The Eerdmans website now has my next book listed, which should be out sometime this year although I’m not sure on their precise schedule. Think of it as what it would be like if Pete Enns wrote an overview of the essential things to know about the New Testament, except instead of baseball references there are references to the TV show Friends. Here’s the information from the publisher’s website:
The A to Z of the New Testament: Things Experts Know That Everyone Else Should Too
by James F. McGrath
So you think you know the New Testament?
Did you know that Jesus made puns? Did you know that Paul never calls himself or the churches he writes to “Christian?” Did you know that we don’t know who wrote the Letter to the Hebrews, or if it’s even really a letter?
James F. McGrath sheds light on these and many other surprising realities of Scripture in The A to Z of the New Testament. Cutting through common myths and misunderstandings of problematic bible passages, James F. McGrath opens up expert knowledge to laypeople in his friendly introduction to New Testament studies. Each chapter in this fresh, accessible volume begins with a provocative anecdote or fact and then pulls back the curtain to inform curious readers about how scholars approach the issue. Along the way, McGrath explains unfamiliar terminology and methodology to nonspecialists with humor and clarity.
You’ve graduated from Sunday School. Ask the hard questions. Take Scripture on its own terms. Invigorate your Bible study with The A to Z of the New Testament as your guide.
Table of Contents
ABCs of New Testament Study (Introduction)
Born In A Barn?!
Camels, Critters, and Calculations
Dead Men Walking
Eat Whatever is Set Before You
Fulfilling or Failing: Would Matthew Get an “F” in Biblical Interpretation?
Greasy Jesus?
Hate Your Enemies
Intent, Interpretation, and Intertextuality
Joking Aside
Keep On Keeping the Commandments
Language, Please (What the…Hell?)
Mud In Your Eye
Naked Truth: Jesus Didn’t Wear Pants
Only One God: The First Christians Were Monotheists
Plagiarism in the Gospels?
Quotation Marks Required
Revelations is NOT in the Bible
Scribes and Secretaries: Who wrote the Letters of Paul?
Telephone Game?
Unmentionables: “Christians” and Other Things Paul Doesn’t Mention
Variations and Variants
Women With Authority
X Marks the Spot: How Do We Know the Shape of the Cross?
Y Chromosome?
Zacchaeus, Zebedee, Zechariah (Conclusion)
Acknowledgements
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