HUBERT RICHARDS’s The Four Gospels: An introduction is a short guide (about 60 pages) to the theology and purpose of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The author also looks at their portrayals of Jesus (McCrimmons, £6.95 (£6.25); 978-0855-976-897).
The Templeless Age: An introduction to the history, literature and theology of the “Exile”, by Jill Middlemass, has been written for student and scholar. The book begins with an overview of the downfall of Judah in the sixth century BC, which is followed by five chapters on the thought of this period. The author focuses on the community that remained in Judah as well as those who were exiled elsewhere (Westminster John Knox/Alban, £13.99 (£12.60); 978-0-664-23130-9).
Mark by Ronald Kernaghan is a commentary for pastors, teachers, and Bible-study leaders. It seeks to start with the biblical text and move out to its contemporary relevance. The author describes the Gospel as a parable, and sees it as an open-ended story inviting readers to be drawn into a life of discipleship (Inter-Varsity Press, £11.99 (£10.80); 978-1-84474-186-1).
Pheme Perkins sets the Synoptic Gospels in the context from which they emerged, and looks at their sources and how they came to be, before taking each in turn and introducing its characters, shape, literary features, implied communities, and portrayals of Jesus. The final chapter looks at apocryphal Gospels of the second and third centuries. One of the main tasks she sets herself in Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels is to enable the general reader to gain a greater understanding of scholarly approaches to the New Testament (Eerdmans/Alban, £15.99 (£14.40); 978-0-8028-1770-9).
Reta Halteman Finger’s study Of Widows and Meals looks in detail at the communal meals in the Acts of the Apostles, with particular reference to chapters 2 and 6. Her final chapter looks at how this tradition might be used today to enable the Church to interact with those outside (Eerdmans/Alban, £15.99 (£14.40); 978-0-8028-3053-1).
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