Portraits of Jesus A Reading Guide

I do believe that the kind of New Testament survey material that Dr. Imperato has prepared can stimulate the interest of newcomers to the field, especially college undergraduates and others who have a cultural connection to the Bible but very slender acquaintance with it. The observation of parallel versions of the same pericope in the gospels is usually a new and intriguing experience for this constituency, which is often predisposed to consider the sacred texts dryly uniform and threadbare. In respect to Paul, there is next to no undistorted prior exposure to build upon, especially among Catholics, so an introduction to his prominent themes -- but only with understanding of his texts as genuine letters, not treatises -- can arouse interest in further assisted reading. Dr. Imperato's sketches are properly dedicated to such reading assistance, not to furnishing "cliff notes" in place of the Bible. This is why I think his work can be of considerable educational value. -- The Rev. Dr. Richard J. Dillon, Senior Professor of Theology (New Testament), Fordham University, former general editor of the Catholic Biblical Quarterly