Bibliographical details:
Wright, N. T. (1992). The New Testament and the People of God. Christian Origins and the Question of God, vol. 1. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
Publisher’s information:
This major new five-volume project presents a comprehensive, detailed, yet highly readable assessment of the historical and theological questions surrounding the origins of Christianity.
‘In this volume Wright trains a penetrating historical and theological spotlight on first-century Palestinian Judaism. By describing the history, social make-up, worldview, beliefs, and hope of Palestinian Judaism, Wright familiarizes the reader with the ‘world of Judaism’ as situated within the world of Greco-Roman culture. This is a highly informative book! It provides the reader not only with a sweeping assessment of Jewish history but also with the careful exploration of the symbolic world of Judaism. Eminently accessible to students, scholars will find it interesting and provocative. It deserves a place of privilege on the bookshelf of any serious student of the New Testament.’ – Jack Dean Kingsbury
‘The sweep of Wright’s project as a whole is breathtaking. It is impossible to give a fair assessment of his achievement without sounding grandiose: no New Testament scholar since Bultmann has even attempted – let alone achieved – such an innovative and comprehensive account of New Testament history and theology.’ – Richard B. Hays
Table of contents:
Preface … xiii
PART I: Introduction … 1
1 Christian Origins and the New Testament … 3
1. Introduction … 3
2. The Task … 6
PART II: Tools for the Task … 29
2 Knowledge: Problems and Varieties … 31
1. Introduction … 31
2. Towards Critical Realism … 32
3. Stories, Worldviews and Knowledge … 38
4. Conclusion … 44
3 Literature, Story and the Articulation of Worldviews … 47
1. Introduction … 47
2. On Reading … 50
3. On Literature … 65
4. The Nature of Stories … 69
4 History and the First Century … 81
1. Introduction … 81
2. The Impossibility of ‘Mere History’ … 82
3. This Does Not Mean ‘No Facts’ … 88
4. Historical Method: Hypothesis and Verification … 98
(i) Introduction … 98 (ii) The Requirements of a Good Hypothesis … 99 (iii) Problems in Verification … 1045. From Event to Meaning … 109
(i) Event and Intention … 109 (ii) History and Narrative … 113 (iii) History and Meaning … 115 (iv) Conclusion … 1186. Historical Study of First-Century Religious Movements … 118
(i) Introduction … 118 (ii) Judaism in the First Century … 118 (iii) Christianity in the First Century … 119 5 Theology, Authority and the New Testament … 121
1. Introduction: From Literature and History to Theology … 121
2. Worldview and Theology … 122
3. Theology, Narrative and Authority … 139
4. Conclusion … 143
PART III: First-Century Judaism within the Greco-Roman World … 145
6 The Setting and the Story … 147
1. Introduction … 147
2. The Greco-Roman World as the Context of Early Judaism … 152
3. The Story of Israel, 587 BC–AD 70 … 157
7 The Developing Diversity … 167
1. The Social Setting … 167
2. Movements of Revolt … 170
3. The Pharisees … 181
4. The Essenes: Spotlight on a Sect … 203
5. Priests, Aristocrats, and Sadducees … 209
6. ‘Ordinary Jews’: Introduction … 213
8 Story, Symbol, Praxis: Elements of Israel’s Worldview … 215
1. Introduction … 215
2. Stories … 215
3. Symbols … 224
(i) Introduction … 224 (ii) Temple … 224 (iii) Land … 226 (iv) Torah … 227 (v) Racial Identity … 230 (vi) Conclusion … 2324. Praxis … 233
(i) Introduction … 233 (ii) Worship and Festivals … 233 (iii) Study and Learning … 235 (iv) Torah in Practice … 2375. According to the Scriptures; The Anchor of the Worldview … 241
6. Conclusion: Israel’s Worldview … 243
9 The Beliefs of Israel … 244
1. Introduction … 244
2. First-Century Jewish Monotheism … 248
3. Election and Covenant … 259
(i) Introduction … 259 (ii) Covenant … 260 (iii) Israel, Adam and the World … 2624. Covenant and Eschatology … 268
5. Covenant, Redemption and Forgiveness … 272
6. Beliefs: Conclusion … 279
10 The Hope of Israel … 280
1. ‘Apocalyptic’ … 280
2. The End of Exile, the Age to Come and the New Covenant … 299
3. No King but God … 302
4. The King that would Come … 307
5. The Renewal of the World, of Israel, and of Humans … 320
6. Salvation and Justification … 334
7. Conclusion: First-Century Judaism … 338
PART IV: The First Christian Century … 339
11 The Quest for the Kerygmatic Church … 341
1. Introduction … 341
2. Tasks and Methods … 345
3. Fixed Points: History and Geography … 346
4. Filling in the Gaps: Literature in Search of Setting … 357
12 Praxis, Symbol and Questions: Inside Early Christian Worldviews … 359
1. Introduction … 359
2. Praxis … 359
3. Symbols … 365
4. Questions … 369
13 Stories in Early Christianity (1) … 371
1. Introduction … 371
2. Luke and his Stories … 373
3. The Scribe and the Plot: Matthew’s Story … 384
4. ‘Let the Reader Understand’: The Story of Mark … 390
5. Synoptic Gospels: Conclusion … 396
6. Paul: From Adam to Christ … 403
7. The Narrative World of the Letter to the Hebrews … 409
8. The Story of John … 410
14 Stories in Early Christianity (2) … 418
1. Introduction: Form Criticism … 418
2. Towards a Revised Form Criticism … 427
3. Stories but no Story? Q and Thomas … 435
15 The Early Christians: A Preliminary Sketch … 444
1. Introduction … 444
2. Aims … 444
3. Community and Definition … 447
4. Development and Variety … 452
5. Theology … 456
6. Hope … 459
7. Conclusion … 464
PART V Conclusion … 465
16 The New Testament and the Question of God … 467
1. Introduction … 467
2. Jesus … 468
3. The New Testament … 469
4. The Question of God … 471
Appendix: Chronological Chart of Second-Temple Jewish History and of Early Christianity … 477
Bibliography … 481
Abbreviations … 481
A Primary Sources … 482
B Secondary Sources … 485
Indexes … 511
A Index of Ancient Sources … 511
B Index of Modem Authors 525
C Index of Selected Topics 530
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