Dying, we live : a new enquiry into the death of Christ in the New Testament /

A mature exegetical analysis of passages from Paul, the Synoptic Gospels and Acts, I Peter, Hebrews, the Johannine Writings, and Revelation that pertain to the death and resurrection of Christ. Grayston identifies the range of views concerning the crucifixion found in the Christian Testament. He avoids selecting passages that support neat categories, as in Arland J. Hultgren's Christ and His Benefits: Christology and Redemption in the New Testament (1987). He also avoids arranging his data to support any atonement theory. Grayston sees in the theological formulae, midrashim, explanatory myths that attempt not only to explain the death of Christ as necessay prelude to the resurrection but also demonstrate a critical principle of social realities and an interpretive principle of Christian life and suffering. The "Survey and Summary" in Chapter 10 is an especially helpful overview of his long, detailed studies. The four appendixes "The Lytron Group of Words," "Justification: The Dik-Group of Words," "The en Christo Formula," and "Judas" are valuable short studies. Although some question and others emphasize the necessity of the crucifixion as a predetermined plan of God, Grayston's study establishes how many New Testament passages concerning the crucifixion provide a Christian model of self-giving. This book should be in all Christian seminary libraries and university collections supporting graduate study in the Christian Testament. -R. A. Boisclair, Temple University