Book Report on James Dunn’s New Testament Theology: An Introduction

Summary of James D. G. Dunn approach

Dunn focus on the canon to doing NT theology. In doing biblical theology, people

divided Jewish biblical theology or Christian biblical theology. In fact, both text are

interdependent. The author point out that biblical theology cannot be carried for the

fundamental issues of self-identity and mutual recognition at the heart of Jewish/Christian

dialogue. The second approach is the continuity and discontinuity of the Jewish Bible and

New Testament in doing NT theology. He said, “The issue of continuity and discontinuity are

at the heart of any biblical theology of the New Testament. At the heart of biblical theology is

the interface between a Jewish biblical theology and a Christian biblical theology—the

interface that is the New Testament itself.” The third approach is unity diversities.

The Key Issues He Identifies

Dunn explain the theology of OT first and link it with Jesus in the NT. He shape the

whole book in four heads: God: God as one, Salvation: how God saves, Israel: the elect

nation, Torah: how the people of God should live. The fundamental issue for a NT biblical

theology is whether the message of Jesus or the gospel about Jesus introduced a radical

disjuncture with these central features of what we may fairly call Israel’s biblical theology.

God, the one God, creator of the cosmos and the nations, has committed himself to be Israel’s

God, to save and sustain Israel as his people, and has given them the Torah to show them how

they should live as his people. This means that none of the themes can be treated in isolation

from the rest.

The determining factors in doing NTT

 There are three chief factors according to Dunn. The first was the writings already

regarded as sacred and authoritative by the first Christians. The second was the revelation of

Jesus Christ. The third was the impact of fresh experience of God, attributed to the spirit of

God, bringing new insight and revelation. The OT is a fundamental factor in the making and

shaping of NT theology. The sense of and claim to fulfillment and completion was

foundational. No NT theology can ignore the OT or the profundity of its influence on the NT.

The most important determinative factor for NT theology is Jesus, particularly the impact of

his death and resurrection. For NT theology the centrality of Jesus, Jesus as the fulcrum point

on which the history of salvation turns, Jesus as the lens through which scripture is to be read,

is disputable.

The Major Topics He Covers

The author explores that God is the one who created the whole universe and always

dealing with his creatures through Jesus Christ. According to Dunn, Christology is the center

of Christianity. Jesus is seen from very early on within embryonic Christianity not only as the

bearer of God’s revelation, the spokesman for God, but as uniquely the revelation of God’s

love and commitment to his saving purpose, not only as revelation from God but as the

revelation of God.

Concern with salvation, Dunn said that God makes provision for human salvation, for

dealing with failure and transgression is a red thread that binds both Testaments together. The

theme of hope re-emerges even after seemingly irrevocable disaster. The death of Jesus and

the resurrection of Jesus marked not only events in time but could be understood as

encapsulating the whole process of personal salvation from beginning to end—Jesus the

alpha and omega of salvation.

 Concern with Church of God, he discuss that God chooses Israel to be his nation in

the Old Testament. In NT God is the God of all nation. Can Gentile believers in Christ be

classified as Israel without cost to or loss of the identity of “Israel”? The call to be a blessing

to the nations is consistent, and the possibility of a universalism predicted on God’s mercy is

there throughout. If the other side of “the Gentile problem” is “the problem of Israel,” then

the biblical theology of “the church of God” speaks directly to the ongoing concerns of

Jewish/Christian dialogue. It indicates to us not least that the question of the relationship

between Judaism and Christianity, between Jew and Christian, is much more one of

ecumenical dialogue than of evangelistic mission.

Finally, the law is a fourth fundamental issue for biblical theology. The centrality of

the law for Israel and Judaism has posed a consistent problem for a theology of the Christian

Bible. It is essential that the role of the law within the OT and second Temple Judaism be

understood as fully as possible so that the question of the relevance of the law to conduct

within earliest Christianity and the role of the law within NT theology can be properly

assessed. Where theology meets the wider agendas of the wider agendas of the wider society

most effectively is in the attitudes and conduct it encourages and brings to expression. Ethics

is the daily expression of theology one of the tests or fruits by which the truth and value of

theology can be witnessed and assessed.

The Meaning of Theologizing and How NT writers “theologize”

Theologizing means reformulating the classic Reformed antithesis between scripture

and tradition. Theologizing is not to be seen as simply something we observe and describe,

but rather as something we do. For NT theologians can and should read the text critically and

with historical knowledge, but they will presumably also want to read with concern to learn

empathetically or even to experience afresh what it was that made the text so important and
so powerful for those who first heard it, and a willingness to engage with the major

theological, social, and ethical issues that they find there. It is as NT theologians enter as

fully as possible into the living situations of the NT texts that they learn how theology was

done, how theologizing was effected in the earliest days of Christianity. They learn how to

swim in the stream of theologizing that flows from the NT to the present day. To theologize

today means making sense of the demand on theology in the age of postmodern period.

The Point I Found Meaningful

God grace and love is consistent. That point is really meaningful for me. God has

provided a perfect salvation, but it won't do us one bit of good if we don't believe it and

accept it. God has done everything in Christ, and now He asks for faith on our part.

This book will influence my thinking of NTT. It shows how the NT writers do NTT

and the needs or content of doing NTT. Both the testaments should not be separated and OT

is the source of NT writers. Both are interdependent. For instances, believing in God is not

only to worship to Him. He is the God who love to love each other and help each other.

Therefore, don’t stereotype your faith in just formal worship service. Helping each other,

feeding the hunger, standing on the side of righteousness and justice, sharing your clothes to

the needy are the actions comes out from a person of faith. We all know these things but we

cannot apply in our daily lives. This theology can accept both Jews and Christians. Both

Testaments point out that God is Love and loves the one who serves others. The second

example is God, the Redeemer. Most people are bound by money, luxury things, foods and

even overload pressure. We have the responsibility to release both ourselves and others

because we Christian must be the light to other nation as we receive that light through the

Israelite nation (Isaiah 42:6). God is always ready to redeem us from our hardships. We can
put that loads upon Jesus and he will give us peace. From that peace, the people around us

can share it. Therefore, both Testaments are really important for the NT theologians.