Three leading scholars examine one of the oldest professorships, the Lady Margaret's Chair of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. Graham Stanton, current holder, writes an introduction considering theology at Cambridge before 1502 and after 1649. In two subsequent chapters (delivered as lectures at an event in March 2002 to celebrate the five-hundredth anniversary of the Chair), Richard Rex offers an account of the establishment of the Professorship in 1502 and Patrick Collinson addresses the extent to which early incumbents were involved in the religious and political turmoil of the era.

This book provides a clear scholarly introduction to study of the life of Jesus and of the four New Testament gospels. In the second edition, special attention is given to ways of assessing the relevant literary and archaeological evidence. Current scholarly debates are considered, but the main emphasis is on thorough study of key passages in the gospels.

Over the course of his distinguished career, the late Graham Stanton, former Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, wrote extensively on New Testament and early Christian themes. This volume presents a collection of twenty-six essays, including one previously unpublished, and encompasses some of his most prominent contributions to scholarship. Stanton's work as an interpreter of the Gospel of Matthew is well known, and thus Part I includes seven essays on Matthew. Part II ('New Testament Studies') collects twelve studies on various New Testament themes, ranging from the exegetical to the methodological and programmatic. Toward the end of his life, Stanton was engaged in writing a book on Justin Martyr in the context of early Christian and Jewish dialogue. Though he did not live to complete the project, he published a number of preliminary studies that are included in Part III, together with a previously unpublished paper investigating 'Justin on Martyrdom and Suicide'.