A Guide through the New Testament

Ms. Marshall writes like a teacher who values the open-ended questions of a curious student (advanced high school or intelligent beginner bible student of any age). She has digested a massive cross-section of critical biblical research into the ways and the why's the books of the New Testament came to be. She has also addressed herself to the "what does it matter to us?" questions that adolescents and serious adult enquirers honestly ask about ancient texts. There are many books out there that presume to tell people what the moral of the stories of Jesus are: this book does not moralize or sermonize but it does enable the reader to form a perspective of the experiences of Jesus and the early church, and the faith that was shaped by these experiences. It is a book that guides us into an appreciation of how tradition changes and enlivens itself for each new situation, and it invites us in concrete workbook style to do the same for our own faith lives. It is a book for those who want faith and investigation of sacred texts to stimulate each other. It is a book I gave to my teenage daughter while she was going through Christian confirmation classes and she was able to use it independently. It would especially be very useful in an adult group to guide study and discussion. It will not create dogmatic believers but it will nourish faith in all who seek greater understanding of how the church finds its meaning, then and now.