New Testament Commentary Survey

Rating:
Summary: Very helpful
Review: As helpful as Longman's "Old Testament Commentary Survey."

Although this title is presently out of print, it is well worth trying to find a copy. It is fairly recent and is a wonderful way to save yourself some money before you plop down a couple hundred dollars on fluffy commentaries.

Very well indexed and annotated.

Rating:
Summary: Cuts to the chase.
Review: Carson's little survey of biblical commentaries has helped me to spend my money more wisely. Some will no doubt criticize Carson for his occasionally trenchant remarks on certain books. But the way I look at it, if a book really is a piece of trash, then I want to know about it before I invest my hard earned money. And as research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Carson has become very well versed in the writings of the scholarly guild, and his insightful comments reflect this knowledge. Plus, the guy cracks me up with his awesome one liners.

So if your a pastor or just a layperson who wants to know what the best Christian commentaries and books are, then pick up this handy little guide.

Rating:
Summary: NT Commentary Survey: A Review
Review: D.A. Carson has given us a piece of his mind concerning the world of New Testament commentaries, and in a surprisingly entertaining fashion. He covers NT introductions, surveys, and theologies, then tells us what he thinks about almost every commentary series that you would know of (and some you don't know of), and goes book-by-book through the NT recommending (and rejecting) which commentaries are worth buying and reading. This resource is a must for all would-be expositors of the Bible.
What makes the book so readable is Carson's fresh and lively style. It is as if he sat down and just punched out a long essay on what he really thought about the resources available for New Testament exposition. His quips and succinct summaries are excellent, and sometimes quite humorous. Besides the glitches stated in the review above by Buddy Boone, this is an excellent work. Admittingly, Carson does not give equal space to all commentaries, but that's fine since all commentaries are not created equally. Of course, the author was probably constrained by the goals and size of the survey, and if you are left wondering what he really recommends about any NT book check the Best Buy section that he includes. If you wish to jump into the world of New Testament study, this is the place to leap (in other words buy the book).

Rating:
Summary: NT Commentary Survey: A Review
Review: D.A. Carson has given us a piece of his mind concerning the world of New Testament commentaries, and in a surprisingly entertaining fashion. He covers NT introductions, surveys, and theologies, then tells us what he thinks about almost every commentary series that you would know of (and some you don't know of), and goes book-by-book through the NT recommending (and rejecting) which commentaries are worth buying and reading. This resource is a must for all would-be expositors of the Bible.
What makes the book so readable is Carson's fresh and lively style. It is as if he sat down and just punched out a long essay on what he really thought about the resources available for New Testament exposition. His quips and succinct summaries are excellent, and sometimes quite humorous. Besides the glitches stated in the review above by Buddy Boone, this is an excellent work. Admittingly, Carson does not give equal space to all commentaries, but that's fine since all commentaries are not created equally. Of course, the author was probably constrained by the goals and size of the survey, and if you are left wondering what he really recommends about any NT book check the Best Buy section that he includes. If you wish to jump into the world of New Testament study, this is the place to leap (in other words buy the book).

Rating:
Summary: excellent but outdated
Review: Five-stars for both concept and content, but the fact that this work is now a bit long in the tooth takes away one star. (This review is for the fourth edition. The fifth edition is now out, so this review can be set aside.)

Rating:
Summary: Very helpful, but uneven survey
Review: Let me begin by saying that D.A. Carson is easily one of my favorite writers. I own most of the books he has written and his commentary on John's gospel is my absolute favorite. A New Testament commentary survey by an evangelical scholar was certainly a terrific idea and I am glad to have this fifth edition. I found it very helpful with deciding on a couple of commentaries over the last few months.

However, while I am giving it three stars, I must point out some of the problems with this "survey." First, the work is simply uneven throughout. At times the comments are informative, even though brief. Consider Carson's comments on Howard Marshall's NIGTC on Luke: "Unfortunately, the prose is so densely packed, owing not least to the fact that the notes are incorporated into the text, that some will make heavy weather of it. Moreover, it presupposes a reasonable proficiency in the Greek text. Those with the requisite Greek skills will benefit greatly from reading it." Concise, but well put! But now consider Carson's incredibly brief note on Thomas Schreiner's massive BECNT commentary on Romans (the note follows comments on Doug Moo's Romans commentary):
"The combination of the strong exegesis and the rigorous interaction makes the work superior to another recent commentary of similar length, that of Thomas R. Schreiner." That's it! Nothing else is said about Schreiner's massive and recent work! In fact, Carson's comments on *most* commentaries are so thin that one is often left wondering what Carson actually thinks of it! Note the publisher's blurb on the back cover: "Serious students of the Bible want to know which resources are most valuable to add to their growing libraries. With an abundance of available tools, students often turn to trusted professors for advice. This book provides such advice from D.A. Carson..." To the contrary, we are often left hanging on a brief comment that can only be understood if one owns the book on which Carson is commenting. We are warned about "serious breaches and misinterpretations" as well as "unfounded idiosyncrasies" in the Anchor commentary on Galatians by J. Louis Martyn, but are given not a clue as to what Carson is referring.

There are also blatant errors in this book. After a word about Ben Witherington's commentary on John's gospel (John's Wisdom), Carson tells us that "Witherington's other commentary on this gospel is in the NIV Application series." Wrong: the NIV Application Commentary on John's gospel is by Gary Burge. After commenting on the NAC on the Pastoral Epistles by Thomas Lea, we are told that "the contribution of Robert H. Mounce (WBC; 1997... is considerably stronger..." The problem is, the WBC on the Pastorals was written by William D. Mounce, the son of Robert H. Mounce. Incidentally, the price is also incorrect.

