-----Annotated Bibliography-----
New Testament Theology

B311: New Testament Theology.  (A course syllabus to a New Testament Theology Course at Vanderbilt University Divinity School).

Balla, Peter.  Challenges to New Testament Theology. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1997.

Beardslee, William A.  Margins of Belonging: Essays on the New Testament and Theology. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1991.

Blackman, E.C. Biblical Interpretation. Philadelphia : Westminster Press, 1957. [BS476 .B53 1957]

Brown, Colin, Ed. New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1986. [BS2397 .N48]

Carson, D. A. "New Testament Theology." Dictionary of the Later New Testament and its Developments, 796-814. Edited by R. P. Martin and Peter H. Davids. Downer Grove, Il.: InterVarsity Press, 1997.
(About the Book
The third of IVP's critically acclaimed series of dictionaries of the New Testament provides focused study on the often-neglected portions of the New Testament: Acts, Hebrews, the General Epistles and Revelation. Furthermore, its scope goes beyond the life of the New Testament church to include the work of the apostolic fathers and early Christianity up through middle of the second century.
The Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments offers a summa of New Testament studies. Designed to bring students, teachers, pastors and general readers up to date and up to speed, this one-of-a-kind reference volume presents more information than any other single work--dealing exclusively with the theology, literature, background and scholarship of the later New Testament and the apostolic church.
In-depth, comprehensive articles focus on theological themes, methods of interpretation, background topics and various other subjects specifically related to the study of New Testament theology and literature. Expert contributors include Darrell Bock, George R. Beasley-Murray, I. Howard Marshall, Ben Witherington III and James D. G. Dunn. Wide-ranging articles range from the books of James and Jude to household codes, from the Roman emperor cult to gnosticism and docetism, questions of canon to second-century church leaders like Ignatius and Polycarp.
The Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments takes its place alongside the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels and Dictionary of Paul and His Letters in presenting mature evangelical scholarship--committed to the authority of Scripture, utilizing the best of critical methods, and maintaining a dialogue with contemporary scholarship and the challenges facing the church.[comments by publisher; ISBN 0-8308-1779-4])

Fiorenza, Francis Schüssler. "The Crisis of Scriptural Authority. Interpretation and Reception." Interpretation 44 (1990): 353-368.

Güttgemanns, Erhardt. "Linguistisch-literaturwissenschaftliche Grundlegung einer neutestamentliche Theologie," Linguistica Biblica 13/14 (1972), 2-18.  [English translation, "Linguistic-Literary Critical Foundation of a New Testament Theology." Translated by William G. Doty. "Erhardt Güttgemanns' 'Generative Poetics," Semeia. Volume 6 edited by Norman R. Petersen, 181-215. Missoula, MT: The Society of Biblical Literature, 1976.]
(Güttgemanns emphasizes the deeper levels of language in the formulation of new Testament thought. The reasoning is very compact, in the form of forty-seven interrelated theses, but it is nevertheless one of the presentations of Güttgemanns which might be more readily understandable by someone unfamiliar with contemporary linguistics and with the author's frequently highly individual forms of expression. Although Güttgemanns tends to understand all thought as emerging from grammar in what could be call a pan-grammatism, this remains a high significant contribution. [comments by Boers]).

Hasel, Gerhard F. New Testament Theology: Basic Issues in the Current Debate. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1978.
(The author selects some basic issues for in-depth coverage: the question of methodology, the various problems associated with the center of the New Testament, and variety of aspects related to New Testament theology. [Vanderbilt Divinity School Library description]) [BS2397 .H34]

Johnson, Luke Timothy.  Religious Experience in Earliest Christianity. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998.

Käsemann, Ernst. "The Problem of a New Testament Theology," New Testament Studies 19 (1973), 235-45.
(A brief critical discussion of the history of New Testament theology and of some of the current works on the subject. He reaffirms the position of Schlatter which he formulates succinctly: "With Schlatter, I regard the revelation of Christ in it progress and varied interpretation as the real clue to the New Testament." [comments by Boers])

Kattenbusch, F. "Die Entstehung einer christlichen Theologie. Zur Geschichte der Ausdrücke Qeologiva, Qeologei'n, Qeolovgo"," Zeitschrift für Theologie und Kirche, 11 (1930), 161-205.
(Older but still very useful analysis of the Greek terms and their contemporary significance.)

Merk, Otto. "Biblische Theologie II. Neues Testament,"

Morgan, Robert, ed. The Nature of New Testament Theology: The contribution of William Wrede and Adolf Schlatter. Studies in  Biblical Theology, Second Series 25. Naperville, IL: ALex R. Allenson, 1973.
(Many former students used this text in preparation for NT Theology & Hermeneutics exam, perhaps because the author in his introduction (the longest of the three sections) outlines the positions of the two major influences in Germany (Schlatter and Wrede whose essays comprise the other two sections) before taking a somewhat middle of the road view.  [Vanderbilt Divinity School Library description]) [BS2397 .M63 1973]

Räisänen, Heikki. Beyond New Testament Theology: A Story and a Programme. 2nd edition. Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 2001.
(After outlining the developments in NT Theology from Gabler to Wrede, the author takes a quite innovative modern approach to the problem from the perspective of a contemporary world view of religion traditions. [Vanderbilt Divinity School Library description])

Schnackenburg, Rudolf. New Testament Theology Today, Present and Future: Modern Aspects of  New Testament Theology. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame, 1966.

