The New Testament

Simplifying the story of the new testament is difficult. The new testament is perhaps the most influential piece of writing, and has been the catalyst for much of the social and political change in our world since its completion. Not only is the historical impact of the work highly complex, but the New Testament also contains a great variety of literary genres. Gospel, epistle, even apocalyptic literature all make an appearance in the New Testament, which can make deciphering the continuity of its narrative difficult. Even more difficult is determining what to include in a summary of this narrative. The New Testament can hardly be reduced to only the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, as this story is contained only within

When reading the New Testament, the story of the gospels will be at the forefront of the reader's mind throughout. The gospels emphasize the importance of their narrative through repetition, and cast that narrative into a global scope through their differences. Each of the gospels tells a story that is at once familiar and district. Even a cursory reading of the gospels leaves the reader with an impression of the impact these events had on the lives of those who wrote their words, regardless of their differences. Each gospel is written with a distinct purpose, which ensures that the reader understands that the story of the christ is a story meant for everyone. This is the first development in the New Testament narrative. Even as you read the story of Jesus's life, the full impact of that reading doesn't become clear until the four distinct voices of the gospel writers have each had their time to make their message

The hellenistic, petrine, and palestinian christian traditions, like the gospels, each have a different idea of who Jesus was and what he came to earth to accomplish. These samples of writing, though not representative of the sum total of all the christian writings of the time, certainly provide a representative sample of some of the common themes of such writing. For example, the palestinian tradition concerns itself with an idyllic vision of what life in a christian community can and should be, and adheres strictly to the torah because of its jewish roots, while the petrine tradition, which developed in the context of exterior pressure from roman authorities, places a heavy emphasis on suffering. Each of these traditions has its own way of interpreting the life of christ, and given their vastly differing contexts and ideas, provide modern readers a sense of the wide-reaching implications of the gospel message. People were willing to suffer, die, and dissect the meaning of the life of a single man. The epistles of the New Testament provide a glimpse into the dedication of these people, and the impact the life of christ had on their