New Testament

Charity: The Place of the Poor in the Biblical Tradition, by Gary A. Anderson. Have modern economic assumptions and the theological underpinnings of Protestantism left us with distorted perspectives on almsgiving and its spiritual rewards? Anderson says yes. In this wide-ranging and engaging study of biblical writings and the Second Temple Jewish traditions that informed them, he shows that biblical charity extends beyond benefaction and philanthropy. Charitable acts make statements of belief about the nature of God and the world, and they have the capacity to make the giver aware of God’s presence through the needy, creating a sacramental interaction that cannot be replicated via mere gifts of money.

Seven Events That Shaped the New Testament World, by Warren Carter. Introductory surveys of the New Testament’s historical and cultural contexts must demonstrate why understanding those contexts yields a richer reading of the Bible. Carter’s wit and insight help his book succeed brilliantly. He employs seven monumental events and processes as entry points for exploring larger causes and consequences—the wider cultural currents that everyday people negotiated in every aspect of their lives in biblical times.

Encountering Jesus, Encountering Scripture: Reading the Bible Critically in Faith, by David Crump. Weaving occasional reflections on his own religious journey into his analyses of the Gospels and the writings of Paul, Crump examines the Bible through an explicitly Kierkegaardian lens. He emphasizes personal encounters with Jesus Christ as foundational to faith and to a proper appreciation of the value and limitations of critical-historical methods. Kierkegaard was not the first to notice faith’s tendency to defy reason and reorder common-sense expectations. Crump sees the New Testament as expressing the same thing when Jesus transforms surprised disciples and apostles and compels readers to respond in faith themselves.