The New Testament: A Guide

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Senior
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
First Century ◽  
Sacred Text ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Literary Forms ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Jewish Scriptures ◽  
The Church

This work addresses the question of why the New Testament is considered a sacred text by Christians. While sharing some characteristics of an Introduction to the New Testament, this work has a very different purpose. While for many the New Testament is respected as an interesting and influential ancient first-century text, for believing Christians the New Testament bears perennial normative religious authority. After exploring the content, the historical roots, and the complex process that led to the composition of the varied writings contained in the New Testament, this study turns to the fundamental unifying purpose of the New Testament writings as religious proclamations in various literary forms of the inherently transcendent character of Jesus Christ and the implications of that proclamation for the lives and destiny of both individual Christians and the Christian community itself. It is this defining characteristic that underwrites the sacred character of the New Testament for Christians. A key process was the formation of the New Testament canon during the early centuries of the Christian era which certified the normative nature of the New Testament writings and fused them onto the Jewish Scriptures or Old Testament to form the Christian Bible. The study concludes by sketching the evolution and ongoing diversity of New Testament interpretation both in the academy and in the church.

3. The making of the Bible

2021 ◽  
pp. 25-41
Author(s):  
John Riches
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Greek Version ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Jewish Scriptures ◽  
The Church

‘The making of the Bible’ discusses the process whereby different books came to be included in the various Bibles (a term first used by the Churches) which are now accepted as authoritative (canonical) by various religious communities, Jewish and Christian. This process is often referred to as the canonization of scripture. It is important to look first at the formation of the Hebrew Bible and its Greek version, the Septuagint. While the Septuagint started life as a translation for Jews living in the Diaspora, it was subsequently taken up by the Christian community as the medium through which the Old Testament was known in the Church. The language of the Septuagint also influenced many of the writers of the Christian New Testament. The authoritative writings of the Christian Church were in the first instance largely identical with the Jewish scriptures. It is valuable to consider the process whereby Christian writings, principally letters and gospels, were collected and recognized as authoritative alongside other Jewish writings.

scholarly journals Teologia kapłaństwa i urzędu kapłańskiego w I wieku chrześcijaństwa

2010 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Dariusz Kasprzak
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Good News ◽  
New Covenant ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Church

Neither the Apostles nor any Christian minister is admitted to use the priest’s title in the text of the New Testament. Nevertheless, in the New Testament we can perceive the development of the doctrine of the priest ministry in the early Church. Albert Vanhoye maintains that the lack of the term “priest” in the New Testament suggests the way of understanding of the Christian ministry, different from this in the Old Testament. It can’t be considered as a continuation of Jewish priesthood, which was concentrated mainly on ritual action and ceremonies. In the first century the Church developed the Christology of priesthood (Hbr) and ecclesiology of priesthood (1 P). Early Christians focused first on the redemptive event of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and Jesus as the mediator of a new covenant. Only then the religious communities adopted the priest’s title for their ministry.In the early years of the Church, all the ministries were regarded as a charismatic service among the Christian communities. In their services the early Christians followed Jesus Christ sent by God to serve. The Holy Spirit sent by God in the name of Jesus bestowed the spiritual gifts upon the Church (1 Kor 12–13). Consequently the disciples of Jesus and their successors could continue his mission. The Twelve Apostles’ ministry was the very first and most important Christian ministry. It was closely connected to the service of Jesus Christ himself. The Apostles were sent by the authority of Jesus Christ to continue his mission upon earth and they preached the Good News of the risen Christ. The Apostolicity was the fundamental base for every Church ministry established in different Christian communities. Successive ministries were established in order to transmit the teaching of Jesus Christ and to lead the community. For the early Christians the priesthood was not an individual privilege. It had rather the community character.

scholarly journals The Wrong Practice Of Anointing Oil In The Church According To James 5:14 A Theological study

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-20
Author(s):  
Sayangi Laia ◽  
Harman Ziduhu Laia ◽  
Daniel Ari Wibowo
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Theological Study ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Catholic Church

