New Testament Story: An Introduction

by David L. Barr

The thesis of this book is that every New Testament writing stands within a story, even if it does not tell stories. The approach allows readers to view the documents as vital elements in the lives of real persons. The book maintains its focus on bringing the writings alive and shows how critical study enhances understanding of their meanings. Its prime goal is teaching students to read these writings for themselves, bridging the chasms of language, history, and culture that separate them from us. The latest methods of research are utilized in this quest, but the focus always remains on the New Testament documents.

Genres: Nonfiction

571 pages, Hardcover

First published November 9, 1994

Reviews

[Josh Trice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Outside of a possibly problematic chapter on the Gospel of John, Barr provides a nice introduction to the New Testament in the vein of oral performance criticism.

The strengths of the book are it’s outline of the texts and subsequent breakdown of how the structure factors into the overall summation of it.

The weakness of this book is that Barr has a tendency to assume an oral performance position without real reason to. As well, the oral performance of the books ultimately fails to render any new meaning out of them aside from providing an alibi for seemingly contradictions in the Gospels.