New Testament Theology (Clarendon Paperbacks) [Paperback]

the late G. B. Caird (Author), L. D. Hurst (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198263880 | ISBN-13: 978-0198263883 | Publication Date: December 28, 1995

This is a new and masterly presentation of New Testament theology by one of the leading religious scholars of this century. It takes the unique step of setting up an imaginary dialogue on the central concepts of the Christian faith between the various authors of the New Testament themselves, thus capturing in a particularly fresh and lucid way the differing approaches and attempts of these first Christians to explore and elucidate their faith.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An outstanding contribution to the field of NT theology that builds upon the insights of Caird's contemporaries in the field, while adding his own unique insights on the central themes usually associated with this field of study....The book is extremely well done and recommended for anyone interested in scholarly study of NT theology. It is especially recommended for college and seminary libraries, but it is written in such a way as to be accessible to the general reader as well."--Choice

About the Author

G. B. Caird is at University of Oxford. L. D. Hurst is at University of California, Davis.

Product Details

• Paperback: 520 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 28, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198263880
• ISBN-13: 978-0198263883
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,260,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE GOSPEL PLAN OF SALVATION, January 10, 2000

By 

Terry B. Cullom (Memphis, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: New Testament Theology (Clarendon Paperbacks) (Paperback)

While Caird's approach, style and format reflect an earlier time, his work is full of innovative ideas. He views N.T. Theology as a descriptive historical discipline, and his book includes a chapter on Jesus (as the focal point for the theology of the N.T. writers), and a chapter on Jesus' own theology.

From the outset it is clear that Caird sees the Christian faith as historical, and wishes to view it within it's historical 1st-century Jewish context: he sees God acting in and through the life and ministry of Jesus to bring man to the completed state for which he was created, to have dominion over the world.

Basically, the first four-fifths of his book deal with the divine plan of salvation. He shows that God created man for relation with Him, to image the divine nature, and to rule over creation. But through sin, man was no longer able to maintain a relation. God chose Israel to be the focal point for His action to redeem all mankind. The Torah served only a temporary and transient purpose of showing the kind of life modeled on a relation to God, to disciple man, but could not itself impower and enable man to reach full maturity.

God predestined man to be brought to completion through Christ. Jesus is given a relation to God and becomes the true man intended by God, and was given dominion over the world, as the second adam. Caird constantly stresses that we must view Jesus' relation to God in its stark human reality, and refrain from interpreting Jesus via the lens of later orthodoxy, however valid such claims may be.

Throughout his work, Caird deals with various themes and shows how the different N.T. writers deal with the subject. Also, Caird is constantly interpreting the key passages (e.g., Romans 7) and difficult themes (e.g., unforgiveable sin), and revealing the characteristic thought structure of the authors; all of which gives a cogency and unity to his treatment.

Caird offers ideas, material, and an approach that are presently being taken up by the Third Quest. In fact, N.T. Wright's major works can be seen as an extention of Caird's own. This book provides a general and broader frame of reference, and plenty of ideas and exegesis to make its own contribution to the current quest. It will stimulate and challenge....and give direction as well.

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Honestly deals with the text, April 19, 2005

By 

theologicalresearcher "theologicalresearcher" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Testament Theology (Clarendon Paperbacks) (Paperback)

Here is another NT theology book written from a moderate evangelical perspective. Caird follows in the tradition of Brevard Childs, James D. G. Dunn, and N. T. Wright. Though the author does try to draw out NT theological themes by going straight to the Bible, many strict conservative evangelicals will find many of Caird's arguments problematic. Caird develops his book by using a "conference method" where all the NT writers are at a table putting forth their respective views. This has the advantage of allowing the NT writers to speak with their own voices without modern dogmatic presuppositions. Caird also draws out the theology of the NT by using the theme of salvation as the "door hinge" to discuss other NT theological themes, dealing with the need of salvation, the experience of salvation, and the consummation of final salvation. Many will find this approach helpful, even though it may be limiting. Caird's discussion of the theology of Jesus (chapter 9) is very insightful. He discusses what he believes Jesus taught about the Kingdom, the Law, Israel and the nations, and himself. The only problem with this book is that Caird has fallen into the trap of allowing a socio-religious outlook to guide his exegesis (like Childs, Dunn, and Wright). This has the negative effect of blunting the evangelical message that Jesus Christ came down through a virgin birth, lived a perfect life, and died to remove the sins of the elect. Caird's approach is typical of those who try to "socialize" the Gospel (thus, many conservatives will not like some of Caird's conclusions). Overall though, it is a good book that contains lots of information on what the NT writers taught and preached.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview/review of NT, November 21, 2009

By 

Darryl K. Williams - See all my reviews
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This review is from: New Testament Theology (Clarendon Paperbacks) (Paperback)

I wrote a paper on this text as part of a seminary course on New Testmant Theology at the end of three years of study. I found the book to be a good overview and summary of much that I had learned during the three years. The paper can be seen here: [...]