Before reading Dr. James Borland's book, I did not know what a general introduction into the New Testament would be. I was both surprised and impressed that this book, A General Introduction To The New Testament, contained so much information. I was also surprised to find that most of the information presented involved areas of study which I have never encountered, even though I have been a church-going Christian for more than twenty-five years.
Dr. Borland holds a Doctor of Theology degree from Grace Theological Seminary, was Professor of New Testament and Theology at the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary at the time that this book was published, and has also written Christ in the Old Testament. His qualifications appear to be adequate for doing this work.
Two strengths of this book are the short chapters and the inline outline format. The author does not require the reader to work through many pages of material before taking a break. Other strengths include how the author has used different size fonts, made some parts of the text bold and others not, used italicizes, and also included tables to summarize significant points and information. I appreciate the important information that is contained within its pages, but I appreciate even more how the author has worked so diligently to make this material easy to read. The language is not complicated, and the style and presentation make for enjoyable, instructive reading.
Throughout the book, Dr. Borland uses the Bible to support his views and other important points. His style is clear, his arguments are logical, and the reader is left with the sense that the author has well researched the material that he is presenting.
Dr. Borland's book provides a lot of information about the New Testament which helps one to better understand the books of the New Testament. Listed below are some of the specific items that were of special interest to me.
A. Palestine's Physical Geography. In Chapter Three, Dr. Borland provides information about the physical geography of Palestine. He explains the four regions of the area - the Coast, the Hills, the Rift, and the Trans-Jordan - and addresses various issues about the land, such as the annual climate, the requirements for establishing a settlement, and some of the distances between popular sights. When one is aware of the annual rainfall statistics and the general dryness of the region, it is much easier to understand the significance of why Jesus washed the disciples' feet. When one knows about the distances between common Bible-time locations, it is easier to visualize Jesus and His disciples walking from place to place. These types of events take on more meaning and come alive when the reader is given the appropriate background material.
B. The Family of Herod. The author's handling of the family of Herod in Chapter Four was particularly enlightening. I was totally fascinated by what I discovered about the history of Herod the Great. Because of Dr. Borland's account of this man and his family, I felt like I was sitting in the enemy's camp and that I now know what they were thinking. Many times, particularly when looking at the Bible, a person will read a name and not give much thought to the person, or persons, behind the name. Now, because of my better understanding of Herod and his family, I can more accurately envision the Herods as I read and study the New Testament.
C. Christian Apocryphal Literature. Before reading Dr. Borland's book, I knew that the Apocrypha had been written before Christ's birth. I also knew some of the reasons why those books have been rejected by Protestant theologians, but I did not know that there was a whole collection of other false writings from that general time period. Dr. Borland's book introduced me to many new things, including such things as the Pseudepigrapha, the Qumran Literature and the other Apocryphal writings.
D. The Formation of the New Testament Canon. For me, studying about the canonization process provided the greatest thrill. Many of my Christian friends and acquaintances accept the Bible without expressing much, or any, concern for the origin of the different books or for the various canonization issues which arose during the early days of the Church. For instance, before studying Dr. Borland's book, I had never heard of, much less given any thought to, the Antilegomena or Homolegomena. Knowing how our Bible was put together and understanding some of the reasons why a Canon was initially thought important by the early Church are beneficial, since we live in a world where so many people are critics of God's Word.
E. Theories of Textual Criticism. Dr. Borland deals exhaustively with the issue of textual criticism. His book considers the copying of Scriptures and the theories that have been used to determine the most accurate manuscript copies. I particularly enjoyed the author's treatment of the Textus Receptus and the Westcott-Hort translations. I now have a much greater appreciation for how and why the different versions of the Bible were produced, and I also understand the opposing theories that have led to the distinctions between the two. The idea of a majority and minority text had never occurred to me until I read about it in this book.
I have enjoyed reading Dr. Borland's book very much, even though the first part did not follow any type of rigid organization or outline. The chapters in Part One could have been presented in any order, and nothing would have been lost from the reading. Yet, this opening part contained a lot of very useful, miscellaneous information that was new to me. Part Two was more structured and dealt with the various issues of canonization and textual criticism. Once again, I was exposed to a lot of material that was completely new to me.
This book is well written, easy to read, and very educational. It has helped me to better understand many things about the Bible and Bible times that I did not know before. It has also shown me how many past theologians and scholars have worked through the years to preserve God's Word. Therefore, I would highly recommend it to any serious Bible student.
Tom of Spotswood "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
Index to Selected Essays And Book Reviews
GLA 2 - Critique of 'Introduction to the New Testament'
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