Jeff Ragan’s Reviews > The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament > Status Update

"At the Second Coming, the Lord Jesus will descend from heaven. The accompanying shout of the Messiah...will raise the dead. The voice of the archangel...serve as signals to the angels to gather God's people, both dead & alive, for final transformation. The newly resurrected believers & the believers who had not experienced death will be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (529-30).

"First Thessalonians was written to (1) encourage the church during a time of persecution; (2) defend the purity of Paul's motives behind his mission to the Thessalonians; (3) urge the church to live holy lives characterized by sexual purity; (4) define a Christian work ethic; (5) correct confusion about the return of Christ; and (6) prompt the church to respect its leaders" (521).

"Scholars such as W. Wrede have argued that the vocabulary of 2 Thessalonians is so similar to that of 1 Thessalonians that it must be a forgery based on the earlier letter" (510).

There are some ideas so dumb that only an academic could believe them.

"Paul reminded his audience that God had granted his Spirit to them when they placed their faith in Christ (3:2). The Spirit had manifested his presence among them through amazing miracles (3:5). The indwelling Spirit was the source of the personal righteousness to which true believers aspire (5:5). The Spirit leads the believer to live a life characterized by spiritual fruit...(5:22) (503).

"The letter to the Galatians is regarded as an authentic letter of the apostle Paul by all but the most radical critics. Acceptance of Paul's authorship is so widespread that extended discussion of the issue is unnecessary...As R. Longenecker noted, 'If Galatians is not by Paul, no NT letter is by him, for non has any better claim'" (484).

"Greek letter writers sometimes organized the thoughts in their works using the conventions of Greco-Roman rhetoric. An understanding of the various types of rhetoric and the major components of the different forms may help readers trace the argument of the letter" (477).

"A century and a half after Paul, Rabbi Judah ben Tema taught, 'At five years old [one is fit] for Scripture, at ten years for the Mishnah, at thirteen [for the fulfilling of] the commandments, at fifteen for the Talmud, at eighteen for the bride-chamber, at twenty for pursuing a calling, at thirty for authority'" (460).

"The New Perspective [on Paul] correctly emphasizes the Jewish context of early Christianity & the need to study the NT documents against the background of Second Temple Jewish literature. It rightly warns of presumptive & misleading caricatures of Judaism that are ungrounded in careful study of the primary documents...not all, probably not even most...depended on legalistic works-righteousness for salvation" (457).

"Although Paul's contributions to the Christian faith should not be underestimated, Paul should be recognized as a faithful follower of Jesus Christ rather than as the founder of a form of Christianity that deviated drastically from Jesus's teachings. Paul's teachings originated from his reflection on the life & teachings of Jesus, his study of the OT, & his contemplation on...his Damascus road experience" (448).

"...it is legitimate to see a theological unity throughout Luke-Acts. Theological unity can be embraced if the latter interprets or informs the former. As L. T. Johnson states, in Acts 'Luke provides the first authoritative interpretation of his Gospel'" (418).