Strecker, Georg. "Das Problem der Theologies des Neuen Testaments," in Georg Strecker, Eschaton und Historie. Aufsätze, 260-290. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1979.
(In this article Prof. Strecker lays out the structure for his subsequent volume Theologie des Neues Testaments which appeared in 1996 in German, shortly after his death. See listing below. "A collection of some of the most significant writings on the problem of a theology of the New Testament, with an informative introductory discussion by Strecker." [comments by Boers])

Tate, W. Randolph. Biblical Interpretation : An Integrated Approach. Revised Edition. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997. [BS476 .T375 1997]

Theißen, Gerd. Social Reality & the Early Christians: Theology, Ethics, & the World of the New Testament. Translated by Margaret Kohl. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1992.

Via, Dan O., Jr. What is New Testament Theology? Volume in Guides to Biblical Scholarship: New Testament Series. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 2002.
(Does New Testament theology rightly deal with the documents of the New Testament or with something outside the text, such as the unfolding of early Christian religion, the events of salvation history, the historical Jesus in particular, or an understanding of human existence? Is New Testament theology a strictly historical project, a dialectical interaction between historical interpretation and hermeneutical concerns or a solely hermeneutical program? This volume by a seasoned bilbical scholar not only describes how New Testament theology has been done but provides critiques of the major approaches in the twentieth century as well as his own proposal. Contents: 1. The Legacy of Hendrikus Boers. 2. The Structuring of New Testament Theology. 3. New Testament Theology: Textual or Extra-Textual? 4. New Testament Theology as a Historical Project. 5. New Testament Theology as Hermeneutical: Postmodernism. 7. Reprise: History, Hermeneutics, and Postmodernism. 8. Conclusion.  [from fall 2002 Fortress Press catalogue; ISBN 0-8006-3263-X])

Boers, Hendrikus. What is New Testament Theology? The Rise of Criticism and the Problem of a Theology of the New Testament. Volume in Guides to Biblical Scholarship: New Testament Series. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979.
(A concise little book that deals with the major issues and problems attending the subject. This is a good place to start if one is unfamiliar with the issues NT scholars debate.[Vanderbilt Divinity School Library description]) [BS2397 .B58]

Goppelt, Leonhard. "The Discipline: Its History and Range of Problems." Theology of the New Testament: Jesus and the Gospels. Volume 1 of 2 volumes. Translated by John E. Alsup. Edited by Jürgen Roloff, 1:251-281.  Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1981.

McDonald, James I. H. Biblical Interpretation and Christian Ethics. Cambridge [England] ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 1993.
[BS680.E84 M43 1993]

McKim, Donald K. Historical Handbook of Major Biblical Interpreters.  Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1998.
(listing of Table of Contents  [comments from publisher; ISBN 0-8308-1452-3])
 
 

Adam, Andrew K.M. Making Sense of New Testament Theology: 'Modern' Problems and Prospects. Volume 11 in Studies in American Biblical Hermeneutics. Atlanta: Mercer University Press, 1995.
(Adam [professor of New Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary] proposes a hermeneutics of theology which addresses the problem of hegemony in the field of New Testament studies. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.)

Rudolf Bultmann. "Is Exegesis Without Presuppositions Possible?" In Existence and Faith, 289-296.

Rudolf Bultmann.  Jesus Christ and Mythology. New York: Scribners, 1958.

Rudolf Bultmann. "New Testament and Mythology," in Kerygma and Myth, ed., 1-44. Hans Werner Bartsch. New York: Harper & Row, 1961.

Cranford, Lorin L. "Modern New Testament Interpretation," Biblical Hermeneutics. 2nd Edition. Edited by Bruce Corley, Steve W. Lemke, Grant I. Lovejoy, 147-162. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002.

Hasel, Gerhard F.  New Testament Theology: Basic Issues in the Current Debate.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1978.

Kelsey, David H.  The Uses of Scripture in Recent Theology.  Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975.

Kirkpatrick, William David. "From Biblical Text to Theological Formulation," Biblical Hermeneutics. 2nd Edition. Edited by Bruce Corley, Steve W. Lemke, Grant I. Lovejoy, 356-373. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002.

Schlatter, Adolf von. The Theology of the Apostles : The Development of New Testament Theology. Translated by Andreas J. Köstenberger. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1998.  (Translation of Die Theologie der Apostel, first published in Germany in 1922.) [BS2618 .S3313 1998]

Weiss, Johannes. Die Predigt Jesu vom Reiche Gottes. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1900. Revised third edition by Ferdinand Hahn with an introductory word by Rudolf Bultmann in 1964. [English translation, Jesus' Proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Translated by Richard Hyde Hiers and David Larrimore Holland. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971.]
(The pioneering work in which Weiss conclusively showed that Jesus' conception of the kingdom of God was understandable only within the framework of Jewish apocalypticism. [comments by Boers])

Wrede, William. Über Aufgabe und Methode der sogenanneten neutestamentliche Theologie. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1897. [Reprinted in Strecker, Das Problem der Theologie des Neuen Testaments, pp. 81-154. English translation: Morgan, Robert, ed. The Nature of New Testament Theology: The contribution of William Wrede and Adolf Schlatter. Studies in  Biblical Theology, Second Series 25, 68-116. Naperville, IL: ALex R. Allenson, 1973.
(A programmatic essay which clarifies the necessity for an interpretation of the New Testament as part of the history of primitive Christian religion and theology and outlines the way in which such an interpretation might proceed. [comments by Boers])