Critical Introduction to the New Testament. Continuity and Application in Contemporary Life

Academic Paper from the year 2020 in the subject Theology - Biblical Theology, grade: 95, Nations University, course: Critical Introduction to the New Testament, language: English, abstract: This paper discusses the application of the New Testament in contemporary life, with particular attention to how to distinguish the universal and limited or specific application of the texts, as well as to provide a solution that reiterates the meaning and the means of salvation. Christians often read the Bible a few verses or a single chapter at a time. As a result, they may overlook the context and draw unwarranted conclusions. The critic, on the other hand, looks for the inconsistencies that inevitably throws him on the track. In this paper, the problem of proving the continuity of the New Testament is approached in a way that ties it together by means of a theme or connectivity. Moreover, since the material is now two thousand years old, modern New Testament students are faced with the problem of application, especially how to understand the original intention behind the New Testament for current human history. However, Jews and Muslims, for their part, are challenged by the question of biblical authority, a problem that confuses many people but presents them with difficulties. In other words, the two overriding questions are what Christians mean by New and Old Testaments and the relationship between them. This problem is compounded by the fact that Jews do not accept the New Testament while Muslims accept both, in theory. However, the common Messianic theme of the two covenants ties them together, so that the evidence points to the meaning of New Testament continuity and integration.