The New Testament And The Christian Movement

The New Testament (NT), in my opinion, has positively influenced the history of the world. One good example would be laws. All, if not most, of the laws of every Western nation has the same laws that were first introduced during the Old Testament. Every nation has laws regarding crimes like murder and theft, which originated with the Ten Commandments. When the Romans occupied Israel, they integrated many of the Jewish judicial practices into their own system of law and order, which in turn helped shape the legal systems around the world. During the time of Moses, God’s laws were given to Moses so he may spread it to the rest of the Hebrew people so that they may understand what not to do and what they should do. From there, various amendments were added as to how punishment was to be dealt. For example, in the book of John, chapter 8, verses four and five, we see that Jesus was confronted by people and is asked what he thinks should be done to the woman accused of adultery. Verse five then says, “In the Law Moses commanded to stone such a woman…” Though not all punishments were specifically mentioned for each crime, we can at least infer that because of the Ten Commandments, the Jewish legal system became complex, which in turn shaped the foundations of the judicial systems of the world. Many nations

The third section dissects the formation of the New Testament with more historical context and views of other writings defined as Gnostic writing. Bruce explains the spoken words of the apostles carried as much authority as their written words and gives an in depth explanation how the Gospels and Pauline writings were viewed by the Church Fathers. The rest of the section demonstrates the Church Fathers and their views of what was to be considered scripture and the councils that affirmed the inspired scripture.

In his recent article for the October 7th issue of Commonweal magazine, David Bentley Hart highlighted how different the Christians of the New Testament are from modern day Christians. Hart’s article, titled “Christ’s Rabble; The first Christians were not like us”, argues that the first Christians were so different than present day Christians that we would have a very hard time getting along with one another if we meet today. Hart, a fellow at the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Studies, came to this conclusion after in-depth study of the text of the New Testament in its original koine Greek. His work translating the New Testament for Yale University painted a clear picture of the character of the first Christians and underscored how far from the original meanings of the text we have come.

Craig Blomberg, New Testament Scholar and Professor at Denver Seminary, provides an insightful commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. Blomberg investigates the text using a historical, literary, and theology analysis. The commentary begins with an introduction analyzing the following 7 topics regarding the entirety of the Matthean Gospel: (1) structure, (2) theology, (3) purpose and audience, (4) sources, (5) date, (6) author, (7) and historicity and genre. Blomberg, then, throughout the rest of the commentary, provides a verse by verse discourse on the text by breaking it down into 3 main sections: (I) Introduction to Jesus’ Ministry (1:1-4:16), (II) The Development of Jesus’ Ministry (4:17-16:20), and (III) The Climax of Jesus’ Ministry (16:21-28:20).

Contrary to a common secular belief, the Bible has been possibly the most influential book known to man. From wars to treaties, the range of influence for God’s Word has been too great to fully understand. In an attempt to try to understand some of the effects, how the book of Romans erupted the Protestant Reformation is an intriguing subject. There were other sources like St. Augustine’s works that contributed a lot to the Reformation efforts, but none were more impactful than the Word of God. The Reformation was a huge movement not only for Christians but also for non-Christians in the realms of politics, economics, and philosophy. These advancements could not have happened if not for the inspiration from Paul’s letter to the Roman church. The philosophy that accumulated around Romans was one of redemption, forgiveness, and faith. Thus, the thinkers behind the Protestant Reformation gained their confidence and their message to begin.

From January to April we meticulously analyzed the thirteen letters Paul the Apostle wrote to teach the gospel of the Christ to the first century world. He used these letters to instruct and advise the churches he founded across the Mediterranean. After thoroughly examining these letters through lecture in class and in the readings, I have come to find myself to be much more educated on the scripture than when I first came into the class. Before I took Life and Letters of Paul, I had little to none religious experience or knowledge on the topic of Christianity. This class helped me develop a solid foundation on how Christianity was spread and came about.

The purpose of the paper is to differentiate between Christ of faith and Jesus of history. New Testament biblical scholars from the 19th Century have been preoccupied by the notion of Christ of faith versus Jesus of History. Jesus of history can be described as the quest for historical Jesus, while the Christ of Faith is the Christ of Christian belief either through the Church or historically. Some traditions even went ahead to argue that the Jesus of History could never be found and therefore the Christ of faith is the only way forward for Christians. On the other hand, those who have been promoting the Jesus of History have often assumed that the historical Jesus is much superior as compared to the Christ of Faith. Despite the key differences between Christ of faith and the historical Jesus, both these aspect have an implication for Western Christianity.

