Here is a different kind of introduction to the New Testament-one that goes far beyond the usual survey approach.

Professor Rowland explores four basic issues:

the nature, practices, and beliefs of ancient Judaism before the fall of the Second Temple in A.D. 70;

the character of the early Christian movement and its distinctive approach to the Jewish traditions;

the reasons for the separation of the groups that became rabbinic Judaism and the Christian church;

the way early Christianity accommodated its distinctive beliefs to a world whose outlook was almost completely incongruous with it.

The author examines the growth of Christian theology from its roots in Judaism and the mission of Jesus, assesses the pivotal significance of Paul in the emergence of Christian theology, and charts the context and perspectives of other early Christian writings.

An appendix on early Jewish and Christian sources and an extensive bibliography help readers gain a firm grasp of the practices, beliefs, and sects of first-century Judaism as well as an awareness of the purpose and thrust of the ministry of Jesus and the work of Paul.

CHRISTOPHER ROWLAND is dean of Jesus College, Cambridge University, and author of The Open Heaven, a comprehensive study of the apocalyptic texts of Judaism and early Christianity.