The Books of the New Testament — Story, Setting & Ideas

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Authors: Pullan, Leighton, 1865-1940 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2007 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Bible. New Testament -- Introductions Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 100,266

Reading time 436 min

Text sections 9

For The Books of the New Testament — Story, Setting & Ideas, the stored edition analysis reports 100,266 words, 7 hr 16 min estimated reading time, and 9 detected text sections.

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Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Bible. New Testament -- Introductions,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #22459

An editorial note on Leighton Pullan's 1912 introduction to the New Testament, focusing on its conservative-critical balance, structural chapter divisions, and recurring attention to authorship debates and geographical setting.

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xi. deals with _public worship_. St. Paul gives directions for women to cover the head in church, and then comes a reference to the Holy Eucharist which is of extreme interest and importance. It was the custom for Christians to meet together before the Eucharist for a common meal called the Agapé, which was intended to commemorate the Lord's Last Supper. St. Paul complains that this meal has been made an occasion of sin among the Corinthians: the richer people had overeaten themselves, while the poor were left hungry and ashamed. The apostle sets off the unfitness of {140} this conduct by a brief exposition of the Eucharist; the preliminary meal, so much misused by these ungracious and ungenerous Christians, was intended to be a preparation for the ineffable Feast, at which the Fare was the very Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, and at which His death was solemnly represented (xi. 2-34).

St. Paul deals next with _spiritual gifts_, saying that they come from God, and so give no ground for boasting, and that the exercise of them is only pleasing to God if it be joined with charity. After a sublime chapter on charity, he lays down some regulations for those who possessed these abnormal gifts, which, it is evident, were already the cause of disorders in the Church. The Corinthians, with their craving for the miraculous, tended to set a high value on speaking with tongues, but St. Paul upholds the superiority of the more intelligible and useful gift of prophecy (xii.-xiv.).

The Epistle concludes with a splendid argument for the reality of the _Resurrection_. It is directed against some false philosophy. St. Paul claims for the fact of the resurrection of Christ the witness of Scripture, of many honest and intelligent Christians, and of himself. Then he goes on to show to the Corinthian objectors what a denial of the resurrection of the dead involves. It means that Christ did not rise, that I am preaching deceit, that you are believing a lie, that the dead in Christ have no existence except as memories, that we who have foregone the pleasures of this life have done so in pursuit of a delusive phantom. But it cannot be so. Christ is really risen. And St. Paul passes on to demonstrate the happy consequences which follow from this. The Resurrection is the earnest of all that Christ will do for man; and in the light of it Christian baptism for the sake of the dead[1] and Christian heroism have their meaning (xv. 1-34).

In order to remove difficulties from the mind of an objector, St. Paul discusses the kind of body which we shall have at the Resurrection. He shows by analogies from nature (a) that God is able to effect the transformation of a seed-grain into a new product, and can therefore transform us while retaining a connection between our present and future body; (b) that God is able to create a variety of embodiments, and can therefore give us a higher embodiment than we now possess. There will be a spiritual body adapted to the spiritual world, as truly as our natural body is adapted to life in this world. Thus the gospel is truly a gospel for the body as well as for the spirit. Our whole personality will be saved, and nothing will be discarded (xv. 35-58).

St. Paul concludes with an order for the collection of alms on behalf of the faithful in Jerusalem, and says that he hopes to come soon to Corinth. After some personal matters, he characteristically appends with his own hand a curse on those who do not love the Lord, and a prayer and loving message for the faithful.

Salutation, thanksgiving (i. 1-9).

(1) Evils in the Church: i. 10-vi. 20.--Sectarianism. This is rebuked on the ground that all the apostles, etc., are working for one end, and all their power is God's. Christ is supreme over all (i. 10-iv. 21).

Incest. The Church is to deliver the sinner to Satan (the severest form of excommunication). St. Paul mentions a previous warning not to associate with immoral Christians (v.).

Going to law with a Christian in the pagan courts is rebuked. Warning against profligacy (vi.).

(2) Answers to a letter from the Corinthians: vii. 1-xi. 1.--Marriage and celibacy. It is well to avoid marriage. But the married must not separate. Under present circumstances, the apostle would prefer others to be unencumbered as he is (vii.).

