Did Israelite Jewish apocalyptic literature originate among alienated or disenfranchised groups? In this overview of apocalypticism in the Hebrew Bible, Stephen Cook contends that such thinking and writing stems from priestly groups that held power.

Galatians is a polemical letter which contains a substantial amount of argumentative passages. Paul evidently wanted to persuade by using the best arguments possible to convince his addressees. Using a state-of-the-art method from the discipline of argumentation analysis, Paul's argumentation can be analysed with a precision that standard exegetical methods cannot provide. The pragma-dialectical method developed in Amsterdam facilitates an analysis which is both descriptive and normative. On the one hand, Paul's argumentation can be described, such as the relationship between premisses and conclusions, the structure of the arguments, and features relating to rhetorical strategy. On the other hand, the method makes it possible to evaluate Paul's argumentation against a set of rules for sound reasoning. Fallacies and problematic arguments can be described accurately. The spiritual nature of Paul's matters do not relieve him of rationality, and Paul himself does not argue as if it did. Paul's argumentation is found problematic in several respects. There is a tension in the text: Paul works a great deal to argue his claims while at the same time giving the impression that he merely wants to declare his standpoints and does not want to carry out an argumentation at all. Many of the conclusions are presented as self-evident, even when they are not. Paul's style is far from an ideal model of the resolution of a dispute. Paul relies heavily on an argumentative strategy with maximal use of rhetorical devices. The analysis shows that a contemporary method of argumentation analysis provides tools necessary to adequately describe and understand both individual arguments and the overarching strategy of the argumentation in a Pauline text.

In this revised and enlarged edition, Leander E. Keck presents a succinct, comprehensive, and up-to-date scholarly interpretation of Paul's theology. Keck has revised the volume to account more fully for Paul's understanding of the law and of faith/trust. He has retained the basic structure of the first edition but now apprises the reader of specific details of his own continuing thinking in light of select scholarly discussions. Entirely new to the volume is an appendix, Paul's Theology in Historical Criticism, a summary of the scholarly effort to account for, understand, and interpret Paul's theology.

This book starts with questions concerning Lukes idea of the relationship between wealth and discipleship. Previous attempts have not succeeded in reconciling the ideas of wealth and poverty with the theme of discipleship in Lukes theology. This failure motivates Kim to investigate a new paradigm, namely stewardship. Reviewing the wide range of material regarding wealth and poverty in Luke-Acts, he concludes that for Luke a proper way for Christians as stewards to use their wealth is almsgiving in the interests of the poor and needy inside and outside the community.

The special character of Paul's interpretation is marked by his ability to embody in his thought and praxis the movement of the incarnation, that is, the condescension of God into the depth of the human condition, so that the eternal Word of the gospel is able to become ever anew a word on target for the people to whom the gospel is addressed.

The Saviour of the World covers each incident and each saying in the Bible and converts them to either a single poem, blank verse or rhymed stanza, according to the subject. This volume, called The Great Controversy, was originally published in 1911. This book will be of interest to students of both religious studies and English literature.

Hebrews is a sermon from the early Christian church that addresses a real, urgent, and still relevant pastoral problem: a struggling congregation that may not keep the faith. Thomas Long shows how Hebrews exhorts the church to face its challenges and hold true, even into the twenty-first century.

Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.

The Saviour of the World covers each incident and each saying in the Bible and converts them to either a single poem, blank verse or rhymed stanza, according to the subject. This volume, called The Bread of Life, was originally published in 1910. This book will be of interest to students of both religious studies and English literature.

The Saviour of the World covers each incident and each saying in the Bible and converts them to either a single poem, blank verse or rhymed stanza, according to the subject. This volume, called The Holy Infancy, was originally published in 1908. This book will be of interest to students of both religious studies and English literature.

The stories in this volume are of men and women who exhibit moral courage and who take responsible action despite hardships, privations, or the burdens of making life and death decisions for others. Most of the stories are set against the backdrop of war or conflict and incorporate parallel historical moments from the Bible that help frame the questions raised by the contemporary story. By searching the concrete realities through which many people of faith encounter God, the authors encourage a closer reading of and reflection on the stories in the Bible. We can meet God, they say, most distinctly through ordinary means. The stories include: Battle of Pilar Pass, Stalingrad, And the Blind Shall See, The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth, Golden Rule in Action, Private Jake McNiece and the Dirty Dozen, Father Forgive Them, The Return, In God We Trust, Never Walk Alone, Ocean Tap, Boat People, and more. Each chapter includes questions for reflection and discussion.

