Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 20:1 (Spring 2023)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous

Book Reviews

Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament: the Evidence for Early Composition. By Jonathan Bernier. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2022. 318 pages. Paperback, $29.99.

When were the documents that make up the New Testament written? This question has dominated countless pages of scholarly writing and is a foundational element of most New Testament commentaries and introductions. However, despite the centrality of this topic, no scholar has attempted to write a full-length treatment concerning the dates of the entire New Testament since John Robinson’s effort in 1976, Redating the New Testament. Jonathan Bernier, in his book Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament, remedies this situation by presenting a well written and methodologically sound monograph on the dating of the entire New Testament and other early Christian works. Bernier, who earned a PhD from McMaster University, serves at Regis College (University of Toronto) as Assistant Professor of New Testament and Executive Director of the Lonergan Research Institute. He is also the author of Aposynagōgos and the Historical Jesus in John (Brill, 2013) and The Quest for the Historical Jesus after the Demise of Authenticity (T&T Clark, 2016).

In Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament, Bernier built on the work of Robinson by arguing in favor of an early dating for the majority of the New Testament writings. However, one would be mistaken to think that Bernier casts himself as the arch-defender of Robinson’s work. Instead, he was deeply critical of Robinson’s methodology and sought to present an argument in favor of early dating while avoiding the methodological missteps for which Robinson is often criticized. Bernier was particularly aware of the accusation that Robinson relied heavily on an argument from silence, chiefly in relation to the absence of direct New Testament references to the destruction of the Temple. As a result, Robinson adopted a methodology targeted toward avoiding any argument from silence.

Bernier’s method can be summarized with two questions. First, “is there material in the book that is most fully intelligible only if written prior to a given event or situation” (23)? Second, “is there

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material in the book that is most fully intelligible only if written after a given event or situation” (23)? If the answer is yes to the first question but no to the second, then an early date is preferred. If the answer is no to the first question but yes to the second, then the later date is preferred. If the answer to both questions is yes, then the later date is more likely, but some early material is preserved in the book. If the answer to both questions is no, then insufficient information is available to d...