Customer Reviews

An Introduction to the New Testament (The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library)

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Father Raymond Brown is, as always, impeccable in this "light" Introduction to the New Testament. He states in the opening section that this book is not for scholars. Somehow, I think this book has found its way onto the bookshelves of every pre-eminent NT scholar today. In spire of its heftiness, it is only an introduction to the NT.
It starts off with wonderful background material to NT times, examining contemporary thought, philosophy, and history. This helps the NT reader to understand the difficulties and issues which are being addressed by the author of a particular NT text.
After this background material Fr Brown insists that you actually read the specific book prior to reading his commentary and analyses of the text. If you do not do this, you will not be able to extract all of the information that Fr Brown is presenting to you. So I suggest one read the background material first, and then crack the Bible open to Mark and start reading along with Fr Brown, one text at a time. This will give you the most benefit for your effort.
It is important to make sure the material is fresh in your mimd. As time goes by, one tends to integrate the letters, gospels and parables into a working synthesis, and unless you know which version of a particular parable is being commented upon, the commantary and analysis will not be entirely useful.
I am enjoying this book immensely, and I encourage all serious Bible students, scholars or wanna-bes, to invest your time in this wonderful book.

One additional commanet: Father Brown is a Roman Catholic Priest. I have noticed that a lot of people have been making rather apologetic remarks for that fact on his behalf in these reviews. I am certain Father Brown , were alive today, sees no need for these apologies of faith. Father Brown, in my opinion, clearly demonstrates that the Catholic Church does not sacrifice reason in order to maintain faith.

Orent ut intelligent

The late Raymond E. Brown was a tremendous scholar and a devout Christian. In all he did, Father Brown carefully applied the tools of critical scholarship while never apologizing for his faith. In a scholastic battlefield too often dominated by extremists on the left and the right, Father Brown was a breath of fresh air who drew fire from both sides.

This Introduction first provides helpful background information about the formation of the New Testament and the social and political world that produced it. Father Brown then carefully analyzes each book of the New Testament with consideration for issues such as who the author was, where the book was written, and who the author's initial audience was. More importantly, each book is then carefully analyzed in light of this information for the meaning it conveyed in the social and historical context in which it was written.

As another reviewer has said, you can't read this book beneficially without also reading the New Testament. But for searching, inquisitive readers who are willng to put in that effort, this book provides a truly informative, intellectually honest introduction to the greatest story ever told.

another 5 stars for father brown (unfortunately posthumously). in this book, brown, a renowned 20th century catholic priest/scholar, tried to write a readable yet comprehensive intro to all facets of NT study. this volume treats all NT books, albeit briefly, giving the consensus of modern scholarship regarding authorship, purpose, date etc. as a note to conservative evangelicals (of which i am one), brown here is decidedly centrist in his stances. in accordance with modern catholic doctrine on biblical interpretation, brown lets history shape our understanding of the biblical message. for instance, brown would agree that such NT books as 2 Peter, Colossians, Ephesians, 1 & 2 Timothy etc, were not written by peter or paul. if you have read enough of brown's work, you know he IS a believer, and only occasionally his writings reflect it. i should say that whether one is liberal or conservative, brown was one of the best NT theologians ever. even as a conservative i can get alot from his work. so...... get this book! even if you don't agree with all of it, you will learn alot!

The author has done a great service for new readers of the New Testament. This book presents a balanced and informative introduction to the New Testament that is both scholary and extremely well written. There are adequate footnotes and bibliographical references for those who wish to explore a topic in greater detail. I read this book as I read the New Testament and I would recommend this approach to others. Father Brown is both knowledgable and enthusiastic about his subject matter and after reading this book so was I. Thank you Father Brown.

The Word of God as found in the Scriptures has never had a better exegete than Fr. Brown. He writes with academic authority, never arrogant and always humble, showing readers of all levels the polysemy that unfolds in the New Testament.

If one has room for only one commentary, let this be it. If not, this will become undoubtedly your favorite, leaving the rest in the back of the pack. Fr. Brown takes the awe and inspiring and make them awesome and inspirational.

I get goosebumps when I read him. Revelation never had a better voice.

In general, I believe that if a person is going to give a book as a gift, a gift certificate is a better option than actually buying the book, unless the person decides to send something to me from my Amazon.com wish list. At this time I have quite a few books I will probably never read that were given to me as gifts.Raymond Brown's AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT is one exception to this rule of mine. I was given this book as a gift and I have used it over and over again.

For many years, Raymond Brown was one of the Roman Catholic Church's preeminent scripture scholars. As a matter of fact, he was one of the first biblical scholars taken seriously by non-Catholic scripture scholars. His primary area of expertise is John's Gospel, though he has written well received commentaries on Jesus' birth and death. This volume is a general introduction to the entire New Testament. It includes a section devoted to the major developments in New Testament study, commentaries on the books themselves, and concludes with information about the current quest for the historical Jesus. While the commentaries are general, any one volume commentary would be general, it does help a person studying scripture come up with new insights about a text as well as answer questions about troubling passages.

Perhaps what makes this volume so interesting is the number of places Brown includes information that might not ordinarily be found in a one volume commentary. This information can give the reader a new perspective on scripture and demonstrate once again that the Bible has spoken to people in the past, and still continues to speak to people today.

I was assigned Brown's introduction to the NT in my Ph.D. program in New Testament. I read the book thoroughly from cover to cover and wrote a 46 page outline of it. Several key features stuck out at me: (1) Brown recognizes only 5 undisputed letters of Paul, (2) He identifies Marcan source and Q along the lines of the Two-Source Hypothesis, (3) He write from a Roman Catholic perspective but fairly evaluates the evidence. Overall it is an excellent textbook which is very readable. I like the chapters which have a one page summary of an entire NT book--a very helpful feature.

David Ritsema

Both the Church and the Academy have desparatly needed an introduction to the New Testament which was both balanced in its approach and thoroughly academic. Thus, academics and laypersons alike will benefit from this outstanding contribution by the late Fr. Brown.

Fr. Brown approaches the New Testament from a balanced perspective, acknowledging the various scholarly opinions and controversies inherent in biblical criticism, while at the same time retaining a great love for the text as the Word of God.

I particularly appreciated the fact that if Fr. Brown was unsure about his position on an issue, for instance, regarding the authorship or dating of a book, he was willing to say so! What a refreshing lack of academic hubris!

This book is suitable for use as an upper division undergraduate theology text, as a graduate level introduction, or as a seminary text.

In short (not to fatigue with another enthusiastic review):
Father Brown's book covers anything on every NT book, maintaining always a balanced poise, not obscuring nor whitewashing the problems and with a clarity both of mind and of style.
What I'd like to stress is that this unique book is deceivingly easy to read, for every word is packed with knowledge and a life experience, and so are the up-to-date bibliographies at the end of each chapter. I haven't seen a book as useful as this for decades, an instant classic that looks as if by adding, deleting or changing even only one word, we get a worse book!
Father Brown S.I., in memoriam.

A thorough and scholarly examination of the New Testament which is entirely accessable to the lay reader. Father Brown lucidly sets forth the social, religious, political and historical context of each book without losing sight of the essential Christian message. His approach is an intellectually-challenging counterbalance to the work of the "Jesus Seminar"; he expounds on the development of each New Testament book without challenging its essential, spiritual veracity. Well done, indeed.