"[Goldingay's] tome is a breath of fresh air. It is well-written, thoughtful, and thought-provoking and should be required reading for those preaching and teaching. I once met a pastor who made what he thought was a laudatory comment: 'I never preach from the Old Testament since I want to bring people to Jesus.' Goldingay's book is the necessary prescription for this theological life-threatening illness."
"A fresh, accessible and at times provocative explanation of the enduring relevance of the Old ('First') Testament for Christians. It will challenge readers to embrace the first seventy percent of the canon as truly Christian Scripture."
"A short, interesting, readable, and provocative book for everyone concerned with how to read the Old [First] Testament as Christians without reducing it into an allegory of Christian beliefs."
"Reflecting on new perspectives on the life of Jesus, issues of Psalm 137, the role of church and state and their ethics, and the hermeneutics of theological interpretation, the reader will enjoy the questioning and provocative mind of John Goldingay as he takes up his laptop to challenge much of today's conventional Christian wisdom."
"Bible readers who want to think through the relationship between the two testaments and its implications, and who would welcome help from an insightful and outspoken debate partner, should read and ponder this book."
"Goldingay offers a solid case against the theological inferiority of the OT. Do We Need the New Testament? is a welcome corrective for those insisting that the OT does not speak to Christians today. The book would be a great addition to the library of seminary students, pastors, and informed lay people."
"The academic content will especially please scholars and students. All readers will enjoy the engaging tone and intriguing premise."
"The early church's problem with the Old Testament was completely different to ours. Their problem was not how to make sense of the Old Testament given the coming of Jesus, but the reverse: Given that the Old Testament is God's revelation, how do we make sense of Jesus? With this unusual question, Do We Need the New Testament?, Goldingay turns our modern thinking on its head and exposes the weaknesses in the way contemporary Christians understand the Old Testament—and the New. With thought-provoking ideas on every page, this book will help readers look at the Old and New Testaments in new and exciting ways."
"With its scholarly tone, this title should be recommended to laypeople, students, and pastors who are familiar with Greek, Hebrew, and Latin and have a knowledge of biblical and secular history."
"Do We Need the New Testament? offers a much-needed corrective to the tendency to neglect or devalue the OT found in much of the contemporary church. The book would be of great value to any theological student, pastor, or interested layperson who desires to explore the rich theological, spiritual, and ethical resources that the OT has to offer the church or who seeks to gain a better grasp of the relationship between the Testaments. Readers can expect to have their assumptions challenged, their minds informed, and their passion for the OT (re)ignited by Goldingay's insightful and engaging discussion, which pairs penetrating analysis with a fervent love for Israel's Scriptures."
"John Goldingay is incapable of being uninteresting. I smiled approvingly at many passages in this book and grimaced at a few others, all the while deeply grateful for such a passionate dismantling of pernicious but widely held myths about the Old Testament's theological inferiority. If Goldingay does not quite come to grips with what makes the New Testament new, he nevertheless brilliantly illustrates how the Old Testament is already good news on its own."
"Bible readers who want to think through the relationship between the two testaments and its implications, and who would welcome help from an insightful and outspoken debate partner, should read and ponder this book."
--Kenneth A. Cherney Jr., Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, Spring 2016
"The academic content will especially please scholars and students. All readers will enjoy the engaging tone and intriguing premise."
--Kelley Mathews, Bible Study Magazine, March/April 2016
"Do We Need the New Testament? offers a much-needed corrective to the tendency to neglect or devalue the OT found in much of the contemporary church. The book would be of great value to any theological student, pastor, or interested layperson who desires to explore the rich theological, spiritual, and ethical resources that the OT has to offer the church or who seeks to gain a better grasp of the relationship between the Testaments. Readers can expect to have their assumptions challenged, their minds informed, and their passion for the OT (re)ignited by Goldingay's insightful and engaging discussion, which pairs penetrating analysis with a fervent love for Israel's Scriptures."
--Brittany Kim, Themelios, April 2016
"[Goldingay's] tome is a breath of fresh air. It is well-written, thoughtful, and thought-provoking and should be required reading for those preaching and teaching. I once met a pastor who made what he thought was a laudatory comment: 'I never preach from the Old Testament since I want to bring people to Jesus.' Goldingay's book is the necessary prescription for this theological life-threatening illness."
--Joseph B. Modica, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Vol. 59, No. 4
"A short, interesting, readable, and provocative book for everyone concerned with how to read the Old [First] Testament as Christians without reducing it into an allegory of Christian beliefs."
--Michael F. Bird, Patheos, December 30, 2015
"All in all, this book is a delightful, stimulating, and challenging read. . . . Goldingay helps to explain how to interpret and understand the Old Testament's abiding theological witness to our triune God."
--Austin Britton, New Horizons, April 2016
"Goldingay offers a solid case against the theological inferiority of the OT. Do We Need the New Testament? is a welcome corrective for those insisting that the OT does not speak to Christians today. The book would be a great addition to the library of seminary students, pastors, and informed lay people."
--Justin Langford, Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament, 5.1 (2016)
"The early church's problem with the Old Testament was completely different to ours. Their problem was not how to make sense of the Old Testament given the coming of Jesus, but the reverse: Given that the Old Testament is God's revelation, how do we make sense of Jesus? With this unusual question, Do We Need the New Testament?, Goldingay turns our modern thinking on its head and exposes the weaknesses in the way contemporary Christians understand the Old Testament--and the New. With thought-provoking ideas on every page, this book will help readers look at the Old and New Testaments in new and exciting ways."
--Nathan MacDonald, lecturer in Hebrew Bible and fellow of St. John's College, University of Cambridge
"With its scholarly tone, this title should be recommended to laypeople, students, and pastors who are familiar with Greek, Hebrew, and Latin and have a knowledge of biblical and secular history."
--John Berstein, CBA Retailers + Resources, June 2015
