Understanding the Bible and Its World
1 total work
This is a clear introduction to the New Testament that describes how the various writings were composed over a period of around a century. The text is accessible yet scholarly, addressing issues such as: how could a human figure come to be worshipped as a deity in a monotheistic culture?; what was going on in the society in which such extraordinary events happened? and how did the Gospels and letters come to be written and assume the importance they have? Theissen brings to life, not only the foundation document of Christianity, but also the way in which the Christian church came to be born. He explains who the authors of the various writings of the New Testament were, when they wrote and for whom, and why some early Christian writings were canonized as Holy Scripture and others were not.