Seven Challenges That Shaped the New Testament
Understanding the Inherent Tensions of Early Christian Faith
Forthcoming Book Alert
One of my favorite NT scholars is F. Scott Spencer. I first encountered his scholarship through his guidebook, The Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles, as well as his insightful thematic study, Salty Wives, Spirited Mothers, and Savvy Widows: Capable Women of Purpose and Persistence in Luke’s Gospel. More recently he has written Luke in the Two Horizons Commentary Series. And I highly recommend his new commentary, Reading Mark: A Literary and Theological Commentary.
This new book is coming out this summer (June 25, 2024). This is a kind of homage to James D.G. Dunn’s Unity and Diversity in the New Testament. Spencer examines seven critical tensions in the New Testament.
Old and New: The Historical Challenge of Innovation and Evolution
Right and Wrong: The Moral Challenge of Hypocrisy and Apostasy
Weak and Strong: The Political Challenge of Authority and Tyranny
Weal and Woe: The Material Challenge of Infirmity and Poverty
One and All: The Social Challenge of Particularity and Partisanship
Seen and Secret: The Perceptual Challenge of Skepticism and Gnosticism
Now and Near: The Temporal Challenge of Delay and Deferment
I have the privilege of being friends with Spencer, and I got a chance to read this book early. I was so impressed. I think it is crucial that we teach our students the necessity of balance and to allow tensions to exist, and not to always “choose sides.” Extremism is easy, but it can also be the lazy option. One of the signs of depth of study is recognizing and retaining tensions where two opposing elements have some validity. This isn’t always the case, but the ones Spencer has chosen are excellent. I plan on using it as a textbook for an upcoming seminary course. It’s brilliant!
Put this on your to-read list for later, in the meantime, check out some of his other books.