It seems strange that so little is known biographically about one of the most important figures in Christian history, but this only serves to add to the mystery and grandeur surrounding the Apostle Paul of Tarsus. Much, however, is known of the time after his conversion to Christ and what he did to contribute to Christianity in this period, and it is this that leaves a greater legacy than the simple facts of his life. The contributions that he made towards the cause of Christ and the spreading and formation of Christianity are what he is perennially remembered for.

Our source of knowledge of the apostolic work of Paul comes first from the Book of Acts. The epistles written by Paul serve to further our knowledge of his mission. These letters were written to churches that he had founded or churches that were known to him. Luke’s account of Paul introduces us to the basic facts about this important biblical figure. A more complete understanding of Paul’s journeys can be gleaned from his letters. These epistles were written almost at the time they occurred and they comprise some of the earliest works contained in the New Testament.

The history of how the Bible came into existence has been explored for centuries and is an active area of study today. There are many facets to the Bible and each has its own set of unique characteristics and teachings. The Old Testament is considered a contemporary guide for daily living, even though it was composed hundreds of years ago. Where did the Old Testament come from? What are some of the influences that shaped the Old Testament? What are the significant events of the Old Testament? In order to gain a better understanding of the Old Testament and its message to Christians, special consideration is given to its historical and cultural context, and to the major milestones in its development. Personal application of the teachings offered in this section of the Bible should be the aspiration of all Christians today.

The New Testament is characterized by the existence of imperative Biblical figures, with the likes of Jesus Christ, the Apostles, among many others. Peter was among Jesus’ first disciples. From his turning point, as manifested in the book of John 21, to his progress as a dedicated leader as manifested in Acts, to his final emergence as a co-elder as manifested in the Epistles of 1st and 2nd Peter, Peter exhibited traits of a transformational and charismatic biblical figure (Neil & William 409).

Before the gospels and Pauline epistles, early church Christians related to the Old Testament as Scripture and viewed their Christian walk as the fulfillment of the promises made to Israel from the Old Testament, which foretold of the coming age of the Messiah. The first New Testament Christians understood the importance of the Old Testament; it was their “Bible” they preached from. Just as in the early church, Christians today need the Old Testament for preaching and in which to reference and understand Christ’s purpose for why he came.

One influential cult was based upon a mystical interpretation of Plato. Neo-Platonism was like a rational science that attempted to break down and describe every aspect of the divine essence and its relationship with the human soul. An Alexandrian Jew named Philo tried using Greek philosophy to interpret the Jewish scriptures. He wanted to unite the two traditions by suggesting that the Greek philosophers had been inspired by the same God who had revealed himself to the Jews.

In this article Harold Attridge examines Luke’s background, the scriptures Luke wrote, Jesus’s values, the context and purpose of Luke’s gospel and the treatment of Christians at the time of Luke’s writings. The article expresses that Luke’s Gospel was written before the destruction of Jerusalem and at a time when Christians were being persecuted for practicing their faith so consequently the purpose of his Gospel was to show an ethical example and imply that Christians could be good citizens. This source is relevant to the topic as it suggests the purpose of Luke's Gospel and the treatment of Christians before the fall of Jerusalem. A limitation of the website is that it has not been recently published, it’s publish date is April 1998 so it may not be up to date with the latest, accurate information. Nonetheless, this source is very beneficial and appropriate to the task as it provides facts and research on the chosen sacred text. This source will not be the cornerstone of my research but will add a good understanding to the purpose of the sacred text.

The New Testament is a collection of books which contains the writings concerning the significant events in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. These books appeared after the physical death of Jesus Christ. In this regard, Jesus had left no records concerning him, and all that is written about him depends wholly on what other people have written about him. The first four books of the New Testament are part of the several biographies of Jesus which were written by the end of the first century of the era of Christianity. Then before any of these biographies have been drafted, there were Christian communities which were being instructed through epistles on how to live like Jesus and how to solve their problem like Christians. A good number of these letters were written by a man called Paul. After Paul death, some other new leaders of the Christian movement continued to write letters to the churches to encourage and strengthen them. As Christians grew in number persecution arose, and some letters have been drafted to support them and also to counter the false doctrines. These letters are part of the New Testament. The twenty-seven books of the New Testament were selected from the list of writings in that period (Bruce, 1988)