From Crisis to Christ

Scholars continue to unearth valuable understandings of the historical and religious worlds out of which the New Testament writings emerged. This beautifully-crafted introduction notes more than two dozen contextual crises and how the biblical text addresses and reflects them. From the ministry of Jesus, to the rise and progress of the Christian movement, to the epistles of Paul and other leaders, to a vision of God's final cosmic victory, the New Testament books are succinctly introduced in literary, historical, and theological perspectives.
Designed for optimal use in a 14- or a 10-week undergraduate or graduate course, each chapter is designed with four primary features in mind: (a) contextual crises shedding light on the subject; (b) connections with the biblical writings being discussed in that chapter; (c) primary features of the book(s) being discussed; and (d) an application section dealing with the relevance of the biblical content then and now. Anderson also uses call-out boxes and shorter vignettes to heighten particular themes, while images, charts, and maps are used to make information accessible for students.

New, valuable understandings of the historical and religious contexts of New Testament writings continue to emerge. This accessibly written introduction examines over two dozen such crises and how the biblical text addresses, reflects, and embodies them. From the ministry of Jesus, to the rise and propagation of the Christian movement, to the epistles of Paul and other leaders, to a vision of God's final cosmic victory, the New Testament books are succinctly introduced in literary, historical, and theological perspective.

Designed for optimal classroom use, each chapter offers four primary features: (a) definition and exploration of relevant contextual crises; (b) connections with the biblical writings; (c) primary features of the biblical narrative; and (d) an application section that engages the student directly and invites thoughtful response.