Understanding What One Reads II

This volume, Understanding what One Reads II: The Gospels and Paul (2003-2011), supplements the volume with the same main title which contains New Testament Essays from 1992-2002 and appeared in 2003. It continues the attempt (described in the preceding volume) to collect Professor Lambrecht's shorter writings into volumes that would be more accessible. The present volume brings together 35 studies, some rather brief, others more expanded. The first 34 are "bookended" by the cover illustration and the final article, which reflects on how Dei Verbum has functioned through forty years in attempting to understand what one reads in Scripture. As elsewhere in previous studies, Professor Lambrecht examines the relation between Q and Mark; he more than once reacts against a too easy reference to intertextuality which is methodologically not justified. He always carefully analyzes the line of thought (and the literal sense) in a number of passages, asking the question "How does the New Testament author reason and argue?". The majority of the articles in this volume have been published in journals or festschrifts. Most of the studies are strictly scientific; a few however have been written as conferences or essays for a nonspecialized Christian public. As the reader will observe, quite often a brief article is a reply to a recent publication. It is hoped that this collection of dispersed published studies and unpublished material will be appreciated by colleagues and students alike.