BOOKS

A Marginal Scribe collects eight studies written over a period of two decades, all of which use social-scientific criticism to interpret the Gospel of Matthew. It prefaces them, first, with a new chapter on the struggle between historians and social scientists since the Enlightenment and its parallel in New Testament studies, which culminated in the emergence of social-scientific criticism; and, second, with a new chapter on recent social-scientific interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew. The eight, more specialized studies cover a variety of themes and use a variety of models but concentrate and are held together by those that illumine social ranking and marginality. The book closes with a chapter that ties together these studies.

Intro / Synopsis of The New Testament: History, Literature, and Social Context here

Jesus Christ Through History, aten-chapter book written for students, includes chapters on non-biblical sources for Jesus; Protestant and Catholic Reformation leaders (including Teresa of Avila); leaders in Rationalism, Pietism, and Romanticism; Strauss, Bauer, and Renan; Harnack, Mathews, and Bousset; Schweitzer, Wrede, Loisy, and Machen; figures in Redaction Criticism, Social Historiography, Structuralism, Analytical Psychology; and an attack on historical critical scholarship. It does not take a stand on “the correct” view. Short biographies and photos of several influential Jesus scholars bring the text alive.