New Testament Theology: Basic Issues in the Current Debate is ideal for anyone interested in a survey of the progress of New Testament Research.

Gerhard Hasel presents an overview of the current state of New Testament research. He begins by tracing the emergence of Biblical Theology, from its origin in 1629 as presented by Wolfgang Jacob Christmann’s Teutsche Biblische Theologie, to its formation as an alternative to the systems of doctrine (systematic theology) of early Protestant Orthodoxy.

As a consequence of the Enlightenment, scholars attempted to dissect the New Testament on its own merits using the so-called scientific historical-critical method. This method essentially 1) left divine inspiration out of consideration, 2) attempted to distill the concepts and ideas of individual biblical authors, and 3) separated the biblical data into various periods: ie – new and old religion. Unfortunately, this proposed method did little to advance a unified theology of the New Testament and created more confusion.

In attempting to identify a method towards achieving a unified theology of the New Testament, Hasel evaluates numerous proposals by various scholars. The Thematic Approach attempts to “frame a hypothesis concerning the underlying theology of the New Testament documents.” The Existential Approach, proposed by Rudolph Bultmann, proposes to remove myth from the New Testament, in order to reach its true meaning. Other approaches such as the Historical Approach and the Salvation-History Approach are offered to overcome the various shortcomings and limitations of the aforementioned proposed scientific methods.

All these New Testament research methods have serious handicaps. To resolve these shortcomings, George Ladd argues that the NT is a holy book and divinely inspired. Without this assumption, meaningful NT research is impossible. I agree. Attempting to analyze the New Testament without its divine pre-suppositions will yield fruitless results.