Title: Introducing the Bible. Author: Drane, John Introducing the Bible 730 p. Publisher: Minneapolis : Fortress Pr, 2005

Eberhart, Christian

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 31Issue 1 Preaching the Gospel in Canada in the 21stCenturyArticle 145-1-2006Introducing the BibleChristian EberhartFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationEberhart, Christian (2006) "Introducing the Bible ," Consensus: Vol. 31 : Iss. 1 , Article 14.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol31/iss1/14Introducing the Bible (with CD-ROM)John DraneMinneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005730 pages, $ 49.00 PaperbackJohn Drane, a New Testament scholar who currently is professor ofpractical theology at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland), isalready well known to the scholarly world and beyond because of histwo works Introducing the Old Testament (Minneapolis: FortressPress, 2001) and Introducing the New Testament (Minneapolis:Fortress Press: 2001). The publisher now endeavors to combine thesereader-friendly resources into the impressive volume Introducing theBible, complete with a CD-ROM.The first part on the Old Testament starts with a chapter that,among other things, outlines the history of biblical Israel, brieflydeals with specific features such as its double identity as OldTestament and Hebrew Bible, and mentions literary genres andcanonical structure. Drane then focuses on the actual biblicalnarrative which he retells in its canonical order. He continues with asection addressing general themes such as theological concepts (forexample, “The Living God”, “God and the World”) and matters ofworship. He concludes the Old Testament part with a chapter on thevalue and authority of the Old Testament as Christian Scripture. Drane opens the second part on the New Testament with a conciseoutline of the historical and religious context of Early Christianity suchas the Greco-Roman world and Judaism in the Roman Empire. He thenpresents the biographical periods of the life of Jesus (birth and earlyyears, ministry, death, and resurrection) and Jesus’ message. Adiscussion of the actual New Testament literature follows: the fourcanonical Gospels are presented in chronological order (Mark, Luke,Matthew, John); the contents of Acts as an account of the spread ofChristianity throughout the Mediterranean world; several chapters onPaul in which the apostle’s life, missionary work, and letters (includingthe Deutero-Pauline writings). The remaining New Testament writingsare discussed in three chapters: one chapter on the Christian church inthe context of its Jewish origins, and two dedicated to John’sRevelation and his three letters. Drane ends the New Testament part ofhis book with a chapter devoted to modern (“historical-critical”)interpretative methods and their critical assessment.Book Reviews 167Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2006Drane’s Introducing the Bible is a remarkable resource forseveral reasons. The author has the ability to present difficult andcomplex scholarly discussions as well as their dry data about biblicaltexts in an accessible and concise fashion. Many of theseexplanations are presented in comprehensive paragraphs separatefrom the main text. When making his own opinion explicit, Dranetypically questions several of these scholarly findings without fullydismissing them (e.g., pp. 263-5 on the question whether the OldTestament Flood story is based on older Babylonian accounts; pp.650-51 and 656-59 on the authenticity of Deutero-Pauline letters). In addition, the entire book offers an appealing and very helpfullayout. Photos, maps, and timelines illustrate the main text while tables,graphs, drawings, etc. capture important issues (I note a mistake on p.205 where the photograph of the verso page of the AramaicElephantine Papyrus Cowley 30 is reproduced upside down as well asright-left reversed). Finally, the book includes a useful CD-ROMfeaturing the text of the work (with hyperlinks to biblical references)and additional materials (e.g., chapter summaries, review questions) –a helpful tool considering that the book does not contain any index.My primary critique of the book is its tendency to marginalizeserious scholarship vis-à-vis the general presentation of the biblicalmaterial. Because the discussion of scholarly issues is contained inseparate paragraphs, some readers might regard them as secondary. Infact, Drane himself often concludes such paragraphs by questioningor relativizing the scholarly issues. The reader might thus be leftunder the impression that biblical interpretation is possible withoutscholarly inquiry. Several of Drane’s own conclusions may, ofcourse, be questioned themselves: Notwithstanding scholarlyproposals that the flood story in Gen 6-9 is a compilation of a Jahwistand a Priestly account, is not either one based on Babylonian (andeven older Sumerian) accounts? Drane rightly observes theologicaldifferences between the Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic and the OldTestament version (pp. 263-5), but once these are taken intoconsideration, the fact that the story line of Gen 6-9 as such is derivedfrom older predecessors predating the Old Testament versions byapproximately one millennium can hardly be denied. Furthermore,Drane explicitly states that he writes his Old Testament Introduction“from a self-consciously Christian perspective” (p. 338; cf. p. 355).This might account for the lack of Jewish perspective in some of his168 Consensushttp://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol31/iss1/14discussion of scholarly opinions so that, for example, his explanationof Old Testament covenant (pp. 55-6) or sacrifice (pp. 324-5) isbarely representative of the more recent discussion informed bycrucial Jewish scholarly contributions. Broadening the perception ofscholarly voices would then also benefit the corresponding chapter on“Jesus’ death as a sacrifice” (pp. 441-42). Finally, this explicitChristian perspective is the main reason why the “other continuation”of the Hebrew Bible in the form of Rabbinic Judaism is neverseriously presented – Drane contents himself with introducing thetwo parts of the Christian Bible.Nevertheless, I recommend this valuable and very reader-friendlyresource to all lay people interested in the study of the ChristianBible, and to beginning students.Christian A. EberhartLutheran Theological SeminarySaskatoon, SaskatchewanPresumed Guilty: How the Jews Were Blamed for the Death of JesusPeter J. Tomson (translated by Janet Dyk)Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005160 pages, $15.00 PaperbackPeter J. Tomson, Professor of New Testament and Patristics in theTheological Faculty at the University of Brussels (Belgium), haschosen an important topic for his scholarly work. In his bookPresumed Guilty: How the Jews Were Blamed for the Death of Jesus,he acknowledges the deplorable reality of Christian anti-Judaism andinvestigates its roots in Early Christianity, and particularly in NewTestament writings. Aimed at a wider audience, this book is anabridged version of Tomson’s earlier scholarly work entitled ‘If ThisBe from Heaven …’: Jesus and the New Testament Authors in TheirRelationship to Judaism (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001).Tomson tries to explain historical phenomena by establishingtheir historical context. Thus he outlines the development of Judaismfrom the 6th century B.C.E. to the 2nd century C.E. and shows how theBook Reviews 169Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2006

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