When it comes to teaching the Bible in the church, a problem often not addressed is the significant socio-cultural gap that exists between the contemporary world as we know it, and the world of the New Testament period. We too easily assume that things then must have been more or less as they are now, and that people then must have seen things pretty much as we do. This simply was not the case, and too often we are blind to the differences. Harry Maier, Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Studies at Vancouver School of Theology, has provided a resource that helps a great deal to bridge this gap. In a compact and very readable presentation, he provides a well-researched overview of the subject, organized around five themes that get at key differences between then and now. I highly recommend this as a resource for all who want to make better sense of the New Testament writings.  — Bob Paul