Synopsis of the New Testament

General Introduction

This module brings together in one place two cross-cutting working instruments drawn from the five modules of New Testament exegesis: a unified chronology of the first Christian century and a thematic index of the questions disputed (loci theologici) among the Christian confessions.

The chronology articulates the life of Jesus, the birth and expansion of the early Church, the Pauline missions, the apostolic martyrdoms (Peter, Paul, James the Just), the destruction of the Temple (70), the progressive writing of the New Testament texts, and the end of the apostolic century. It combines the scriptural data with the major extra-biblical sources: Flavius Josephus, Tacitus, Suetonius, Pliny the Younger, Cassius Dio, Eusebius of Caesarea.

The index of loci maps, by classical dogmatic chapters (fundamental theology, Christology, soteriology, ecclesiology, sacramental theology, mariology, eschatology), the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant positions on the disputed questions, referring to the corresponding exegesis modules. It distinguishes the persistent points of divergence from the recent ecumenical advances (JDDJ 1999, TOB 2010, Groupe des Dombes).

I. Unified Chronology of the First Christian Century

From the birth of Jesus (c. 4 BC) to the end of Trajan’s reign (117), this timeline distinguishes eight categories of events marked by a colour code. Click a filter to keep only one category; click again to show everything.

II. Thematic Index of the loci theologici

This index organises the disputed questions by classical dogmatic chapters. Each locus lists the confessional positions and refers to the exegesis modules where the biblical passages are studied. The selection favours the live questions (still debated today) over the historically closed controversies.

III. Sources and Bibliography

The chronology and index draw mainly on:

• Marguerat, Daniel (dir.). Introduction au Nouveau Testament : son histoire, son écriture, sa théologie. 5th ed. Geneva: Labor et Fides, 2018.
• Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament. ABRL. New York : Doubleday, 1997.
• Vouga, François. Une théologie du Nouveau Testament. Genève : Labor et Fides, 2001.
• Bauckham, Richard. Jesus and the God of Israel. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 2008.
• Conzelmann, Hans. History of Primitive Christianity. London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1973.
• Flavius Josephus. Jewish Antiquities and The Jewish War.
• Eusebius of Caesarea. Ecclesiastical History. SC 31, 41, 55, 73 and 87.
• Tacitus, Suetonius, Pliny the Younger, Cassius Dio (Roman sources).

For the confessional positions: Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992, Latin editio typica 1997); Lutheran Confessions (BSLK 2014) and the Book of Concord (1580); Reformed Confessions of Faith; Westminster Confession (1647); Heidelberg Catechism (1563); Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (1559).