Merrill C. Tenney (1904–1985)

In spite of its evangelical Protestant bias, this book is actually a very good introduction to the writings of the New Testament, the events that inspired them, and the world around them. The authors did a very good job of abbreviating some very complicated information and presenting the reader with the necessary historical facts. They also did a great job, with a few exceptions, of correcting the liberal tendencies of some scholars as to the authorship of some of the New Testament writings. Because of that same evangelical Protestant bias which I've already mentioned, there are also some rather strange statements in various parts of the book which must be ignored if the Orthodox reader is going to get a good experience from it. If you can get past the absurdities and ignore the evangelical Protestantisms, I do recommend this book as a good basic introduction to the New Testament writings and the history surrounding them.… (more)