Machen,
J. Gresham. The New Testament: An
Introduction to its Literature and History. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1976.
Available at: http://www.amazon.com/New-Testament-Introduction-History-Literature/dp/0851514499/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1376966663&sr=8-13&keywords=j.+gresham+machen
I haven't made my mind up.
First, it is clean, succinct, direct, catholic (not Roman), Reformed and
historic. Second, it has no bibliography
(big problem). Third, it would work for
a classical school, e.g. high school level.
Fourth, it would work for an adult SS class. Fifth, it is not adequate
for graduate level or seminary work...other than a handy outline of issues.
Prof. Machen's more scholarly works, e.g. Virgin Birth, Paul's Religion, Notes
on Galatains, assuredly are on a graduate level. Sixth, Mr. Machen and associates kept the Reformed
and Confessional faith alive in the US. Seventh, Mr. Machen, schooled in the
catechism as a lad, retains that. It
shows too. Eighth, that catechetical outlook does not often obtain these days
even within Reformed circles. Ninth, the "could" work for a 1st year
college level, if supplemented with other works. Tenth, for a new Christian with no background: a MUST-READ. Eleventh, along with catechetical work, every Rector/Pastor should ensure that every adult has been through a course in Mr. Machen's introduction; that should be standard fare for all hands.
The study of the New Testament is “primarily historical.”
Like history, one needs to learn the facts. It is a record of events. It requires “study.” There is an
anti-intellectualist piety that assumes and asserts that piety is opposed to
thinking, research and hard study. Christianity is not speculation and it is
not mysticism. “Historical study is absolutely necessary for a stalwart
Christianity” (9). The study is not an
end to itself, but a means to an end…assurance wherein thou has been instructed
(Luke 1.1-4)
Historical Background of Christianity
1.
The
New Testament, pages 13-19
Jews
and the Bible. The Old
Testament was the Bible of the early church.
It was the “sum and substance” of education and the “supreme judge in
every controversy” (one hears here Mr. Machen’s catechetical background
emerging even as a sophisticated, serious and schooled Professor…the old
catechism never leaves even in later years). Jesus and the Bible. Jesus was in full sympathy with a high and
inspired view of the Old Testament. He blamed the scribes for faulty
interpretation and used the OT to best Pharisees in an argument. He used the OT
in the temptation. He used the OT
prophecies about Himself. Early
Christianity and the Old Testament. It informed 1st century preaching. (End of that discussion.) New Testament. Added
to the OT canon. But, by what authority?
By the authority of the LORD of the Church under both administration of
the covenant. Jesus taught that his
words were co-equal in authority (cf. Mt. 7.24ff, inter alia and, by us, defended elsewhere). Jesus authenticated His Personhood and
authority by His words and miracles. He
authorized, commissioned and empowered His apostles in apostolic mission (Jn.
16.13; 17.18, inter alia). “The
Apostles received the Gospel for us from the LORD Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ
was sent forth from God and the apostles are from God” (1 Clement 42,
translated by Lightfoot). Or, the
apostolic words were accepted as Christ’s. Purpose
of the Bible. To reveal
God. We cannot find God on our own
beyond His everlasting power and divinity (Rom.1.20). More is needed. God provided that. Divisions: Gospels (historical facts), Acts, and Epistles. “Christianity is the religion of a book.”
2.
The
Roman Background of Christianity, pages 20-26
The story is well-told elsewhere, but Mr. Machen gives the
essentials. Roman republic gives way to Civil Wars, Julius Caesar and his
assassination, further conflicts and the emergence of Octavius in 31 B.C. This is marked as the beginning of the Roman
Empire and the end of its republic. Advantages.
Pax Romana or the Roman peace.
Augustus was a prudential and able ruler.
There was a healthy development of commerce. There was safety, coinage,
roads, imperial administration and more that made the extension of the Gospel
easier (than without it). Initially, the
Empire was not anti-Christian.
