Studying the New Testament: Top 5 Books

This is the first of several posts talking about studying the NT and resources to do so.

It’s that time of year when sales happen, Christmas money appears in your stocking, and January is coming and bringing changes. We’ll study the New Testament again, and I suspect this will be an interesting year for many; Church-oriented Gospel Doctrine experience now happens half as often, and most of our study and learning will take place at home, by ourselves or with family (as it should be.)
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 “For years Church leaders have been emphasizing that home is the best place to live, learn, and teach the gospel, and gospel learning and teaching should be part of our daily lives, not confined to Sunday classes.”- Source

As I’ve said elsewhere, I believe you cannot fully learn from scripture unless you are also actively learning about scripture. The first is the act of a disciple and the second that of a scholar. This is the first of several posts recommending resources and ideas about study and learning at home, as individuals, families, and informal groups. I’ll be linking to past posts as well, like this one on using multiple Bible translations in family/group study, and this one on a basic approach to scripture study.

You’ll note that these books are a mix of LDS and non-LDS; while there are some unique LDS positions that require LDS exposition, there is so much LDS can learn from those who have devoted their lives to studying scripture professionally and personally. We lose out when we think that the injunction to seek out “the best books” excludes non-LDS authors. However, I also recognize that many feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin, which is why I provide these lists.

I’ve starred the books available in Logos format; that’s a free reader (you can pay for more functionality) wherein all the verses and many other things are hyperlinked to each other, and scrollable in sync. I find it extremely useful, and buy everything I can in Logos now.

Top Five Intro Books

If this is the first year you want understanding beyond the KJV, Church magazines, and manuals, this is the list for you.

1. *New Revised Standard Version (aka the NRSV, Logos link) or *NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible(Logos link).¹That logos link says “NIV” but you’re only buying the NOTES anyway. You can link them to scroll with any translation(s) you own in Logos.
   • No human book, technique, or tip will help you understand and love the New Testament more than a recent translation, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with reading one for personal study, as the Church Handbook says.²Section 38.8.40.1, I can’t link directly to it.
     

     [Non-KJV] editions of the Bible may be useful for personal or academic study.

     Other translations have, for example, been cited in The Ensign and General Conference. Look for an upcoming post about understanding the origins of the Bible, translation, and LDS use of the KJV.

   • The NRSV is a revised descendant of the King James Version, itself a revision of earlier English translations. This translation exists in many editions: hardcover, softback, large print, without or with various historical notes, and Study Bible form.
   • The NRSV is modern enough that older children should be able to read it without the problems of the KJV’s archaic language. (That is not the only problem of the KJV, note.)
   • The notes in the NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible are edited down from an entire series, here (Amazon, also available by individual volume) and here (Logos.)
2.  Jesus Christ and the World of the New Testament
   • A fantastic LDS introduction to the language, culture, geography, history, texts, and conflicts in the New Testament world from three LDS scholars.  A large-format book with lots of pictures, so it could be used with children who need more than text. It’s also a light introduction to scholarship on the NT.
   • I mourn that this is out of print, but it is available electronically from the Deseret Book library and kindle. However, I don’t know how well it’s large-page format, sidebars, etc. translates into electronic form.
3. James Faulconer, The New Testament Made Harder (free pdf here.)
   • A BYU philosophy professor, Faulconer provides a bit of commentary and background but more importantly, hundreds of excellent thought questions to consider while reading and studying.
4. *N.T. Wright New Testament for Everyone (Logos link) OR *NIV Application Commentary (Logos link)
   • Commentaries provide more depth than Study Bibles. Wright’s is a very light and readable commentary, with devotional and applicational focus. The NIVAC is Evangelical, longer, and more technical but very accessible. It has explicit sections called  Original Meaning, Bridging Contexts, and Contemporary Significance, something I think fits LDS expectations a good bit. I’ve provided samples of both series, here in one PDF file.
   •  Caveat with every series: the quality will vary from author to author, and typically reflect the author’s or publisher’s theological views. This might be more problematic when, say, we get to Paul’s letters, where I would not want the traditional Lutheran view of grace, works, and faith presented. (See my notes here.)
5. *Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible
   • So much of the New Testament is culture-specific information about a culture we don’t inhabit, don’t know, and often don’t understand when it’s presented to us. This is a fantastic and easy read about how becoming aware of our own cultural assumptions can help us better understand scripture. I’ve used it a good bit. Highly recommended. I’ll have a post about more books like this.

