ABSTRACT
If the New Testament represents a collection that emerged in the second century, which scholars widely agree on even as they debate the manner in which this collection developed, then it would be appealing to read it as a whole on the historical and socio-cultural background proposed in this book. I have only been able to do this re-reading of the New Testament for a few selected extracts. As a focus I have chosen the heart of the New Testament, “Christ’s Torah,” as it is expressed above all in the Lukan Sermon on the Plain. But it would be more than interesting to read the entire life narrative of Jesus, integrated into the larger collection of the New Testament, as a text against the background of the second century and to do the same with the other writings of this collection.
