Searching for Meaning introduces readers to the different methods used to interpret the New Testament. Top scholars give a short definition of a particular criticism and then Paula Gooder gives a practical example to demonstrate how that criticism can be applied to a biblical text.

A very broad range of methods are introduced, from traditional criticisms such as source criticism and historical criticism to the more modern methods such as feminist criticism and liberation criticism. Readers will understand how different meanings and emphases can be drawn out from a text depending upon the method of interpretation chosen. They will also be given the skills to start analysing and examining texts for themselves in a meaningful and insightful way.

This is a clearly written and extremely helpful introduction to many different approaches to the interpretation of the New Testament. Experts from around the world and across many disciplines contribute specialized explanations, while Paula Gooder’s excellent discussions apply each form of criticism to actual New Testament textual examples. It will become an indispensable tool and is greatly to be welcomeProfessor Richard A. Burridge, King’s College, London
No other primer in biblical criticism even comes close in terms of representing the actual multiplicity and diversity of contemporary biblical methodology and biblical scholars.
Professor Stephen D. Moore, Drew University