An Introduction to the New Testament [Hardcover]

D. A. Carson (Author), Douglas J. Moo (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 23, 2005

An Introduction to the New Testament focuses on 'special introduction' that is historical questions dealing with authorship, date, sources, purpose, destination, and so forth. This approach stands in contrast to recent texts that concentrate more on literary form, rhetorical criticism, and historical parallels---topics the authors don't minimize, but instead think are better given extended treatment in exegesis courses. By refocusing on the essentials, An Introduction to the New Testament ensures that the New Testament books will be accurately understood within historical settings. For each New Testament document, the authors also provide a substantial summary of that book's content, discuss the book's theological contribution to the overall canon, and give an account of current studies on that book, including recent literary and social-science approaches to interpretation. This second edition reflects significant revision and expansion from the original, making this highly acclaimed text even more valuable. * A new chapter provides a historical survey examining Bible study method through the ages. * The chapter on Paul has been expanded to include an analysis of debates on the 'new perspective.' * The discussion of New Testament epistles has been expanded to form a new chapter. This new edition will help a new generation of students better grasp the message of the New Testament.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'...highly recommended. With its very careful, keenly nuanced, and extensively researched discussions, it may well be considered special in a way not originally intended by its authors. It deserves to be read not just by students but by all scholars of the New Testament.' -- Review of Biblical Literature <br><br> (Review of Biblical Literature)

From the Author

D.A. Carson is professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Douglas J. Moo is associate professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical School. Leon Morris, retired, was principal of Ridley College, Melbourne, and served as visiting professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical School --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 784 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; 2nd edition (August 23, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310238595
• ISBN-13: 978-0310238591
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 64 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars New edition released! July 9, 2005

By Parableman

Format:Hardcover

Carson and Moo have thoroughly reworked this book, removing or revising Morris' contributions and adding much new material for the second edition. Some sections are rearranged, and there are a few entirely new sections. I read the original book straight through a few years ago, and I haven't found anything else that does quite as good a job of staying on top of the current scholarship while defending generally conservative evangelical views on the authorship, date, setting, purpose, and other backgrounds sorts of issues on each NT book. I expect the updated edition to be equally thorough and more up-to-date on recent trends in NT scholarship.

Particularly of note is the section on the New Perspective on Paul, which Morris and Carson have both been on the forefront of interacting with (from a more traditional perspective in both cases, though both have been willing to acknowledge that we have learned something from the NPP). They call this section brief in the introduction, but it's 11 pages, a fair amount of space compared to how much room they give to most topics. They have also provided a lengthy addition covering the history of interpretation of the NT, from the early Christians to contemporary biblical scholarship. They've also expanded of added more on the content of each book, something reviewers complained about in the first edition, and there's also a little bit on the social science approaches to NT studies, something that wasn't very far along in the original book. All in all, the new edition sounds as if it should be excellent.

They've removed the dust jacket and replaced it with a visually appealing cover on the book itself, and they've increased the margin size significantly, both of which suit its primary use as a seminary textbook. They list the intended audience as seminary students in the first and second years, but a studious enough person can read it for profit without the additional seminary background. I read the entire first edition without any seminary training at all. It's certainly not the level of detail a scholar would want for an exhaustive treatment of every issue, but the bibliographies and footnotes can provide further reading to get exactly that, and it would be ill-suited for students if it tried to do too much.

This has been the standard evangelical NT introduction for quite a while, and as of the revision its place will be secured for quite a while.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough and Provocative February 27, 2006

By Joel Kime

Format:Hardcover

In this new edition of Intro to the NT Carson and Moo have significantly improved the work they initially published with Leon Morris (who has since passed away). The chapters are reorganized, the margins are wider, and the material has expanded to include the contribution of works published since the first edition. Having used both editions for coursework and personal study, I find the second edition far superior. While the layout of the first edition was doable, the second is much roomier and suitable for study. More than all these considerations, the authors superbly point the reader to Christ, to become like him. I have been challenged not only academically as I've read this work, I have been also been convicted spiritually.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fine Introduction May 26, 2006

By J. F Foster

Format:Hardcover

As others have noted, this NT Introduction is a standard introductory text from an evangelical perspective. In this updated version, Carson and Moo add some good stuff on canonicity that was not part of the original Carson/Moo/Morris edition. Most of the remaining material is similar.

As can be expected, the analysis and conclusions in this Introduction are decidedly conservative on questions of authorship, canonicity, original situation of the writings, and historical reliability of the documents. The authors helpfully analyze many contemporary challenges to evangelical understandings of the NT so that the beginner and intermediate levels of readers will gain a good introductory grasp of the many bones of contention that exist over many issues in virtually every book of the NT. Moo's strong work in Romans and James, coupled with Carson's strong work on the Fourth Gospel, can be particularly seen in this book's treatment of these canonical documents.

One could have hoped for a more lengthy treatment of contemporary issues, and one could also have hoped for more robust bibliographies upon which the reader could proceed with more in-depth study. But because this is an introductory work, it is probably inappropriate to expect such things in this kind of treatment. The beginner who wants to develop a good working knowledge of NT scholarship from an evangelical perspective will likely be quite satisfied with what they find in here.