Kenneth
Berding & Matt Williams (Editors), WHAT THE NEW TESTAMENT AUTHORS REALLY
CARED ABOUT: A SURVEY OF THEIR WRITINGS, Grand
Rapids MI
The
moment one picks up this volume, one cannot help to be impressed. From the
production standpoint it is top notch. a beautiful presentation. The layout is
balanced but not as well as the companion volume on the Old Testament. This may
be due to the number of photos lacking as compared to that of the Old
Testament. However, the photos and charts are top quality. The layout is the same in both volumes, which
gives consistency and helps the ease of reading.
As
to the content of the book, it begins with a historical background leading up
and including the first century. The points are somewhat brief, but still
enough to give one the impression of the first century. He gives enough to give
the reader a feel for the conflicts of the time, out of and within Judaism. He
captures the feeling of Jewish expectation. From there he goes on to the books of
the New Testament and the authors.
In
each book of the New Testament there is a consistency of presentation. He opens
with a brief background page answering who, when, where and why. These are very
brief, maybe too brief, but give the readers the jist of the background of the
text. Each chapter gives an overview in chart form, and then the text goes on
to give some meat to the skeleton. He
captures the basic teaching of each book well and aids the reader. There needs
to be some caution because his presentation has some debatable areas that not
all will agree with. Each chapter is well presented with charts, out-takes, and
summary. Included at the end of the chapter you will find a list of key words
and concepts, with a few key resources for further study (although they are not
necessarily ones I would recommend).
One
unique feature that is different from most surveys of the New Testament is that
the books are arranged by author, not in the order that they appear in the New
Testament. Thus, they present John and his works (Gospel, 1-2-3- John, and
Revelation together). I happen to like that. It helps one to grasp in one
setting what the authors really care about. It brings cohesion to their views,
instead of being broken up by sections.
However, the emphasis is not simply the thoughts of the author, but the
content of the books themselves. Content does reflect the view and thinking of
the author. However there are a few
places in which I believe the authors missed the mark—especially in regard to
Paul. While they are correct that he is concerned about unity in the church,
they miss Paul’s thought about the uniqueness of the church. They miss the
importance of revelation that played an important part of Paul’s thought. The
work on Ephesians is weak to say the least.
Other
features of this work include:
·
An
evangelical view of the Bible.
·
A
strong Calvinistic point of view at times.
·
An
absence or acknowledgement of critical theory.
·
They
give focus to the reader by presenting the books in relationship to them and
their relationship with Christ.
It
is written clearly for laymen and undergraduates, but I find it too basic and
brief in parts. It is written as a textbook, but I would not use it as a main
text for a course, but maybe parts of it as supplemental reading. I find it an
OK survey; not the best. It is however, helpful in drawing ones attention to
the thought and care each writer displayed in the biblical text. It is very
readable and understandable.
__________
I
received this book free from Kregel Academics for the purpose of reviewing it.
I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed
are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade
Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255
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