"This is the first full length scholarly treatment of the life and work of J. B. Lightfoot. Using large quantities of unpublished sources Geoffrey R. Treloar presents a picture of Lightfoot in relation to the social and cultural conditions of his day and explains the breakthrough the achieved for the higher criticism of the New Testament in the English Church."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Stressing the historical and theological significance of pivotal figures and movements, William Baird guides the reader through intriguing developments and critical interpretation of the New Testament from its beginnings in Deism through the watershed of the Tubingen school. Familiar figures appear in a new light, and important, previously forgotten stages of the journey emerge. Baird gives attention to the biographical and cultural setting of persons and approaches, affording both beginning student and seasoned scholar an authoritative account that is useful for orientation as well as research.