Food offered to idols. Christian liberty (viii.). St. Paul's example in not claiming one's own rights (ix.). Danger of thinking that we stand. We are "one bread," and must seek each other's good (x.-xi. 1).

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Leighton Pullan's The Books of the New Testament (fourth edition, 1912) opens with a Ruskin epigram that signals its dual aim: to defend the New Testament while engaging critical scholarship. The preface describes the work as “neither a mere hand-book nor an elaborate treatise for specialists,” positioning it for educated readers without Greek. Pullan acknowledges reliance on Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible and adopts dates from Sanday and Turner. The structure proceeds book by book, each chapter treating authorship, recipients, date, and content. The Galatians chapter exemplifies his method: he defends Pauline authorship by citing patristic testimony and internal “vehement and pathetic energy,” then devotes sustained attention to the “North Galatia” versus “South Galatia” debate, weighing linguistic and historical evidence.

Chapter-by-Chapter Architecture

The work is divided into twenty chapters, each corresponding to a New Testament book or group of books. The table of contents reveals a consistent pattern: after an introductory chapter on “The New Testament” and one on “The Gospels,” individual Gospels receive separate treatment, followed by Acts, then Paul’s epistles in approximate chronological order, and finally the Catholic Epistles and Revelation. Within each chapter, Pullan uses sidenotes to label subsections—e.g., “The Author,” “To whom written,” “Date,” “Contents.” This scaffolding makes the argument easy to follow, though it can feel formulaic. The Galatians chapter, for instance, moves from authorship to destination to date to a detailed outline of the epistle’s argument, with each section clearly demarcated.

Recurring Preoccupation with Authorship

Across the excerpts, Pullan repeatedly defends traditional authorship attributions. For Galatians, he asserts that Pauline authorship “has never been called in question by a critic of first-rate importance” and cites Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian. He contrasts the errors criticized in Galatians with later Ebionite and Gnostic heresies, arguing that the epistle’s “broken sentences and earnest appeals” bear the mark of authenticity. This pattern recurs: Pullan marshals external testimony and internal stylistic evidence, often dismissing forgery hypotheses as implausible. His tone is measured but firm, aiming to reassure readers that critical scholarship need not undermine traditional views.

Geographical and Historical Grounding

Pullan devotes considerable space to locating each book in its historical and geographical context. In the Galatians chapter, he spends several paragraphs on the meaning of “Galatia”—whether it refers to the northern Celtic region or the southern Roman province. He weighs arguments from Acts, Paul’s usage of political terms (Asia, Macedonia, Achaia), and the presence of Jews and local religious practices. He notes that the Phrygians “doted on a sombre and mysterious religion” involving Cybele worship, suggesting this background may explain the Galatians’ receptivity to Jewish legalism. Such details ground the epistle in a specific cultural landscape, moving beyond abstract theological discussion.

Movement Between Summary and Detail

Pullan’s prose alternates between broad overview and granular analysis. The Galatians chapter begins with a concise defense of authorship, then narrows to the destination debate, then expands into a summary of the epistle’s contents, broken into four sections: i. 1-10, i. 11-ii. 21, iii. 1-v. 1, v. 1-vi. 18. Each section is described in a sentence or two, giving the reader a roadmap. This movement from macro to micro recurs throughout the excerpts: the Corinthians chapter similarly divides 2 Corinthians into four parts with descriptive headings. Pullan’s method helps readers navigate complex texts without losing sight of the whole.

Pullan’s introduction is best read as a companion to the New Testament itself, not as a substitute. Readers unfamiliar with the biblical text may find the chapter outlines most useful after reading the corresponding book. The work’s conservative stance is evident, but its engagement with contemporary scholarship—especially on dating and geography—gives it lasting value as a document of early twentieth-century Anglican biblical studies. The frequent sidenotes and clear section breaks make it easy to dip into for reference.

In my years shelving theology, Pullan’s careful handling of authorship questions always reminded me of a patient scholar tracing a letter’s provenance. That same unhurried, almost reverent attention to historical roots lives in Understanding the Scriptures — Reading Notes, a quieter companion that hums the same tune. They sit together on my shelf like two old friends, sharing gentle, knowing glances across the decades.