New Testament Life and Belief: A Study in History, Culture, and Meaning

New Testament Life and Belief is a combination of essential features necessary to grasp the meaning of the New Testament. The stage is set by giving the historical development of the Gentile world and its impact on the nation of Israel up to the time of the first century AD. Once the historical stage has been set, a vast array of cultural details from the Greco-Roman and Jewish ways of life are presented in order to establish the mindset of the time out of which the New Testament documents emerge. Such features as work, travel, divorce and remarriage, clothing, food, gladiatorial combat, crucifixion, burial, Jewish sects, the synagogue, cults, and literature are all explored. With this historical and cultural setting in place, the specific background of every book of the New Testament is examined culminating in a comprehensive purpose statement for each book. An outline of the argument and logic of each book is then given which shows how the writer unfolds his purpose. Finally, interspersed throughout the outlines are over 350 interpretive notes dealing with some of the most discussed and obscure passages in the New Testament.