This book is not a conventional introduction to Scripture, but an initiation that will enable the reader to encounter the New Testament as a living proclamation and to study the Bible on his own with joy and profit.
Ingo Hermann shows that a fruitful reading of the New Testament depends upon an understanding of basic questions about its origin, transmission, and interpretation. He explains that no serious study of Scripture can dispense with historical interpretation, and analyzes the writings of the New Testament insofar as they bear the stamp of the historical milieu of the first century. Since the proclamation of the early Christian community used mythical language to describe events, the author provides a critical interpretation of myth and mythological symbols. He also introduces the reader to the methods of demythologization and form criticism as aids to penetrating Scripture.
Basic principles of modern biblical scholarship are applied to problems inherent in the gospels-for example, the discrepancies that exist between Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in recording the words and deeds of Jesus Christ. Interpretive guidelines are also given to illuminate the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline epistles.
The reader will find in this book a fresh, clear, and realistic approach to the meaning of the New Testament-an approach that will lead him to understand biblical thought in a way that can charge his whole thinking about himself, his religion, and the world.