Introduction to the New Testament
The Letters of Paul rank, with the Gospels, among the documents which have had the greatest influence on the history of humanity. They constitute one of the richest but also most difficult parts of the Bible. No writing in world literature has aroused so many comments – nor so many controversies:
Who was Paul? What influences did he undergo? Where and when did he write these letters? For what ? What were the problems of his correspondents? Are all these letters authentic?
For a long time, historians and theologians have strived to answer these questions by bringing together data from the Bible and that of historical tradition to help us better understand these texts. This introduction takes stock of these studies to make the results of a century of research available to every reader of the Bible. It contains :
- General introductory chapters:
- Historical context of these letters
- Life of Paul before writing the first epistles
- Chronology of his life and work
- Sources of his thought
- Formation of the collection of epistles
- How to better understand these letters
A particular introduction to each epistle:
- Recipients (social, moral and religious context, foundation and composition of the Church)
- Occasion and purposes of the letter
- Place and date of writing
- Distinctive characters, theme, current value
- Authenticity and unity of the epistle
- Detailed plan (to follow the train of thought)
List of comments Bibliography of 497 works on Paul and his work Index (616 authors cited, 1781 references)
Author: Alfred Kuen
ISBN: 9782828701161