The New Testament: World, Text, and Interpretation

This report explores the world of The New Testament, its writings, and the various ways to interpret it. It focuses on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the impact of the first century Christianity.

Running head: THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Theology and Religious Studies
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Executive Summary:
The New Testament as it is commonly known to the readers themselves, is the second
part of the Bible, which is considered to be the Holy Book for the Christians themselves. The
New Testament preaches the life and the teachings of Jesus Christ as well as the first century
Christianity to the people. It has been successful in spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ to
the followers of Christianity as well as to the people of the world in general. This report aims
to find out about the world of The New Testament, the writings of the times as well as the
various ways to interpret the New Testament.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
The World of The New Testament.........................................................................................3
The Text of The New Testament...........................................................................................4
How to Interpret The New Testament....................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5
Reference List............................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
The New Testament, as it is commonly known to the followers of the religion of
Christianity itself, is the second part of the Holy Bible which teaches to the readers about the
life and the preachings of Jesus Christ as well as that of the first century Christianity itself. It
is actually a collection of the works of Christianity, which is actually written in the language
of Koine Greek. The religious text serves as a source for the Christian theology and that of
the morality. It has also influenced the religious, political as well as the philosophical
movements in Christendom and also has an influence on the literature, art and the music of
the world itself. Thus, it is considered to be one of the more popular religious texts in the
world.
Discussion
The World of The New Testament
The New Testament, as had been described in the introduction part of the report itself,
deals with the subject matter of the teachings of Jesus Christ to his followers and also the
advent of the first century Christianity in the area itself. Historians who have analysed he
contents of the New Testament and the Gospels of the religion itself are of the opinion that
the teachings of the Gospels and that of the life of Jesus Christ himself should be understood
by the readers from a sociological perspective rather than just by going through these gospels
on a religious basis itself (Brown: 30). When the readers themselves analyse the contents of
The New Testament itself, they are of the opinion that two of the events in the New
Testament are accurate as these events have been mentioned in all the books of the Gospels in
The New Testament itself. These two events as mentioned in The New Testament are The
Baptism of John and the crucification of Jesus Christ by the Roman jury Pontius Pilate
(Johnson:30).

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Apart from these two sources as mentioned in The New Testament itself, it can be
stayed that world of The New Testament also deals with the idea that the Christians had to
reshape their theological and the apocalyptic claims which they used to believe in by
following the teachings of Jesus Christ and his philosophies. This is what most of the
historians claim about the world of The New Testament to the readers themselves (Carson et
all:50).
The Text of The New Testament
The New Testament is comprised of a number of boos and Gospels which preach the
teachings and the philosophy of Jesus Christ to the followers of the religion themselves.
Apart from the books and the Gospels which were found during this time-period, a number of
other documents like the epistles, memoirs, gospel accounts, homelies, prophecies and the
collection of teachings by Christ himself (Brown:30). The book of the New Testament was
said to be originally written in the language of the Koine Greek and consists of 27 books
itself.
In addition to the 27 books which comprises of the New Testament itself, the Gospels
were divided into four gospels. Out of this four Gospel written by the apostles themselves,
the Gospels written by Matthew, Mark and Luke are considered to be the synoptic Gospels as
they have the similarity in the form of the life and the teachings of Jesus Christ himself. On
the other hand, the Gospel written by John is considered to be different form a that of the
other Gospels because this Gospel deals with the various miracles which were done by Jesus
Christ himself (Carson et. all: 70).
Thus, it can be said that it was these four Gospels which ultimately led to the creation
of The New Testament. The texts and the manuscripts which are available to the readers
themselves helps them to understand the subject matter of the life of Jesus Christ and the

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teachings and the philosophies which he had imparted to his followers during his lifetime
(Brown:30).
How to Interpret The New Testament
Scholars are of the opinion that by applying hermeneutics, The New Testament or The
Bible can be interpreted in the four main ways. The first of the method of interpretation is
Literal Interpretation, which conveys that the Bible and The New Testament should be
interpreted in the literal meaning of the term. The second type of interpretation is the Moral
Interpretation, which aims to draw the exegetical principles by drawing the philosophies form
the teachings of Jesus Christ himself (Brown:30). The third type of the interpretation is
considered to be the Allegorical Interpretation, which states the fact that the teachings in the
Bible itself, has a second level of the reference other than the persons and the objectives
which are already found in The Bible itself. The fourth and the last type of interpretation
which an individual might find in The Bible is the Mystical or Anagogical Interpretation,
which tells the readers about the ways which explains the events in The Bible itself. These
forms the various interpretations using which, an individual can explain and interpret The
New Testament and The Bible itself (Johnson:30).
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussions, it can be concluded that the New Testament is
indeed one of the more popular books of religion which an individual might find for himself.
It is the aim of the New Testament to not only explain the life and the teachings of Jesus
Christ to the world itself, but it also seeks to explain the meanings between the various
concepts which have been presented to the readers themselves in The New Testament itself.
Thus, it can be concluded by saying that the New Testament not only explains the various
meanings and the interpretations if the concepts presented in the text itself, it also helps the

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readers to explore the true meanings of Christianity and what the religion itself conveys to the
masses about the kingdom of God himself.
Reference List
Johnson, Luke. The Writings Of The New Testament. 2019, pp. 21-73.
Carson, D.A., and Douglas Moo. An Introduction To The New Testament. 2019, pp. 23-73.
Brown, R. E. An Introduction To The New Testament. 2019, pp. 1-96.