The practice of anointing with oil has been done in the church since the first century to the present. On the other hand, there are also churches which have refused to do this. The practice of anointing with oil has essentially lifted from James 5:14. This text has become one of one text in the New Testament which is quite difficult to understand and bring a variety of views. Not a few denominations of the church understand James 5:14 is wrong, even the Catholic church including in it. The increasingly incorrect practice of anointing in the church today, that can be believed can heal disease physically and a variety of other functions push back the author to check the text of James 5:14 in the exegesis. Studies the exegesis of the deep, which focuses on the contextual, grammatical-structural,

The Church of the Reigning Lord

1948 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-73
Author(s):  
R. Stuart Louden
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Pauline Epistles ◽  
History Of ◽  
Four Square ◽  
The Church

We can trace a revival of theology in the Reformed Churches in the last quarter of a century. The new theological interest merits being called a revival of theology, for there has been a fresh and more thorough attention given to certain realities, either ignored or treated with scant notice for a considerable time previously.First among such realities now receiving more of the attention which their relevance and authority deserve, is the Bible, the record of the Word of God. There is an invigorating and convincing quality about theology which is Biblical throughout, being based on the witness of the Scriptures as a whole. The valuable results of careful Biblical scholarship had had an adverse effect on theology in so far as theologians had completely separated the Old Testament from the New in their treatment of Biblical doctrine, or in expanding Christian doctrine, had spoken of the theological teaching of the Synoptic Gospels, the Pauline Epistles, the Johannine writings, and so on, as if there were no such thing as one common New Testament witness. It is being seen anew that the Holy Scriptures contain a complete history of God's saving action. The presence of the complete Bible open at the heart of the Church, recalls each succeeding Christian generation to that one history of God's saving action, to which the Church is the living witness. The New Testament is one, for its Lord is one, and Christian theology must stand four-square on the foundation of its whole teaching.

The Paradox of the Easy Yoke: A Survey of χρηστός in Greek Literature and the Interpretational Implications for Matthew 11:30

2019 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-19
Author(s):  
Clark Bates
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
First Century ◽  
Greek Literature ◽  
Word Study ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Roman Literature ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Common ◽  
Apostolic Fathers

Matthew 11:30 could easily be considered one of the most recognizable passages of the New Testament. Many find comfort and fortitude in the words of Jesus, and warm to the idea that his ‘yoke’; is ‘easy’ and ‘burden’, ‘light’. However recognized and familiar this passage may be, it has not gone unnoticed throughout scholarship as a persistent word study in need of incessant explanation. While copious amounts of ink have been spilt discussing the nature of the ‘yoke’ in Matthew 11:30, it is the position of this article that the author of Matthew, had no intention of creating such a mystery. Rather, that the emphasis is to be found in the nature of the yoke itself and the attributive use of χρηστός in Greco-Roman literature, including that of the Greek Old Testament, and the writings of the first-century Christians. This article seeks to demonstrate that the use of χρηστός in the Matthean Gospel does not mean ‘easy’ by English standards, nor was this what the audience of this Gospel would have taken it to mean, given the common use of the term. This is accomplished through an engagement of the text and message of Matthew, followed by an examination of the word’s use in Classical Greek compositions and the Apostolic Fathers, as well as its use in the LXX and the New Testament.

Respect for Context in Quotations from The Old Testament

1962 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Edgar
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Distinctive Character ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
The New Testament

The attempt to get behind the gospel record back to the authentic words and acts of Jesus has occupied many scholars of this generation. This has come about because of a scepticism regarding the historical value of the sayings as recorded, and has often concluded by assuming that the New Testament throws light only on what the early Christian community believed Jesus said rather than on what he did say. It is not the writer's intention to belittle the problem, but to suggest it may be approached from a fresh angle. This article seeks to show that in one respect at least the words of Jesus, as recorded in the gospels, are of a distinctive character, especially when compared with the editorial comments of the evangelists, and hence the form of the first may not be as dependent on the evangelists and the early church as sometimes claimed.

scholarly journals The Iconography of the Sarcophagus in S. Ambrogio. Hope for Salvation through the Word of Christ

