An exemplary text, Russell Pregeant's Engaging the New Testament (1995) has provided a rich interdisciplinary New Testament introduction for upperlevel and graduate students, incorporating a wide range of methodsliterary, historical, psychological, theological, and socialscientific, and critically perceptive introductions to each of the New Testament writings.Encounter with the New Testament adapts and abridges the best features of that textbook for beginning undergraduate students surveying approaches to biblical studies, and discussing historical and cultural backgrounds, the historical Jesus, and the rise of the resurrection faith with attention to extracanonical materials. The textbook includes charts, maps, illustrations, reading suggestions, and more.