Polytheism was naturally tolerant. Christianity, viewed as a sect of
Judaism, lived under the protection of a religio
licita. NONE OF THIS WAS BY CHANCE. “In
the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son…” (Gal. 4.4.) Only Calvinists and Augustinians talk like this.
3.
The
Greek Background of Christianity, pages 27-32
Again, this story is told better and more fully elsewhere,
but Mr. Machen offers the obligatory and necessary notes to the issue. Alexander the Great’s conquests take his language,
literature and culture as far as India.
His Empire dissolves into other provinces, but the language goes everywhere. Koine obtained (after the Attic dialect) from
300 B.C. to about 500 A.D. The Romans are susceptible to Greek influences and
language. Greek Religion and
Philosophy. Homeric legends,
polytheism, and the mythology of the Olympian deities. The Greek poets and philosophers criticized
the immoralities of the deities.
4.
The Jewish Background of
Christianity—Palestinian Judaism, pages 33-38
The Jewish background is more important to Christianity
than the Roman and Greek backgrounds. (This is, to us, a tad bit simplistic,
but is the essence of Mr. Machen’s presentation.) But, this much: “the Book” is
the bedrock of Christianity. Parties. Sanhedrin, Pharisees, Sadducees,
Essenes. Languages. Hebrew
had ceased to be the language of the common man. It was still read in the
Temple and still the language of the learned Rabbis. Aramaic, or Syrian, was
the language of the land, the language of the masses, and the language that
Jesus used and in which he prayed, even in His dying words on the cross. Greek
was the language of the diaspora and the early church. Religious Life. The Temple was central. The Temple received upgrades from Herod the
Great. For simple folk in the country,
the synagogue was the home for pious Israelites. One should not forget the simple piety of
Israelites: Zecharias and Elizabeth, Anna and Simeon, being examples.
5.
The Jewish Background of Christianity—the
Judaism of the Dispersion, pages 39-43
Causes
and extent. Jews were scattered throughout the empire. Jeremiah
was dragged off to Egypt (Jer. 47.4-22; 43).
There was a 6th century B.C. Jewish community in Elephantine,
Egypt, 600 miles south of the mouth of the Nile on the Mediterranean Sea. The
Seleucids had encouraged Jews to settle in Asia Minor. Also, by the 1st
century A.D., there was a sizeable Jewish population. These Jewish communities were the first
audience for the Christian message.
Mr. Machen handily summarizes the three factors favorable
to the extension of the Christian message: (1) Jewish dispersion throughout the
Empire, (2) the advantages of the Pax
Romana, and (3) the Greek language of the Empire.
6.
The Messiah, pages 44-48
The presupposition of the Gospel is the Jewish faith. Israel had the Gospel. The
Promise. The promise was given
in the Garden after the fall. Showing
his catechetical hand again (most excellently), Mr. Machen notes: “All mankind
by their fall, lost communion with God, and are under His wrath and curse (WSC,
19). Adam is under sin and guilt (Gen.
3.8). The promise is given to crush the
serpentine head and curse. Genesis 3.15: “And I will put
enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall
bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” The promise is repeated to Abraham. This includes not just land, a symbol of
divine favor, but the promise of God Himself.
God is the inheritance of Abraham and his descendants. This promise runs
through the rest of the Old Testament and is the foundation of the New
Testament. Genesis 12.3: “… and
I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee
shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 17.7: “…And I will establish my covenant between me
and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting
covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.” Promise
unfolding. Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Judah, David to Jesus Christ, “the seed of Abraham which is Christ”
(Gal. 3.16). Actual Israel had been
rebellious, but the ideal Israel and the ideal King was Christ, the “Anointed
One” (Psalm 2.6), the One under Jehovah’s care (Psalm 2.7), the One more than
man (Is. 9.6-7), the mighty King (Psalm 2.8-9), the One with a righteous and
peaceful dominion (Is. 11.2-4), and the Suffering Servant who atones for the
sins of His people (Is. 53).
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