258 - Sociology and the New Testament: An Appraisal

Sociology and the New Testament: An Appraisal
By Bengt Holmberg
Minneapolis, Fortress, 1990. 370 pp. $19.95.

Holmberg's aim in this book is to describe selectively and analyze methodologically work done in “New Testament sociology” during the last twenty years. After a general introduction, Holmberg examines three topics at the center of such study: the social level of the first Christians, early Christianity as a millenarian sect, and possible correlations between symbolic and social structures. Holmberg's reviews of debate and assessments of progress on these topics are thorough and competent, and his concluding reflections on difficulties raised by New Testament sociology (including the problem of reductionism) are insightful. The book's usefulness in acquainting readers with current debate is limited somewhat by Holmberg's decision not to treat works using models derived from anthropology, inasmuch as some of the most vocal and prolific advocates of social scientific study of the New Testament utilize such models. Nonetheless, Holmberg's clear presentation and analysis of important aspects of ongoing work in New Testament sociology will be helpful to specialists and non-specialists alike.

Susan R. Garrett,
Yale Divinity School,
New Haven, Conn.