ari :)’s Reviews > The New Testament > Status Update

done with Galatians! a letter on faith versus Torah-observance, with some glimpses into Paul's conflicts with the other apostles. interesting indeed, and rather brief (as are the rest of the epistles, as far as i understand)

and that was 2 Corinthians. i think this is my favorite of Paul’s letters thus far, if only because it’s not often that we get to see a figure like him at his wits’ end. chapters 11 and 12 are really something special.

done with the epistle to the Romans. a weighty text, and one much abused by the theologians (faith, works, salvation, original sin? all in here. also some homophobia for good measure). it doesn't help that Paul is not a particularly transparent writer, especially taken out of his context. there are some moments of great spiritual beauty here though.

on to Corinthians.

guess who's back ;)

i did not care for the Acts of the Apostles. granted, the Gospels are a tough act to follow, but Acts’ mix of hagiography, martyrdom and sanitized controversy is hardly a fitting sequel. there are moments where Luke’s gift for narrative shines through, like the sequence surrounding the death of St. Stephen. they are surrounded by the worst kind of preaching.

on to Paul’s epistles.

done with John. what a strange book, filled with signs and glory. i will admit it took me some time to warm up to the Johannine Christ, a rather hermetic character compared to the Jesus of the Synoptics, but He is capable of a remarkable tenderness.

the rest of the New Testament is fairly unknown to me; next up are the Acts of the Apostles.

done with Luke. to me, Luke's gospel is lit with the blue and gold of Fra Angelico's Annunciation; it is easily the most literary of the four. in spite of this light and this craft, though, the New Testament has a remarkable ability to unsettle the reader, once we set aside our preconceptions of what Scripture is supposed to mean.

what to do with the Gospels? Matthew and Mark were completely and utterly convinced that the Kingdom of God was absolutely imminent, and that their lynched Anointed would be back any day with to judge the cosmos. any day now, i suppose...

i am filled with more questions than answers. on to Luke.

DBH's introductory material and scientific postscript on the lexicon of the New Testament are marvelous. his translation is meant to read like the Greek does—amateurish, clunky, breathless testimonies of God made man. i have really enjoyed Matthew thus far.