New Testament Matters II: Biblical & Theological Essays - Two

I CAME THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE LIFE AND HAVE IT ABUNDANTLY

JOHN 10:10

The life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth is central to the insights and convictions of Scripture scholars everywhere and in every age.

Within the history of the Catholic Church, however - especially following the Reformation of the sixteenth century - there was a certain suspicion about the function of New Testament texts within the teaching agencies of the church. Fortunately, the past fifty years, based on the authoritative teachings of Popes Leo XIII and Pius XII, have seen a serious revival in Catholic biblical scholarship, as reflected in New Testament Matters II.

The richness of the scholarship, however, is primarily life-giving, offering fresh understandings about how we are to live as disciples of Jesus, based on how the authors of the New Testament recalled and interpreted his teachings for their own communities and for all who followed over the centuries.

This is the broader context for New Testament Matters II whose author is celebrated not only for his profound scholarship but for his leadership and pastoral ministry in many parts of the world, bringing the texts to life and sensitively applying their teaching to the everyday lives of Christian disciples.

In September 2020, in his Apostolic Letter entitled Scripturae sacrae affectus ('Devotion to Sacred Scripture'), Pope Francis lamented the 'lack of hermeneutic skills that make us credible interpreters and translators of our own cultural tradition'. New Testament Matters II is a significant and authoritative contribution in the current context towards the recovery of those much-needed skills identified by the Pope.