John Wiley & Sons The New Testament Cover An accessible introduction to the New Testament, offering up-to-date historical-critical scholarship.. Product #: 978-1-119-68592-0 Regular price: $41.03 $41.03 In Stock

The New Testament

A Contemporary Introduction

Conway, Colleen M.

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1. Edition September 2022
272 Pages, Softcover
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ISBN: 978-1-119-68592-0
John Wiley & Sons

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An accessible introduction to the New Testament, offering up-to-date historical-critical scholarship and diverse critical perspectives

The New Testament: A Contemporary Introduction presents a concise account of the emergence of Jesus traditions in the broader context of ancient Mediterranean history. Incorporating established historical approaches and alternative academic analyses, this innovative textbook helps students understand the historical and political contexts of the authors and their audiences, and how different social identities and lived experiences influenced the formation of the Bible and its later interpretations.

Accomplished scholar Colleen Conway emphasizes the cultural and literary context of the New Testament while drawing from historical, postcolonial, gender, feminist, and intersectional analyses of biblical texts. Throughout the book, students explore how issues of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and power dynamics contributed to the production of the New Testament texts and continue to inform their interpretation in the 21st century.

Through twelve chronologically organized chapters, this book examines Paul's mission to the Gentiles, unity and conflict in Paul's communities, the four Gospel narratives, the Revelation to John, Hebrews, 1 Peter, the New Testament canon, early Christian writings, and more. The New Testament: A Contemporary Introduction:
* Provides an up-to-date introduction to historical and critical methods and central questions in the field
* Helps students contextualize the different writings of the New Testament as part of the Mediterranean world of the first century, for example exploring how Roman Imperial rule and social stratification affected the authors of New Testament texts
* Discusses how ideas about gender and race affect the meaning and application of New Testament texts
* Features "Contemporary Voices" sections highlighting the work of modern New Testament scholars
* Includes numerous pedagogical tools such as chapter review questions, key term lists, suggested readings, a timeline, maps, illustrations, photographs, a glossary, and much more

Designed for undergraduate students with varying levels of biblical knowledge, The New Testament: A Contemporary Introduction is an ideal textbook for one-semester religious studies courses on the Bible, the New Testament, or early Christianity, as well as undergraduate and graduate students in history, sociology and philosophy.

List of Figures xi

List of Maps xiii

List of Boxes xv

Preface xvii

Acknowledgments xix

Timeline xxi

Prologue: Orientation to the Academic Study of the New Testament 1

Chapter Overview 1

A Contemporary Introduction to the New Testament 1

Different Designations and Different Bibles 4

The Contents of the New Testament 6

Abbreviations, Translations, and Annotations 7

New Terminology for Old Texts 13

Prologue Review 15

Resources for Further Study 15

Appendix: Translation and Paraphrase Comparison of John 1:18 15

1 The New Testament Writings in Multiple Contexts 17

Chapter Overview 17

A History of Trauma under Imperial Rule 17

The New Testament Writings in their Ancient Literary Context 21

The New Testament Writings in their Ancient Social Context 22

Focus Text: Acts 16:11-40 25

Conclusion: The New Testament in a Complex World 27

Chapter One Review 28

Resources for Further Study 28

2 The Jesus Movement in the Context of the Roman Empire 29

Chapter Overview 29

Rome Comes to Jerusalem 29

Searching for the Historical Jesus: Problems and Proposals 33

The Earliest Jesus Traditions 39

Chapter Two Review 43

Resources for Further Study 43

3 Introducing Paul and His Letters 45

Chapter Overview 45

Introduction to the Study of the Pauline Letters 46

Paul's Earliest Surviving Letter: 1 Thessalonians 51

Paul's Letter to the Philippians 54

Paul's Letter to Philemon 57

Chapter Three Review 59

Resources for Further Study 60

4 Reading Paul within Judaism: Galatians and Romans 61

Chapter Overview 61

Paul's Gentile Problem in Galatia 62

Paul on his "Earlier Life" (Gal 1:13) 64

Why and Why Not Circumcision in Galatia? 65

Paul's Letter to the Romans: The Righteousness of God in Relation to Jews and Gentiles 69

The Problem of Israel and the Place of the Gentiles (Romans 9-11) 75

Chapter Four Review 77

Resources for Further Study 77

5 Conflicts with the Corinthian Christ Group 79

Chapter Overview 79

The Urban Setting of Corinth 80

Status Problems in Corinth 83

Conflicts over the Body and Sexuality in Corinth 85ii

Conflicts over Meat Consumption in Corinth 87

Disputing Ritual Practices in Corinth 88

Afflictions and Accusations in 2 Corinthians 90

Disputes Regarding the Collection for Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8-9) 92

