Paul Barnett is a New Testament scholar and Australian Anglican bishop. An expert in historical Jesus studies, he is also the author of Is the New Testament History? and the New International Commentary on the New Testament volume on 2 Corinthians.
Expository Times
"Deserves a wide readership. Barnett's broadly conservative study
is a remarkable historical overview of early Christianity."
Themelios
"Bound to become an excellent resource for Christians looking for a
judicious, scholarly, and fair treatment of the history of
early
Christianity." D. A. Carson
"For a couple of decades the most radical critics have been trying
to foster systematic skepticism regarding Christianity based on the
twenty-year gap between the death and resurrection of Jesus and the
writing of the first New Testament documents. Paul Barnett shows
that fair reading of the evidence provides us with far more
information about those years than is sometimes thought. This is a
must-read book for theology students and others who are troubled by
the popularized skepticism of a small but vociferous group of
radicals. The book is also useful for pastors who need to remember
and teach that Christianity is a historically grounded religion."
Craig Blomberg
"Paul Barnett has distinguished himself over a long career as an
outstanding classicist and historian, a biblical scholar
particularly interested in the historicity of the New Testament
documents, and a committed churchman and bishop. Here he brings all
of this background to bear on the first twenty years of Christian
history, showing how utterly wrong are the claims of those who have
recently argued that we know next to nothing about this earliest
period of the development of the church. . .The Birth of
Christianity is a must-read for all interested in the topic." E. A.
Judge
"Did the early churches lose their grip on the figure of Jesus as
he had seen himself? . . . Such a slippage often feeds the critical
imagination and may indeed now be thought integral to it. But is
there an actual gap in the tradition? What is the primary (as
distinct from secondary) evidence for the way it developed? Paul
Barnett tackles these questions as a trained and experienced
historian who is engaged with the contemporary debate. He lays out
the relevant data in a clear form that stimulates fresh thought."
Charles J. Scalise
"Pastors and teachers who seek a biblically based, historical guide
to the earliest years of the Christian movement will welcome Paul
Barnett's synthetic work. Accepting the Acts of the Apostles as an
'equal primary source' to Paul's letters, Barnett provides a
chronological and christological reconstruction of this
much-contested period. This vintage work represents the fruition of
a lifetime of study of the New Testament period by a veteran
Christian scholar and church leader." E. Earle Ellis
"Critically acute, historically perceptive, and highly readable,
this work provides one of the best concise treatments of the
earliest years of the Christian mission. . . A good read and an
instructive guide for specialists, students, and laity alike."
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