If this be from Heaven: Jesus and the New Testament Authors in their Relationship to Judaism

Description

This is both an introduction to the New Testament and a study of its writings in relation to Judaism. The aim is to explore both the clear Jewish roots of the New Testament and its incipient anti-Judaism. The first two chapters give an overview of Jewish life and religion in the Greco-Roman world with special attention to the various groups and schools, among which the Jesus movement originated. Another chapter focusses on the tradition of the words and deeds of Jesus, the enigmatic teacher from Nazareth. The rest of the book studies the range of New Testament writings in their varied attitude towards Judaism. The concluding chapter is about how Christians might handle anti-Jewish texts in their Bible.

Peter Tomson is Professor of New Testament Studies at the Protestant Theological Faculty in Brussels.

'Tomson's knowledge of Judaism of the period in which Christianity originated is exemplary.....the topic of this book is of immense importance for Christian-Jewish understanding' Hendrikus Boers, Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta "of immense importance for spreading the knowledge of the interwoven development of Judaism and Christianity." --Journal of Beliefs and Values 23.1 (2002) "Tomson is clearly very much at home with a range of Jewish sources and his study provides an excellent discussion of first-century Judaism in all its various forms." --Expository Times 113.8 (May 2002) "...an easy-to-read survey of the NT documents...Tomson has done us a great service in attempting to draw his developmental scheme...Its advantages over generalizing approaches are undeniable, while it still dares to confront the issues head on, one text at a time." --Journal of Biblical Literature, Fall 2002 "In this substantial monograph, Tomson displays an impressive depth of knowledge of postbiblical Judaism and nascent Christianity- their history, literature, and respective source languages." -Michele Murray, Review of Biblical Literature, October 2004 * Review of Biblical Literature *