The New Testament in Context : A Literary and Theological Textbook

The New Testament in Context is the fruit of a scholarly life teaching the New Testament to undergraduate students. George Shillington, now Emeritus Professor at Canadian Mennonite University, has written a textbook on the New Testament which stresses the varying social, rhetorical and theological contexts of these twenty-seven texts. He introduces the book by emphasizing the importance of "context" for reading "texts". The discussion then moves onto a description of the socio-rhetorical and theological approach, illustrated by exploring a text from one of Paul's letters. The usefulness of a socio-rhetorical reading is often limited by neglecting to recognize the theological aspect of a text. Shillington's textbook addresses this tendency by never losing sight of the theological dimension. The discussion is then broadened out to explore the larger context of the New Testament world within which the various documents were written. In addition to leading the students into the texture of the texts, Shillington encourages them to engage in interpretation, e.g. for writing an exegetical essay on a given text. Terms of reference are defined along the way, and different schools of thought on given subjects are brought to light. Each chapter concludes with suggestions for further research on the particular material.