William Wrede. Wrede (1859–1906) put forth his method in his 1897 essay On the Task and Method of So-Called New Testament Theology. Wrede thought writing a New Testament theology was an impossible endeavor, since one would then have to assume a supernatural unity to the Scripture (Schreiner, New Testament Theology, 874). For Wrede, “The Bible is not a book of doctrine but the record of the life and religious experience of the communities of Israel and the early church” (Scobie, “History of Biblical Theology,” 15). Therefore, the history of early Christian religion must be studied apart from any system of theology. Furthermore, one’s study should not be limited to the New Testament canon; other writings, such as the Apostolic Fathers, are of equal value in formulating this history of religion (Scobie, “History of Biblical Theology,” 15).