ABSTRACT
N. T. Wright argues that early Christianity was inescapably Jewish at its core. Although N. T. Wright's The New Testament and the People of God explores a variety of subjects and interacts with a number of scholarly disciplines, its main theme is the Jewish nature of early Christianity. Wright contends that modern readers need an informed knowledge of first-century Judaism if they are to understand fully the message of the New Testament. Wright believes that many Christian interpreters have failed to understand not only the common assumptions shared by first-century Jews, but also the various matters on which they disagreed. As Wright notes, the New Testament "is a Jewish book, telling Jewish-style stories, yet telling them for the world. Given the profound influence of Judaism on early Christianity, Wright believes that Christianity cannot be regarded as an independent movement that is historically and theologically distinct from Judaism.
