How to do Biblical Theology

"How to Do Biblical Theology" is a series of lectures, given by Peter Stuhlmacher, who is Professor of New Testament at Tubingen in Germany, in the early to mid 1990's to audiences in the US (Asbury Theological Seminary and Yale Divinity School) and in Norway (Oslo and Stavanger). The lectures are prefaced with a 27-page introduction to Stulmacher's theology by American New Testament scholar Scott Hafemann, titled "The Righteousness of God," a principal theme in Stuhlmacher's work.As might be expected from someone whose research is primarily in the field of New Testament studies, Stuhlmacher's "How to Do Biblical Theology" is oriented toward the New Testament's view of the Old Testament. He sees a close and indsipensable connection. Indeed, he thinks that Christian interpreters cannot treat the two Testaments as if they were separate witnesses to God's work in the world and in history, but as one combined witness. They have been closely connected from the beginning of the process that recognized both Testament as the "canon" of Holy Scripture.Sthulmacher's chapters cover: (1) "The Planning and Realization of a Biblical Theology," (2) "The Preaching of Jesus and New Testament Christology," (3) "The Testimony of Paul and of the Johannine School," (4) "The Christian Canon, its Center, and its Interpretation," and (5) "Summary and Overview." He appends a brief bibliography.These brief and readable chapters trace the development of the New Testament's witness to the work of the one God, who created the world and called Israel to be his people, through the teaching and sginificance of Jesus, the theology of Paul and John, and conclude with a reflection on how the Christian canon of Scripture was formed with Jesus the Christ as its center.Along the way, Stuhlmacher takes issue with several leading biblical theologians, including Rudolf Bultmann, Brevard Childs, Martin Hengel, and Hans Hubner. This small book is very helpful in giving the reader a fresh overview of the methods of biblical theology from a moderately conservative standpoint.