A Unique NT Introduction Worth Reading
My Favorite NT Introductions
A Unique NT Introduction Worth Reading
To be honest, I don’t like most NT introductions: they tend to be dry and boring, they rehearse the same details about background and scholarly discussions. (Zzzzz…) So it is refreshing to find a unique, engaging, well-written introduction, and that is what you have with Beale and Gladd’s The Story Retold: A Biblical Theological Introduction to the New Testament (IVP).
The unique take of this textbook is reading each NT text in light of the Old Testament and the whole biblical story. As the book itself attests, the NT “stands in continuity with the OT. Israel’s story is the church’s story.” Yes! Pros: affordable, beautifully produced by IVP, very easy to read. Possible downside: I don’t love when textbooks give short (chapter-by-chapter) summaries of the biblical books, I feel like students should be reading the text for themselves, and then these summaries seem superfluous and other kinds of content will benefit the reader more (e.g., longer theme discussions). But the pros far outweigh the con.
If I were teaching undergrad, I would seriously consider using this. Great also for a church group class.
Have you read or used this textbook? What do you think? Comment below.
Totally agree, I really enjoyed this volume as well.
I'll check it out. But, the comment about the summaries has me in agreement. I'd rather students read the text. I was talking to my undergrad students about Judges and could quickly tell many of them had not actually read Judges because they did not believe what I said about Eglon...