Warren Carter

This slim survey of scholarly discussion of the Sermon on the Mount covers roughly thirty years from 1960 to the time of publication, 1994. This was an important epoch, with the publication of essential commentaries by Luz, Guelich, Davies/Allison, and others, as well as numerous monographs and articles.

Carter organizes his material into five sections: sources, structure, addressees, and content (subdivided into what listeners were called on to understand and what they were summoned to do). show more In the final chapter, the focus widens to include not only the first recipients of the Gospel but also the contemporary Christian community.

The material is presented in a clear, accessible manner. One quibble is Carter’s observation that the variety of results presented by scholars who analyze the structure of the Sermon “reflects how subjective and individualistic is the act of interpreting a text.” I think this misstates the role of method, which does not dictate results. Instead, it seeks to make transparent how one arrives at one’s conclusions. This doesn’t necessarily make the result “subjective.”

Given that the book is now thirty years old, I was interested to arrive at the final pages, where Carter asks what might be said in the next thirty years. He presciently suggests an increase in interest in literary approaches and readings that explore the meaning of the Sermon in third-world settings, for women, and for mainline churches in an increasingly minority setting. He writes: “I suspect that such readings will counter ‘individualized’ western readings of the Sermon by emphasizing a communitarian understanding of discipleship.” show less

Carter's overview of the New Testament and its relationship to the Roman Empire is an excellent summation of the cultural influence at the time the texts were written. His scholarship focuses on how the NT speaks to its cultural context and illuminates some interesting arguments about the meaning of certain books and passages. While a bit dry, this book is a good resource for someone looking to engage the NT in its historical context and consider how this context can speak to our current show more social and political state of affairs. show less

this is a book that i was supposed to read in seminary (or read parts of in seminary) and i never finished it. i enjoyed being able to read it at my leisure and take the time to absorb the book. carter does a study of the gospel of matthew read in light of the roman empire. i appreciated this book for its insights into how roman society worked and for the parallels it drew within matthew's gospel. it helped to highlight things that i would have missed otherwise. i also appreciated the show more conclusion of the book where carter lays out some of the ways in which matthew can be read in light of the current political context. he doesn't draw conclusions, instead he raises the questions that the gospel should always be forcing us to ask. this book was incredibly helpful although occasionally dense and repetitive. i am teaching through the book of matthew with the senior high at the church and this book has been very valuable to that endeavor. show less

This is a brief, basic explanation of Revelation with an emphasis on its anti-imperial rhetoric.