Do We Need the New Testament?

John Goldingay's provocative inquiry emerges from his decades of wrestling with the relationship between Israel's scriptures and Christian faith. Writing as an Old Testament scholar who has spent his career demonstrating the theological richness and continuing relevance of Hebrew scripture, Goldingay poses a question that strikes at the heart of Christian biblical interpretation: if the Hebrew Bible already contains everything necessary for knowing God and living faithfully, what essential role does the New Testament actually play?

Goldingay argues that the Hebrew scriptures provide a complete theological framework encompassing creation, covenant, wisdom, prophecy, and worship—all the fundamental categories Christians need for understanding God's character and purposes. He demonstrates how the major themes Christians typically associate with the New Testament—grace, salvation, relationship with God, ethical living, even resurrection hope—are already present and fully developed in Israel's scriptures. Rather than viewing the New Testament as fulfillment or completion of an incomplete revelation, Goldingay suggests it functions more as contextual application of already-complete truths to the particular historical moment of Jesus and the early church. He challenges the common Christian assumption that the Hebrew Bible points forward incompletely to truths that only become clear in the New Testament, arguing instead that it stands as theologically sufficient revelation in its own right.

This work has continued to provoke discussion among biblical scholars and theologians grappling with supersessionist tendencies in Christian thought and the proper relationship between the testaments. Goldingay's argument offers resources for Christians seeking to read the Hebrew Bible on its own terms rather than merely as preparation for the gospel, while also contributing to Jewish-Christian dialogue by taking seriously the completeness of Israel's scriptures. Who should read this: Old Testament scholars, theologians interested in the unity of scripture, and pastors wanting to preach the Hebrew Bible without defaulting to christological typology will find this challenging and illuminating, though readers seeking devotional material or simple affirmations of New Testament centrality should look elsewhere.