Book Review: Berkhof's Introduction to the New Testament
This paper reviews Louis Berkhof's Introduction to the New Testament (1915), assessing its systematic, formulaic approach to each Gospel and Epistle. The review examines Berkhof's method of organizing each text by contents, characteristics, authorship, composition, and canonical significance, while evaluating both the strengths and weaknesses of this approach. The author argues that Berkhof's encyclopedic style makes the work an effective reference tool for novice and intermediate students of Scripture, but criticizes its lack of commentary, narrative engagement, and personal voice—qualities that can cause the reading experience to feel monotonous over time.
- Summary of Berkhof's Approach and Structure: Overview of Berkhof's systematic, formulaic method
- Berkhof's Purpose and Interpretive Framework: Berkhof's stated aim and scholarly stance
- Effectiveness of the Systematic Method: How Berkhof's method works for readers
- Strengths and Weaknesses of the Formulaic Style: Repetition, monotony, and lack of commentary
- The Book as Reference Tool Rather Than Introduction: Book better suited as reference than guide
- Conclusion: Value and Limitations for Students of Scripture: Final assessment for novice and intermediate readers
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What makes this paper effective
- The reviewer clearly identifies and consistently applies a single evaluative criterion — whether Berkhof achieves his own stated purpose — keeping the critique fair and grounded.
- Specific textual examples (the Epistle to Titus, 2 Corinthians, Romans) are used to support claims rather than speaking only in abstract terms about the book's method.
- The paper balances genuine appreciation for Berkhof's strengths with honest criticism, landing on a nuanced conclusion rather than a purely positive or negative verdict.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of comparative referencing: the reviewer situates Berkhof's work alongside other theological texts (Sheen's Life of Christ, Barth's Humanity of God, Cone's Black Theology of Liberation) to clarify what Berkhof is and is not attempting, thereby sharpening the evaluative framework without misrepresenting the author's intent.
Structure breakdown
The review follows a three-part structure: a summary section describing Berkhof's method and organization, an interpretation section evaluating the method's effectiveness and limitations with specific examples, and a brief conclusion that reframes the book's value as a reference rather than a primary introduction. This mirrors a standard academic book review format appropriate for a religious studies or theology course.
Summary of Berkhof's Approach and Structure
The most important aspect of Louis Berkhof's Introduction to the New Testament is its construction and style. It is simple, straightforward, and methodical in its approach to the text. It is free of sentimentality and all extraneous philosophical and theological questions that have proliferated over the years, as scholars seek to read into the texts of Scripture to find a new or deeper meaning that has not been elucidated before. Berkhof does none of this. His method is merely to present the facts of the New Testament in a brief, rigorous, and comprehensive manner. Each Gospel and Epistle of the New Testament is described within the parameters of a specific formulation: for the Gospels and Epistles, this consists of a description of the contents, characteristics, authorship, composition, and canonical significance, as well as any problems of integrity that have arisen over time. This formulaic approach is ideal for obtaining a tidy and coherent introduction to the New Testament, which is exactly what the book is and how it is meant to be read.
The book thus takes an overview of the New Testament from a literary and scholarly perspective, providing historical and academic context with a scholastic approach to the material. For example, the differences between the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John are discussed at length to address some of the problems of narrative and the divergences between them. As Berkhof notes, John's Gospel and the Synoptics are merely snapshots of the life of Our Lord: they are not meant "to be complete histories of what the Lord did and said during his life in the flesh. If this were its claim, it would disappoint in the extreme, since all that John narrates happened in a few days. Like the Synoptics the Gospel of John is a pen-picture of the Lord, is a witness to him from a particular point of view, and represents a phase of the apostolic [tradition]."1 Berkhof also pays similar attention to the Epistles, examining them in general, as he does with the Gospels, before examining them in particular. With each one, he shows how it is divided into parts in accordance with the scholarly and accepted views of those who have come before and provided generations with guidance on how to approach these books. For example, Berkhof notes that the Epistle of Paul to the Romans is divided into "two clearly marked but very unequal parts, viz, the doctrinal (1:1–11:36) and the practical part (12:1–16:27)."2 He describes the characteristics of the Epistle, evidence of authorship, the condition of the Roman church at the time, and so on. Each Epistle is treated in the same manner, and the Gospels receive similar focus.
Every work is examined from these standpoints as well as the standpoints of composition, integrity (whether a doxology is genuine or spurious, for instance), and canonical significance. The Epistle to the Corinthians is shown to be divided into five parts. Characteristics, authorship, the condition of the church that received the letter, the composition of the letter (its occasion and purpose, time and place of writing), and its canonical significance are all detailed. One by one, the various Epistles are examined in this systematic manner, which makes the reading both easy and familiar once the work has been begun in earnest. The author does not deviate from this method. Each Gospel and Epistle is examined in the same way: parts, characteristics, authorship, and so on are where the author focuses his attention. When, over the course of history, portions of a particular Epistle or Gospel have been questioned or their integrity challenged, Berkhof addresses these concerns, as he does, for example, with the Second Epistle to the Corinthians: "The integrity of the letter has been attacked especially on two points. It is claimed by some that the verses 6:14–7:1 do not belong where they stand, but form an awkward interruption in the course of thought. A few scholars regard them as a part of the lost letter to which I Cor. 5:9 refers. Now it is true that at first sight these verses seem out of place where they stand, but at the same time it is very well possible to give a plausible explanation for their insertion at this point."3 By focusing on the New Testament texts with this systematic, standardized, and methodical approach, Berkhof reduces all the noise associated with the New Testament over the centuries and presents the text to the reader cleanly and effectively, tersely summarizing its key points and making plain that which might otherwise be confusing for the uninitiated.
If there is a main point to the book, it is simply to introduce the reader to the various texts of the New Testament. There is no overriding theme to identify, nor any argument the author is attempting to make. Berkhof himself disappears into the work. His voice is not heard beyond the initial Preface, and even there he offers only a few sparse lines explaining his purpose in writing. It is that purpose, however, that can be most helpful for the reader, for it serves as an invitation to more fully engage with and understand the Introduction.
Bibliography
Barth, Karl. The Humanity of God. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1960.
Berkhof, Louis. Introduction to the New Testament. Eerdmans, 1915.
Chapell, B. Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005.
Cone, James. A Black Theology of Liberation. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2010.
Douglas, Kelly Brown. Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2015.
Klink III, Edward W., and Darian R. Lockett. Understanding Biblical Theology: A Comparison of Theory and Practice. Zondervan, 2012.
Pike, Mark A. "Christianity and Character Education: Faith in Core Values?" Journal of Beliefs & Values 31, no. 3 (2010): 311–321.
Sheen, Fulton. Life of Christ. Martino Fine Books, 2016.
Smith, Christian. "Why Christianity Works: An Emotions-Focused Phenomenological Account." Sociology of Religion 68, no. 2 (2007): 165–178.
Towns, Elmer L. "A Journey Through the Old Testament" (1989). Books. Paper 8. http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/towns_books/8
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