Introduction To The New Testament

A massive survey of New Testament scholarship – its history, methodology, and findings – from a Catholic standpoint. Fr. Collins (Catholic U. of Louvain) has a masterful grasp of his subject; and his book – though rather flat stylistically – is a model of clarity, organization, and fair-mindedness. Still, readers vaguely interested in knowing what the NT is “all about” should be warned that this is an introduction in roughly the same sense that the Tour de France is a bicycle trip – both are long, arduous, and definitely not for beginners. Collins opens with a detailed discussion of how the NT canon was arrived at, moves on to historical study of the NT, from Ferdinand Christian Baur (1792-1860) to the abandonment of the “quest of the historical Jesus” and beyond. He deals with the thorny question of NT textual criticism. (There are ca. 5,000 Greek manuscripts – not to mention others in Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, etc. – and so many variant readings that any talk of an original or definitive text is meaningless.) He gives fine, richly illustrated explanations of source criticism (i.e., informed speculation on such problems as how Matthew combined material from the OT, Mark, and “Q”), form criticism (how the 27 books of the NT were edited and composed), and structuralist approaches (e.g., applying A. J. Greimas’ “actantial model” to gospel parables). Finally, Collins faces the problem of exegesis in a churchly context: the roles it plays in preaching, prayer, and religious instruction; the conflicts between Catholic scholars and narrow Roman notions of “inspiration,” etc. Collins sees the relationship linking the NT and the Church as “dialogical,” though he quietly admits that, especially in recent centuries, dogmatic theologians rather than trained exegetes have done most of the talking. Insofar as the exegetical disciplines are pre-theological, they may seem low in “content,” but Collins argues strongly for their necessity in the whole process of belief. A monumental effort (more up-to-date than the standard work by Wikenhauser), worthy of attention by all advanced students of scripture.