Especially suited for introductory courses that focus on Jesus and the Gospels or the Gospels and Acts,Exploring the New Testament, Volume Oneintroduces students toJewish and Greco-Roman backgroundliterary genres and formsdebated issues such as authorship, date and settingcontent and major themes of each bookconventional as well as new approaches to the study of the Gospels and Actsthe latest scholarship in the quest for the historical Jesusthe intersection of New Testament criticism with contemporary faith and cultureThis revised edition features updated text and bibliographies, and incorporates new material gleaned from the experience of classroom use.