1970 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 283-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olaf Steen
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
City Gates ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Way

The sarcophagus in the church of S. Ambrogio in Milan is dated to about 390. The lid of the sarcophagus shows scenes and symbols connected to the New Testament. On the front and rear sides, we find Christ represented among the Apostles. Figures from the Old Testament are shown on the two short sides. In this way, the narrative scenes are well arranged, and the arrangement differs from other early Christian sarcophagi in which scenes from the Old and New Testament are places together without any apparent connection between the scenes. Rows of city-gates run around all four sides, forming the background for the reliefs. The city-gates invite the beholder to read the images not as isolated scenes, but as parts of a connected whole. In this paper, I will argue that the iconography of the sarcophagus can be interpreted as a complete programme. The programme emphasizes the teaching of Christ and the Apostles’ teaching-mission given by Christ. Taking into consideration the monument’s funerary context, the programme of the sarcophagus focuses on the Word or the teaching of Christ as the way to salvation.

scholarly journals From Venice to Aleppo: Early Printing of Scripture in the Orthodox World

Chronos ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 33-61
Author(s):  
Hilary Kilpatrick
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old English ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
Greek Translation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Jewish Scriptures

The Bible, as the etymology of the word indicates, refers not to one book but to many. The Christian Bible is made up of the Old Testament, that is, the Jewish Scriptures, and the New Testament; moreover, for some Churches, among them the Orthodox, certain books commonly called the Apocrypha , which were added to the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, also fonn part of the Bible. The Bible is thus a small library, and as is common in libraries, some books are more popular than others. Long before the introduction of printing, the varying degrees of importance accorded to different books of the Bible led to some of them being translated before others. For instance, in Anglo-Saxon England, interlinear glosses (i.e. crude word-by-word translations) were made of the Gospels and Psalms, and separate portions of the Bible, including the Gospels, were rendered into Old English (Anonymous 1997: 200). Likewise, the earliest known written translations of parts of the Bible into Arabic are of the Gospels and Psalms; they can be dated to the 8th century. Oral translations are older, going back to pre-Islamic times (Graf 1944: 114-115, 138; Griffith 2012: 123-126). By contrast, the first attempt to produce a complete Bible in Arabic occurred only in the l 61h century (Graf 1944: 89-90).

Intellectual Humility and the Community of the Sacraments

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant Macaskill
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Close Connection ◽  
Union With Christ ◽  
Intellectual Humility ◽  
Distinctive Character ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Way

This chapter considers the role that the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist play in fostering a proper attitude of intellectual humility within Christian community. The sacraments dramatically enact the union with Christ that we have argued in previous chapters to define Christian intellectual humility, embodying the truth that our intellectual identities are not autonomous, but are dependent upon the constitutive identity of Jesus Christ and are located within the community of the church. Both baptism and Eucharist are understood within the New Testament to communicate the eschatological identity of the church, and therefore the distinctive character of our relationship to the reality of evil. The chapter will pay particular attention to the way that Paul directs his readers to think differently in response to the significance of the sacraments. It will also consider the close connection of the command to ‘love one another’ to the sacraments.

scholarly journals Alttestamentliche Voraussetzungen fur das Ver-standnis des Bundesmotivs im Neuen Testament Teil 1: Fragestellung und Bedeutung des Wortes בְדִית*

1997 ◽  
Vol 53 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Petrus J. Grabe
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Semantic Field ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

The Old Testament background for understanding the covenant motif in the New Testament - Part 1: Description of the question and analysis of the meaning of the word בְדִית* The concept of the covenant has once again become extremely relevant within the context of the debate on the relationship between the Old and New Testaments, as well as within the context, of the quest for determining the relationship between the Church and Israel. In this article the meaning of the word בְדִית* is discussed. It is argued that this concept has to be understood within the context of the semantic field in which it is used in the Old Testament. Certain facets of meaning in specific contexts in which בְדִית* occurs, are accentuated and discussed.  The Septuagint's translation of בְדִית*, as well as the translation of בְדִית* in the Vulgate and in some modem translations, is also discussed briefly.

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