New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel.

New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel. By I. Howard Marshall. Downer's Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004. Pp. 756. Cloth, $40.00.

Marshall has written a New Testament theology based on the premise that all of the New Testament authors shared a common theology. It is unclear whether this theology precedes the writings of the New Testament (p. 26) or whether it is developed in its pages (p. 23). Marshall himself seems unsure on this point throughout the work. The commentary is written from an evangelistic point of view and contains many elements that distinguish it as such, including the early dating of many New Testament works (all within the first century CE) and the attribution of I Peter to the disciple of Jesus. An obvious example of this aspect of his work is his insistence that the basic unifying element of the New Testament texts is that they are concerned with mission (pp. 34-7), rejecting a view that sees the New Testament as primarily centered on ecclesiology or christology (p. 36). Marshall struggles, however, to explain elements like the "messianic secret" of Mark in the light of the "missionary center" of the New Testament.

The book is structured with an introductory chapter in which Marshall lays out his basic methodological approach. Next are four major sections which treat each text individually but groups them as follows: Synoptic Gospels, Pauline Writings, Johannine Literature, and Other Writings. The final chapter treats unity and diversity in the New Testament writings.

Marshall treats the New Testament as a whole without recourse to other early Christian texts, since he understands the canonical texts to be representative of a different period of early Christianity and of a different quality from non-canonical texts (pp. 18-20). Marshall consciously and deliberately sets as his task an exposition of the theology of the NT rather than a history of early Christianity or its writings, in order to determine whether "there is such an entity as the theology of the New Testament, and if so what this entity might be" (p. 29). It is not until very late in the book, however, that Marshall expounds what he believes this common theology to be. The main theme of the NT, present in each writing, is developed in four stages: 1) human need because of divine judgment upon sin, 2) a saving act by God through Christ, 3) new life in Christ (somehow mediated through the Spirit), and 4) a future judgment/redemption.

There are several contradictions throughout the book. Perhaps none is greater than Marshall's position that all of the New Testament texts understand Jesus' death as a means of sacrificial atonement. He states that this is the case for Luke in his summary of chapter 5 (153), but he nowhere argues the case in his discussion of Luke. He admits that little is said concerning this theme in Acts (pp. 181, 733), but argues throughout the work that this idea is a major characteristic of all the New Testament texts. Another contradiction comes in Marshall's explicit refusal to engage in a history of the development of the New Testament church (pp. 23, 708), but appealing to it when it suits his purpose (for example, in arguing that James represents a corrective to a misreading of Paul, p. 633). Finally, Marshall is unclear whether the underlying unity of the New Testament texts is actually present in all the texts. The most that he can argue, for example, about Paul's Letters and Acts, Paul's Letters and James, as well as John's prologue and the virgin birth stories is that they do not contradict one another. To claim that these texts are not contradictory is different from saying that they form a theological unity.

It is difficult to assess Marshall's intended audience. In many respects the prose is clear and easy to understand, yet there are several instances in which he seems to assume a good deal of background knowledge on the part of his readeps. The lone of the book indicates that Marshall might be envisioning a layperson audience within parish communities. If this is so, the length of the book is daunting. If it is intended for undergraduate or graduate students, its limited interaction with secondary sources is a major drawback.

These criticisms notwithstanding, anyone interested in New Testament theology will find this book engaging and interesting at many points. Marshall has made an interesting contribution to this field which should be noted by anyone interested in biblical theology.

Eric Stewart

Indiana University