Welcome to the fifth in a six-part series delving into the benchmark book The New Testament In Its World.

Co-author Michael Bird takes us through the text he wrote with N.T. Wright, this episode focusing on the Catholic Letters - the collection of epistles following Paul's letters that embrace the church at large and offer a balance to some of the Apostle's more controversial teaching. In addition, Mike shows how these letters provide us a more detailed view of the world in which the New Testament was written.

On the chopping block are important questions like,

Why is it important that we have other authors in the New Testament?What is the difference in the audience that Paul and the Catholic Letters address?Is there a sense in which the Catholic Letters balance out the Letters of Paul?

You can buy a copy of The New Testament In Its World here.

If you're following along with The New Testament In Its World, this episode covers key issues in Part VII: The Early Christians and the Mission of God:

The canonical function of the Catholic Epistles