Paul's Self-Defense

against Gendered Status Attacks 93

Focus Text: 2 Cor 11:16-12:13 94

Chapter Five Review 95

Resources for Further Study 95

6 Claiming Pauline Authority: Later Trajectories of Pauline Traditions 97

Chapter Overview 97

Ancient Pseudonymity and the New Testament Writers 98

Three Deutero-Pauline Letters: 2 Thessalonians, Colossians, and Ephesians 99

Conforming to Roman Imperial Values: The New Testament Household Codes 104

More Deutero-Pauline Letters: 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus 105

The Paul of Legend: The Acts of Paul and Thecla 108

From Local Letters to Scriptural Authority 109

Chapter Six Review 111

Resources for Further Study 111

7 The Gospel of Mark: Suffering and Trauma under Imperial Rule 113

Chapter Overview 113

The Jewish War (66-70 ce) 114

Clues to the Dating and Context of the Gospel of Mark 115

The Story of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark 118

The Rising Popularity of Jesus and Rising Conflict with the Authorities 118

Teaching and Misunderstanding "on the Way" 122

Mark's Suffering Messiah 126

An Enigmatic Ending 129

Focus Text: Mark 12:1-12 130

Chapter Seven Review 132

Resources for Further Study 132

8 The Gospel of Matthew: Defining Community in the Wake of Destruction 133

Chapter Overview 133

The Synoptic Problem 134

The Structure of the Gospel of Matthew 136

The Matthean Jesus and Jewish Tradition 138

The Matthean Jesus, Righteousness, and Torah Obedience 140

The Matthean Jesus, Wisdom, and Torah 142

Matthew's Apocalyptic Vision and the Kingdom of Heaven 143

The Matthean Polemic against the Pharisees 146

Focus Text: Matt 25:31-46 150

Chapter Eight Review 152

Resources for Further Study 153

9 The Gospel of Luke: Legitimizing the Jesus Movement in the Midst of Empire 155

Chapter Overview 155

Reading the Clues in the Lukan Prologue 156

The Lukan Jesus in Continuity with Israel's Past 158

God's Plan of Salvation for Israel and the Gentiles 160

The Lukan Jesus and Imperial Imitation 160

The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Lukan Narrative 164

The Travel Narrative and Lukan Parables 165

Focus Text: Jesus's Sermon in Nazareth (Luke 4:14-30) 168

Chapter Nine Review 170

Resources for Further Study 170

10 The Spread of "the Way" in the Roman Empire: The Acts of the Apostles 171

Chapter Overview 171

Salvation to Israel and to the Gentiles in Acts 171

The Role of the Spirit in Acts 174

The Acts of Jesus and the Acts of the Apostles 175

Looking Beyond the Leading Men of Luke-Acts 177

Paul and the Spread of "the Way" in the Roman Empire 179

Focus Text: Acts 8:26-40 180

Conclusion: Luke-Acts' Ambivalent Response to Empire 183

Chapter Ten Review 183

Resources for Further Study 184

11 The Gospel of John and the Johannine Letters: Turning Inward as a Strategy for Life in the Empire 185

Chapter Overview 185

Who Is the Johannine Jesus? 186

The Johannine Prologue: Jesus as Pre-existent Logos Made Flesh 186

The Johannine Jesus as God's Divine Agent in the World 189

The "I Am" Sayings in the Gospel of John 191

Knowing and Believing in the Johannine Jesus 192

Opposition from the World 194

The Problem of "the Jews" in the Gospel of John 196

Focus Text: John 17 200

The Johannine Letters 201

Chapter Eleven Review 203

Resources for Further Study 203

12 Following Christ in the Empire: Diverse Approaches in the New Testament 205

Chapter Overview 205

The Revelation to John: Visions of "Conquering" Roman Power 206

Focus Text: Revelation 17-18 213

Hebrews: Platonic Perspectives on Christ 214

1 Peter: Living as Aliens and Accommodating to the Empire 218

Conclusion: Three Different Relationships to the Roman Empire 221

Chapter Twelve Review 222

Resources for Further Study 222

Epilogue: The Final Formation of the New Testament Canon 223

Glossary 227

Appendix: A Brief Overview of Some Interpretive Approaches to the Bible 233

Index 237
Colleen M. Conway is Professor of Religion at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ and Executive Editor of the journal Biblical Interpretation. She has published widely in the areas of gender criticism, biblical masculinity studies, the Gospel of John, and reception history of the Bible. Her recent publications include A Contemporary Introduction to the Bible: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts, Second Edition, co-authored with David M. Carr (Wiley Blackwell, 2021), John and the Johannine Letters (2017), Sex and Slaughter in the Tent of Jael (2016).

C. M. Conway, Seton Hall University