus’ parables—The Parables of the Kingdom, The Parables of Grace, and The Parables of Judgment. These studies offer a fresh look at all of Jesus’ parables, treated according to their major themes. Capon admirably bridges the gap between the biblical world and the modern-day world, making clear both the original meaning of the parables and their continuing relevance today.
If you think that you have seen and heard everything there is to see and hear in Jesus’ parables of judgment, then you haven’t looked or listened with Capon. Anyone who cares about Scripture will be edified through his interpretative work.
—William Willimon, professor of the practice of Christian ministry, Duke Divinity School
The most powerful book that I have ever read on the judgment parables of our Lord.
—Lewis Smedes, former professor of theology and ethics, Fuller Theological Seminary
Capon releases the parables out of their right-handed prison and frees them into the land of left-handed mystery where they belong. He reminds us that these parables are not theological propositions calling for analysis or requiring systems of thought. They are pictures, images, poetry—left-handed communication calling for faith and demanding obedience. Capon’s writing is of enormous importance for those who dare to journey into faith as mystery and trust.
—Robert Webber, former president, The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies
Capon’s attempt to reframe the parables, and to move the reader away from the familiar ways of hearing them, offers much food for thought and reflection, and opens the reader to seeing Jesus’ message and work from a new perspective . . . Gripping and entertaining.
—The Living Church
Capon has not lost his zip, his warm appeal, his delight in showing God’s gracious activity on behalf of those he has created more as his ‘hobby than his business . . . more for pleasure than for profit.’ What an excellent find.
—National Catholic Reporter
Robert Farrar Capon (1925-2013) was an Episcopal priest and the author of many popular books, including The Supper of the Lamb.
