John Sturdy's unfinished book was conceived as a reply to John Robinson's Redating the New Testament, published in 1975. The once-liberal Bishop of Woolwich took a much too conservative stand towards the end of his life, Sturdy believed, when it came to dating the New Testament literature. Sturdy's book is required reading for New Testament scholars for two related reasons. First of all, it states a "radical" case in a research environment which has become increasingly conservative. Secondly - and most importantly - it shows that this radicalism is not merely his own aberration but stands in a long tradition of scholarship. The book is documented with extensive references to secondary literature.

John Sturdy's unfinished book was conceived as a reply to John Robinson's Redating the New Testament, published in 1975. The once-liberal Bishop of Woolwich took a much too conservative stand towards the end of his life, Sturdy believed, when it came to dating the New Testament literature. Sturdy's book is required reading for New Testament scholars for two related reasons. First of all, it states a "radical" case in a research environment which has become increasingly conservative. Secondly - and most importantly - it shows that this radicalism is not merely his own aberration but stands in a long tradition of scholarship. The book is documented with extensive references to secondary literature.