hatsoff

...for introducing my LCMS parents to the history, transmission and criticism of the New Testament.

First of all, and most importantly, it must be written by a Trinitarian Christian with sufficient academic qualifications. They do not trust non-Christian authors, and I don't trust untrained authors. Second, it must not be too terribly long. Maybe 200 pages max. in paperback, and preferably 100 pages or so; they just need a primer, not a comprehensive survey. And finally, it should deal with as many of these issues as possible: authorship controversies, the Synoptic problem, and the major suspected textual interpolations (Mark 16, Johannine comma, Pericope Adulterae, etc.).

Is there any book like that worth reading, or am I just wishing for something that doesn't exist?

Thanks in advance!
--Ben

EDIT: Oh, and it doesn't necessarily have to come to the "right" conclusions about everything. IE, as long as it acknowledges there's a good chance Matthew didn't actually write Matthew, for instance, that's fine, even if the author concludes that he probably did. The same goes for other issues, like Pastoral authorship, the end of Mark, etc.

Peter Kirby

I was going to suggest Raymond Brown's An Introduction to the New Testament, but it's much too long, if you think that 100 pages might be enough, standing at several hundred pages.

It looks like you're looking for a quickie run down on the dirty laundry in the New Testament written by a Christian...I wouldn't be too surprised if this doesn't exist.

--
Peter Kirby

S.C.Carlson

It sounds like you're looking for an "Introduction to the New Testament." Many of these have been written from a variety of spectrums, but they all usually at least raise the critical issues.

I'm not familiar with this book, but one possibility is Rev. Dr. Martin H. Franzman The Word of the Lord Grows: An Introduction to the Origin, Purpose, and Meaning (1961), still in print with the Concordia Publishing House, the publishing arm of the LCMS. It will almost certainly be doctrinally acceptable to any LCMS member and likely to be very conservative by modern standards.

Another possibility is Luke T. Johnson, The Writings of the New Testament: An Interpretation (Fortress Press, 1986). Like Brown, Johnson is Roman Catholic, but unlike Brown his book is shorter. The imprint, Fortress Press, is associated with the ELCA, which may or may not be a good thing with your parents.

Stephen

Julian

LCMS? Anyone? Help out a poor foreign atheist...

Julian

S.C.Carlson

LCMS = Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod
ELCA = Evangelican Lutheran Church in American

Doctrinally, the LCMS is more conservative than the ELCA.

Ethnically, the LCMS is more German while the ELCA is more Scandinavian.

Stephen

Roger Pearse

Meztger, The text of the NT (3rd edn). NOT the Bart Ehrman revised 4th edn.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

S.C.Carlson

This is just about the text of the NT; it has no real discussions of authorship, the synoptic problem, etc. I'm not familiar with Ehrman's revision, but one of its complaints, ironically, is that he did not revise it enough. The 4th ed. is still largely Metzger with only a few places of Ehrman.

Stephen

Roger Pearse

I have seen complaints of factual inaccuracy in the changes (I don't know, myself) and in view of his anti-Christian campaigning it wouldn't meet the criteria given. It is good on text-crit., tho.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

Julian

I liked the 4th edition of 'The Text of the New Testament' and found no glaring problems in it, but I suppose I could have missed them. I would have loved more detail, though. While it was the first book that popped into my mind when I read this, it is true that it really only talks about textual criticism issues and that Ehrman certainly does not fulfill the criteria given in the OP.

Julian

No Robots

Gerhardsson's The Reliability of the Gospel Tradition. TOC, sample chapter, introduction. Short, to the point, comprehensive, meticulous. Absolutely outstanding. And he's a Lutheran.