A Short History of New Testament Studies

New Testament study has been the focus of Christian life for two millennia. This brief survey strives to chart the long history and evolution of this effort through the centuries, from the days of the Fathers (and one Mother) of the Church, through the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Baroque. Enlightenment rationalism challenged the tradition, and the romantic idealist era reacted to this rationalism. The modern historical-critical method opened new paths of understanding, and the churches struggled to digest this method in the 19th and 20th Centuries, with campaigns against modernism by the church and political pressure from monarchist, fascist and communist states. The story is told afresh by the author’s lively and opinionated style, which will delight the reader.