New Testament Review

Who was Marcion? How was the New Testament created? A critical discussion of Harnack's little book on Marcion.

What did Jews expect of Gentiles? Was there a Jewish mission? Who were Paul's opponents in Galatia? A discussion of Paula Fredriksen's article and an introduction to "Paul within Judaism."

How did the earliest Jesus followers understand their relationship to wider Judaism? Joel Marcus delivers his retirement lecture at Duke Divinity School on the "Parting of the Ways" between Judaism and Christianity.

How does the Gospel of Mark end? There's more than one answer! A discussion of Burgon's The Last Twelve Verses of Mark for our Easter episode.

Why were the Early Christians persecuted? A discussion of GEM de Ste Croix's work by the same name.

Does Luke's use of Matthew require an implausible composition procedure? A discussion of Downing's influential argument for the two source theory.

Is the Gospel of Luke history? Who is Theophilus? A discussion of Loveday Alexander's The Preface to Luke's Gospel.

Were early Christians poor? How did economics influence early Christianity? A discussion of Wayne A Meeks' The First Urban Christians

What is the point of genealogies in the gospels? Are there differences? Why? A special Christmas-themed discussion of a chapter from Raymond Brown's The Birth of the Messiah.

How many letters did Paul write to Corinth? How many of them are in the New Testament? How did Paul offend the Corinthian church? A discussion of Margaret M Mitchell's "The Interpretive Intertwining of Literary and Historical Reconstruction."

When did Christians separate from the synagogue? Is John a "two-level drama"? A discussion of JL Martyn's History and Theology in the Fourth Gospel.

A special episode discussing the annual Society of Biblical Literature and American Academy of Religion meeting. #SBLAAR18

Why is the Gospel of John so weird? A discussion of Wayne A Meeks, "The Man from Heaven in Johannine Sectarianism."

Are there good reasons to think that Matthew and Luke had a common source other than Mark? A discussion of "On Dispensing with Q" by Austin Farrer.

Who were Paul's opponents in Colossae? We discuss Morna Hooker's important essay arguing that there are no false teachers addressed in Colossians.

What is Matthew's relationship to Judaism? A discussion of one essay from Graham Stanton's A Gospel for a New People: Studies in Matthew.

What is the center of Paul's theology? Did Paul and the Jewish people have a problem with the law? A Discussion of EP Sander's paradigm shifting monograph, Paul and Palestinian Judaism.

When was Revelation written? Who wrote it? AY Collins "Dating the Apocalypse of John" guides us through the relevant considerations.

Do the gospels belong to a recognizable genre of literature from antiquity? What is a genre anyways? A discussion of Richard A Burridge's What Are the Gospels?

With whom was Paul arguing in the letter to the Galatians? How can we know? A discussion of JL Martyn's classic article "A Law Observant Mission to the Gentiles."

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are suspiciously similar. Who copied from whom? Did Matthew and Luke share a source that hasn't survived? Our first synoptic problem episode featuring Ken Olson! A discussion of BH Streeter's The Four Gospels.

Special Episode: Richard Hays and Joel Marcus discuss literary and historical approaches to New Testament Studies and the relationship of both to Christian theology. Live recording of a discussion at Duke Divinity school.

What was the role of women in the Jesus movement, Pauline churches, and earliest Christianity? How did the men who composed and transmitted our earliest evidence shape the tradition? How does modern scholarship perpetuate their androcentrism? A discussion of Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza's In Memory of Her (1983).

Why is Jesus so secretive in the gospel of Mark? How did the evangelists shape their stories of Jesus? A discussion of William Wrede's The Messianic Secret (1901).

Did Paul struggle to keep the law? As a Christian, did Paul have a sin problem? A discussion of Krister Stendahl's "Paul and the Introspective Conscience of the West" (1963) and its impact on the study of Judaism and Paul.