Biblical Theology

In Biblical Theology Ben Witherington III examines the theology of the Old and New Testaments as a totality. Going beyond an account of carefully crafted Old and New Testament theologies he demonstrates the ideas that make the Bible a sacred book with a unified theology. Witherington brings a distinctive methodology to this study. Taking a constructive approach he first examines the foundations of the writers' symbolic universe - what they thought and presupposed about God - and how they revealed those thoughts through the narratives of the Old and New Testaments. He also shows how the historical contexts and intellectual worlds of the Old and New Testaments conditioned their narratives and in the process created a large coherent Biblical world view one that progressively reveals the character and action of God. Thus the Yahweh of the Old Testament the Son in the Gospels and the Father Son and Spirit in the New Testament writings are viewed as persons who are part of the singular divine identity. Witherington's progressive revelation approach allows each part of the canon to be read in its original context and with its original meaning.