The Expository Times

This study provides a general overview of current research on the three Synoptic Gospels — Matthew, Mark and Luke. It begins by tracing important trends in the general area of Synoptic studies before focusing on the individual Gospels themselves. The survey of these texts identifies the significant themes and issues that have dominated the study of the Synoptic Gospels, and it mentions the key scholars involved in the particular debates. An extensive bibliography at the end of the study is provided to assist those who wish to read further.

In recent decades, the `new perspective' on Paul has broken in some significant ways with broad trajectories of interpretation established by the Reformers. Proper evaluation of contemporary debates in Pauline interpretation therefore demands careful attention to their exegesis. Using Galatians 2:16, the Reformers' stance is explored in relation to (i) the works of the law, (ii) justification by faith, and (iii) the disputed genitive phrase `faith in/the faithfulness of Christ'. The interpretation of Erasmus is first explored as a contrast and a means by which to set the Reformers' exegesis in the context of sixteenth-century discussions of the text. The article concludes with a historical and theological assessment of the value of their exegesis for contemporary debates in Pauline interpretation.

Pentecostalism in Britain owes its origins to meetings convened by Anglican priest Alexander Boddy and addressed by Norwegian preacher T. B. Barratt, in Boddy's Sunderland parish, just over a century ago. From the outset most Pentecostals regarded Roman Catholicism as a serious departure from New Testament Christianity at best and thinly disguised paganism at worst. Roman Catholics, in their turn, saw Pentecostalism as yet another and rather unruly sect imported from across the Atlantic. This article traces the steps and circumstances by which a significant number of Roman Catholics and Pentecostals, through the Charismatic Movement and via personal contacts, came to regard each other as `separated brethren'.