Top Five “Medium” Books

If you’ve got some familiarity with the things above, try these. #4-5 are more in the “tool” category.

1. David Bentley Hart, The New Testament: A Translation and/or *The Jewish Annotated New Testament (Logos link)
   • All single-translator Bibles are idiosyncratic by nature. Hart’s recent translation is fresh and invigorating; we read it in my History of Christianity class. He also includes essays at the back on why he translates certain terms in non-traditional ways.
   • Whereas Hart is an Eastern Orthodox christian, the Jewish Annotated New Testament comes from the same scholars who produced the Jewish Study Bible; it’s a New Testament study Bible from a Jewish perspective, using the NRSV text. That means a lot of interesting background, but it also means you shouldn’t be surprised when the Jewish authors don’t assert the resurrection of the divine son of God, for example. Read it for the contextual information provided, not spiritual affirmation.
2. *Raymond Brown, Introduction to the New Testament (Logos link)
   • Brown is another favorite author, a Catholic priest and NT scholar. This goes through the NT book by book, and is quite long. If you take it in chunks, to accommodate our reading schedule, it’s quite doable. Otherwise, there is an abridged version.
3. Ancient Christians: An Introduction for Latter-day Saints
   • This is brand new from a collection of LDS scholars of the New Testament, Classics, and Early Christianity, published by the Maxwell Institute. This series of essays on early Christianity helps us understand the ways the first Christians (during and post-NT) understood several concepts, like sacred space, the afterlife, the second coming, the nature of the godhead, priesthood offices, and women’s roles. I reviewed it briefly here.
4. *Carson/Beale, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Logos link)
   • The NT quotes the OT extensively, though this is not always evident from our KJV or footnotes. The NT often reads differently, or puts the passage to a different usage, or transforms it somehow. This is a verse-by-verse examination of every such citation and why it differs.
   • The Logos version is quite useful because of how it can be linked and scrolled with other things.
5. *Comfort, New Testament Text and Translation Commentary (Logos link)
   • If you’re really interested in the why your KJV, your NRSV, and ESV/NIV/other versions differ, this book explains it by chapter and verse. Often it’s because they have chosen different Greek manuscripts or variants as their base text.
   • As above, the Logos version is quite useful because of how it can be linked and scrolled with other things.

A few other things:

• Free- Footnotes to the New Testament for Latter-day Saints
  • This was going to be published, but was then just released into the wild instead. It’s like an LDS Study Bible on the KJV, although many of the notes are unnecessary if you’re using a modern translation.
• BYU’s Religious Studies Center has many quality free books on its website.  These two in particular should be noted for their detail!
  • How the New Testament Came to Be
  • New Testament History, Culture, and Society: A Background to the Texts of the New Testament
• The BYU New Testament Commentary series
  • This is the first real LDS New Testament commentary, and as with any first-time effort, there are growing pains, and likely to be large differences between authors and volumes.
  • Julie Smith’s BYUNTC volume on Mark, for example. I read the whole thing during an early stage of the editorial process.
  • Julie’s work is available in various places and formats, including formal publications, podcasts, Education Week, and blogs.
• BYU prof Thomas Wayment’s (Religion and Classics) NT Translation and study Bible.  Check out a podcast on it here.
• Also, ’tis the season. I must plug BYU prof Eric Huntsman’s book on Advent and Christmas. This has some history and background, but also a personal, practical, devotional guide to getting Christ back in Christmas with busy families, Christmas materialism, etc. It also includes an appendix on Christmas with autism, again emphasizing the personal and practical.

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