New Testament Theology and Its Quest for Relevance: Ancient Texts and Modern Readers

por Thomas R. Hatina

Editorial:

Bloomsbury

, 2013

Overview

New Testament theology raises many questions, not only within its own boundaries, but also in relation to other fields such as history, literary criticism, sociology, psychology, history, politics, philosophy, and religious studies. But, the overarching question concerns the relevance of two thousand year old writings in today's world. How does one establish what is and is not relevant in the New Testament? How does one communicate the ancient ideas, presented in an alien language, alien time, and alien culture to a contemporary audience?

This book is intended to serve as a methodological introduction to the field of New Testament theology, aimed at a range of readers—undergraduate and Seminary students, clergy, and laypersons interested in the relevance of Scripture. It is a guide which aims to help readers understand how practitioners of New Testament theology have wrestled with the relationship between historical reconstruction of the New Testament and its interpretation in the modern world.

Key Features

• Focuses on the relevance of the New Testament to the modern world
• Introduces New Testament theology for a variety of readers
• References other theological texts

Contents

• New Testament Theology in Theory
  • What Is New Testament Theology?
  • Foundationalist Flaws
• New Testament Theology in Practice
  • New Testament Theology and the History of Biblical Interpretation
  • Foundationalist structuring of New Testament Theology
  • Dialectical Structuring of New Testament Theology
• New Testament Theology in a Pluralistic Age
  • Religion and Theology: The New Conversation
  • New Testament Theology as a Dialectical Process: An Exercise in Mythmaking

Top Highlights

“second is that it is ‘a study of that theology which is based upon or rooted in or in accordance with the New Testament’” (Page 19)

“at the heart of every religion lies a mysticism: a profound experience of, or connection with, a transcendent reality” (Page 190)

“New Testament theology has certainly dealt with the religious content of the New Testament, but more overtly it has been concerned with how the religious content is to be identified, understood and interpreted within its own historical context and in the present.” (Page 13)

“There is no explicit hermeneutical key mandated in the Bible, though a text which might be read in this way is John 5:39 where Jesus says to the Jewish religious leaders, ‘You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about me.” (Page 20)

“When compared to the breadth of early Judaism, the most distinctive feature of early Christian interpretation of scripture, and hence the formulation of new theological thinking, was its Christological focus.” (Page 90)

Endorsements

In what is perhaps the most exhaustive and painstaking review of the subdiscipline to date … Hatina is concerned with relevance: Will the message of the New Testament have any value or relevance in the twenty-first century not only to people of faith but for society at large? … This massive survey should be essential reading for anyone working in New Testament theology. Even if one disagrees with Hatina's final resolution of the problem, the treatment of the primary issues is comprehensive, fair, and incisive.

Gary M. Burge, Wheaton, Illinois, Review of Biblical Literature

Hatina has provided a succinct survey and evaluation of the discipline. … [This book] offers a way forward that draws on the best aspects of both past and current scholarship in many fields, seeks to engage contemporary culture and religious studies in a way that offers the NT theologian a voice in the public sphere, and finds its ultimate expression in the Church that is seeking justice in the world.

Frank E. Dicken, Lincoln Christian University, USA, Stone-Campbell Journal

Hatina is dealing thoughtfully and respectfully with a question of immense contemporary importance.

The Heythrop Journal

About Thomas R. Hatina

Thomas Hatina (Ph.D, Bristol University) is Chair of the Religious Studies Department at Trinity Western University in Langley, Canada.