Finally, one of the worst faux pas in the book is Carson's failure to include even a recognition of the colossal work on Acts by Joseph Fitzmyer (Anchor). This was surely a mistake since Dr. Carson comments on Fitzmyer's Romans commentary.

This work is quite uncharacteristic of what we are accustomed to seeing from D.A. Carson. It looks very much like Baker Academic dropped the ball on this one. Hopefully, they will get the errors corrected and perhaps we will see a more thorough survey in the near future. I agree with another reviewer that rather than a brief quip about twenty different commentaries I would rather see Carson's serious thoughts on his top six or eight.

Rating:
Summary: Very helpful, but uneven survey
Review: Let me begin by saying that D.A. Carson is easily one of my favorite writers. I own most of the books he has written and his commentary on John's gospel is one of my favorites. A New Testament commentary survey by an evangelical scholar was certainly a terrific idea and I am glad to have this fifth edition. I found it very helpful with deciding on a couple of commentaries over the last few months.

However, while I am giving it three stars, I must point out some of the problems with this "survey." First, the work is simply uneven throughout. At times the comments are informative, even though brief. Consider Carson's comments on Howard Marshall's NIGTC on Luke: "Unfortunately, the prose is so densely packed, owing not least to the fact that the notes are incorporated into the text, that some will make heavy weather of it. Moreover, it presupposes a reasonable proficiency in the Greek text. Those with the requisite Greek skills will benefit greatly from reading it." Concise, but well put! But now consider Carson's incredibly brief note on Thomas Schreiner's massive BECNT commentary on Romans (the note follows comments on Doug Moo's Romans commentary):
"The combination of the strong exegesis and the rigorous interaction makes the work superior to another recent commentary of similar length, that of Thomas R. Schreiner." That's it! Nothing else is said about Schreiner's massive and recent work! In fact, Carson's comments on *most* commentaries are so thin that one is often left wondering what Carson actually thinks of it! Note the publisher's blurb on the back cover: "Serious students of the Bible want to know which resources are most valuable to add to their growing libraries. With an abundance of available tools, students often turn to trusted professors for advice. This book provides such advice from D.A. Carson..." To the contrary, we are often left hanging on a brief comment that can only be understood if one owns the book on which Carson is commenting. We are warned about "serious breaches and misinterpretations" as well as "unfounded idiosyncrasies" in the Anchor commentary on Galatians by J. Louis Martyn, but are given not a clue as to what Carson is referring.

There are also blatant errors in this book. After a word about Ben Witherington's commentary on John's gospel (John's Wisdom), Carson tells us that "Witherington's other commentary on this gospel is in the NIV Application series." Wrong: the NIV Application Commentary on John's gospel is by Gary Burge. After commenting on the NAC on the Pastoral Epistles by Thomas Lea, we are told that "the contribution of Robert H. Mounce (WBC); 1997... is considerably stronger..." The problem is, the WBC on the Pastorals was written by William D. Mounce, the son of Robert H. Mounce. Incidentally, the price is also incorrect.

Finally, one of the worst faux pas in the book is Carson's failure to include even a recognition of the colossal work on Acts by Joseph Fitzmyer (Anchor). This was surely a mistake since Dr. Carson comments on Fitzmyer's Romans commentary.

This work is quite uncharacteristic of what we are accustomed to seeing from D.A. Carson. It looks very much like Baker Academic dropped the ball on this one. Hopefully, they will get the errors corrected and perhaps we will see a more thorough survey in the near future. I agree with another reviewer that rather than a brief quip about twenty different commentaries I would rather see Carson's serious thoughts on his top six or eight.

Rating:
Summary: Essential!
Review: Our fallible interpretation of the Bible is always subject to improvement, and this is where good commentaries are invaluable. Carson helps the reader separate the wheat from the chaff in this regard.
The "Introductory Notes" set the stage by reminding the reader that there are distinct types of commentaries. (Some commentaries include practical application while others do not, etc.) The "Introductory Notes" also help the reader wrestle with the important decision of whether to purchase individual commentaries or a series. The remaining three sections analyze "supplements" to commentaries, many individual commentaries themselves, and some "best buys."
Carson's brisk and pointed style keeps the analysis moving rapidly; however, this style results at times in a certain lack of nuance, as when he contends that, "In the Campbellite tradition, water baptism is necessary for salvation" (p. 74). But overall, this clipped style helps the reader get to the heart of the matter rapidly in every instance-a big plus.
Those still using commentaries from the 1950s and 1960s need to throw most of those relics out! Carson's book is just the tool you need to know which, why, and what to replace them with.

Rating:
Summary: Helpful - but did he bite off more than he could chew?
Review: There is much to be commended about this book. Nearly every modern commentary written on a New Testament (NT) book is mentioned by Carson. He arranges this book nicely by having a separate section for each NT book in which he lists his favorite commentaries and makes passing comments on others.

While the breadth of this book is enormous, he attempts to list as many commentaries as possible, the depth of Carson's feedback on individual commentaries is lacking. Very few commentaries receive more than one or two sentences of description, while many receive nothing more than a listing of their author, title, and publisher. Rather than seeing a list of 60 commentaries for any given NT book, I would have preferred to see Carson name his 4 or 5 favorites for each book, along with more substantive and thorough reasons for his selections. This would have allowed the reader to be better informed in making our decisions on the best commentaries for our needs. I understand Carson was trying to cover as much ground as possible, but I think the end result of his work fails to enlighten the reader to the extent he would have hoped.