What Is the New Testament?
This chapter reviews the origin of the term “New Testament” and then surveys the contexts, various literary forms, and contents of its twenty-seven “books.” It also sketches the historical context in which the New Testament writings developed, beginning with the historical, political, and social context of the life and mission of Jesus of Nazareth, and the extension of early Christianity from its original Jewish milieu out into the Gentile world. While the New Testament exhibits great diversity in its literary components and in the variety of the theological perspectives found in its individual writings, the New Testament also finds a unifying factor in its focus on the identity and mission of Jesus and his normative significance for Christian life. This unifying factor is a major reason for considering the New Testament writings “sacred.”