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Volume 33 Issue 1 - May 2008

An International Journal for Pastors and Students of Theological and Religious Studies



Table of Contents [+] Expand


Book Reviews[+] Expand

Old Testament
Sidnie White Crawford and Leonard J. Greenspoon.
The Book of Esther in Modern Research.
Reviewed by Robin Gallaher Branch
Eryl W. Davies.
The Dissenting Reader: Feminist Approaches to the Hebrew Bible.
Reviewed by Robin Gallaher Branch
John Day, ed.
In Search of Pre-Exilic Israel.
Reviewed by Bálint Károly Zabán
Katharine J. Dell.
The Book of Proverbs in Social and Theological Context.
Reviewed by Jennie Barbour
William G. Dever.
Did God Have a Wife?
Reviewed by William D. Barker
New Testament
Octavian D. Baban.
On the Road Encounters in Luke-Acts.
Reviewed by Jamie Read
Richard Bauckham.
Jesus and the Eyewitnesses.
Reviewed by David Wenham
Andrew E. Bernhard.
Other Early Christian Gospels.
Reviewed by Simon Gathercole
William S. Campbell.
Paul and the Creation of Christian Identity.
Reviewed by James C. Miller
David L. Dungan.
Constantine's Bible: Politics and the Making of the New Testament.
Reviewed by Preston M. Sprinkle
Margaret Hannan.
The Nature and Demands of the Sovereign Rule of God in the Gospel of Matthew.
Reviewed by Phillip J. Long
Carl R. Holladay.
A Critical Introduction to the New Testament.
Reviewed by Lee S. Bond
 
Larry W. Hurtado.
The Earliest Christian Artifacts.
Reviewed by Rohintan Mody
Bruce J. Malina and John J. Pilch.
Social-Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul.
Reviewed by Nijay K. Gupta
Mark Reasoner.
Romans in Full Circle: A History of Interpretation.
Louisville: Reviewed by Michael Bird
Sorin Sabou.
Between Horror and Hope: Paul's Metaphorical Language of "Death" in Romans 6:1-11.
Reviewed by Nijay K. Gupta
Chris VanLandingham.
Judgment and Justification in Early Judaism and the Apostle Paul.
Reviewed by Timothy Gombis
Tommy Wasserman.
The Epistle of Jude: Its Text and Transmission.
Reviewed by P. J. Williams 89

History and Historical Theology
Sheridan Gilley and Brian Stanley, eds.
The Cambridge History of Christianity: World Christianities, c. 1815-c.1914.
Reviewed by John Coffey
Collin Hansen.
Young, Restless, Reformed.
Reviewed by Andrew David Naselli 91
Douglas A. Sweeney and Allen C. Guelzo, eds.
The New England Theology: From Jonathan Edwards to Edwards Amasa Park.
Reviewed by Oliver D. Crisp
Systematic Theology and Bioethics
Petrus J. Gräbe.
New Covenant, New Community.
Reviewed by A. T. B. McGowan
Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor, eds.
Overcoming Sin and Temptation.
Reviewed by Graham Beynon
James K. A. Smith.
Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?
Reviewed by Tim Chester
Kevin J. Vanhoozer.
The Drama of Doctrine.
Reviewed by Robbie Fox Castleman
Ethics and Pastoralia
Gilbert Meilaender and William Werpehowski, eds.
The Oxford Handbook of Theological Ethics.
Reviewed by Brian Brock
H. P. Owen.
The Basis of Christian Prayer.
Reviewed by Stephen Dray
Milton Vincent.
A Gospel Primer for Christians.
Reviewed by Andrew David Naselli


A Critical Introduction to the New Testament: Interpreting the Message and Meaning of Jesus Christ. Nashville: Abingdon, 2005. xxiii + 609 pp. + CD-Rom. ₤27.99.

Carl R. Holladay.

Lee S. Bond
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Deerfield, Illinois, USA

The purpose of this introduction is to provide the reader with basic theological, historical, and literary information on the twenty-seven writings of the NT. This monograph is the culmination of professor Holladay's thirty years of experience teaching the NT to seminary and college students.

The book includes material found in traditional NT introductions. The familiar "W's"are all explored: Who wrote each letter? When? Where? To Whom? Why? However, the distinctive feature of this NT introduction is that Holladay gives greater attention to the social, theological, ethical, and religious dimensions related to the message and meaning of Jesus Christ. Moreover, Holladay explores how the earliest believers interpreted this message. The monograph also gives an overview of how the NT has been read and interpreted throughout the last twenty centuries.

Regarding structure, Holladay treats the writings of the NT in the order in which they appear in modern day Bibles. An added plus is that the book comes in two formats, a 600 page print edition and an expanded CD-ROM version containing a 900 page PDF-based text. The standard print edition contains introductory material that is informative and interesting. The CD-ROM version on the other hand takes the topics to a deeper level and covers them in more detail. The basic bibliographies found at the end of each chapter are supplemented by lengthy annotated ones in the e-version. Holladay also provides helpful evaluations of resources that were used in the writing of the book. The monograph also contains helpful sections on the history of study which may benefit a variety of students. Moreover, the e-version comes with additional diagrams, illustrations, and maps not found in the print edition. In terms of structure, the e-version does have an index that is designed to help readers do simple searches. One can perform a full-text search within individual chapters and print a page or specific set of pages from selected sections.

The book is a valuable resource for students, teachers, and pastors, and I applaud Holladay for his effort. However, the weaker side of this introduction is, naturally enough, the e-version. While Abingdon Press has made a step in the right direction in putting the book in digital format, the e-format which they have chosen has two main weaknesses: research capabilities and user interface.

First, while it is possible to save all twenty eight individual chapters of Holladay's book onto a computer hard drive, the basic search engine works only with the CD-Rom version and is limited to the topics found only in the print version. So, if one wanted to find every place where Holliday discusses a biblical passage, modern author, specific topic, or church father, he or she would have to read the footnotes of each individual chapter because this material is not indexed or hot linked to the search engine. It is the opinion of this reviewer that the e-version was not intended to be a research tool.

Secondly, the PDF-based text is more difficult to work with in the teaching and preaching setting. Holladay has provided instructors and pastors with excellent maps, tables, and visual aids. However, it is not easy to transfer PDF-based material into another program like MS Power Point or MS Word.

In short, the book is a welcomed edition to NT introductions and those who enjoy reading print editions might seriously think about adding this one to their collections. But to those who enjoy digital libraries, I would suggest waiting until improvements can be made to the e-version.