The writings of the New Testament : an interpretation / Luke Timothy Johnson ; with the assistance of Todd C. Penner.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

pt. I. The symbolic world of the New Testament -- 1. The Greco-Roman world -- 2. Judaism in Palestine -- 3. Diaspora Judaism -- pt. II. The Christian experience -- 4. The claims of the first Christians -- 5. The resurrection faith -- 6. Jesus in the memory of the church -- pt. III. The synoptic tradition -- 7. The Gospel of Mark -- 8. The Gospel of Matthew -- 9. Luke-Acts -- pt. IV. The Pauline traditions -- 10. Paul's ministry and letters -- 11. 1 and 2 Thessalonians -- 12. The Corinthian correspondence -- 13. The letter to the Galatians -- 14. The letter to the Romans -- 15. The letter to the Philippians -- 16. The letter to Philemon -- 17. The letter to the Colossians -- 18. The letter to the Ephesians -- 19. Pastoral letters : 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus -- pt. V. Other canonical witnesses -- 20. The letter to the Hebrews -- 21. 1 Peter -- 22. 2 Peter and Jude -- 23. The letter of James -- pt. VI. The Johannine traditions -- 24. The Gospel of John -- 25. 1, 2, and 3 John -- 26. The Book of Revelation.

The completely revised and updated version of Johnson's very successful introduction to the New Testament (1999) is now available with a CD-ROM that contains the entire original text with copious searching and researching features, plus hyper-links to the NRSV. This book serves as an introduction to the writings of the New Testament (NT). Its subject is a set of writings ordinarily found with another collection in the large anthology called the Bible. These writings came to birth in a specific time and place and were generated by specific causes. It may seem odd to think of the "birth" of literature, but the word is a reminder that what the reader now meets as an ancient text began as a living expression of living experience, and entered the world with a still visible parentage. - Publisher.