The Saviour of the World covers each incident and each saying in the Bible and converts them to either a single poem, blank verse or rhymed stanza, according to the subject. This volume, called The Kingdom of Heaven, was originally published in 1909. This book will be of interest to students of both religious studies and English literature.

This book is a study of the parables unique to the Third Gospel, aiming in particular to establish a link between Luke's choice of these parables and his overall purpose in writing. In comparison to the synoptic kingdom parables, one distinguishing feature of the Lukan parables is their more personal portrait of the character and the nature of God himself. Luke's desire is to demonstrate to his readers, whoever they are, that in Christianity the realization of the Jewish hope has occurred. The parables promote this idea by offering both continuity (OT) and contrast (contemporary Judaism) in their portrait of God. Thus, as well as operating in a parenetic sense, the parables also help to legitimize Luke's argument regarding fulfilment.

Many scholars believe that the Gospel of Thomas, the famous collection of Jesus' sayings found in Nag Hammadi in 1945, makes all the difference for our understanding of the origins of Christianity. The gospel has been studied closely for the new light it throws on pre-canonical traditions and for the different world of wisdom it seems to represent.;Without denying the value of such approaches, the present book takes a different approach. It does not look backward to the earlier sources of the gospel nor to the historical Jesus, but seeks to locate Thomas on the map of early Christian literature and history by comparing the gospel to other related writings and traditions. These include the writings ascribed to the mysterious apostle, Judas Thomas, other documents from Nag Hammadi, Paul and Stoic teachers, and the Gospel of Matthew.;No single interpretative key for the understanding of the gospel is proposed. Rather, the book opens up several new readings and historical explanations which can usefully be explored. Uro also argues that the conventional methods scholars have been using in their studies are in need of rethinking and refinement.;Among many conclusions is the author's bel

The pre-existent, transcendent Logos, the principal character in the prologue of John's Gospel, is a prime example of a unified and centred concept, such as denounced as illusory by deconstruction. In this ground-breaking study, Nutu offers an unremittingly postmodern scrutiny of the Logos as the incarnate word that becomes visible as it is inscribed in human flesh. Within view also is the reverse process, of becoming 'children of God', which signifies human beings willingly accepting God's word, his tattoo, upon their flesh in order to pertain to the realm of the Logos. A second strand of this book is Nutu's tracing the fragmented afterlives of John's Prologue and their different effects on the formation of subjects (with a particular focus on homo religiosus and feminine 'I's) through postmodern film. At the dawn of a new millennium, films continue to play an important role in the cultural development of society; even moving away from the self-confessed biblical films, new productions like The Pillow Book, The Fifth Element and The Matrix (all engaged here) mediate elements of biblical narrative, theology, allegory, ethics and identity. As the Bible continues its influence on society and the formation of subject positions, biblical texts are re-interpreted, recycled within many discourses. This is a study that skilfully interweaves a number of contemporary theoretical currents such as deconstruction, psychoanalytical criticism, gender and cultural studies and initiates a new approach to interpretation, namely postcommunist, influenced by the writer's own experience of growing up in Romania.

This new release of Gerhard E. Frost's classic The Color of the Night includes 86 short reflections inspired by the biblical Job.

Each reflection begins with a quotation from Job and wrestles with the difficult issues that we face during times of crisis, such as trust in God, the meaning of life, and fairness in the world.

With newly added questions for reflection and discussion, this thoughtful book is ideal for individual and group study in Lent (or any season) or for personal devotion.

The Old Testament theologian extraordinaire reflects on the meaning of Israel's prophets for today's world.

Having presented a brief history of research on 2 Corinthians, Eve-Marie Becker outlines the process of Paul's communication with the Corinthian community and considers letter-production and letter-reception at the time. She develops a "literary-historical" model for reconstructing the original separate letters (1.1-7.4; 7.5-16; 8--9; 10--13) which were later compiled to form the canonical letter. She defines - by means of linguistics and communication theory - the central theoretical elements for Pauline letter-hermeneutics. There is a thorough exegesis of those parts of 2 Corinthians in which Paul formulates aspects of his hermeneutics, based on the theory of letter-hermeneutics and on the results of the "literary-historical" reconstruction of the original form of 2 Corinthians. There is also an examination of the reception and interpretation of 2 Corinthians in the early church. This is volume 279 in the Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement series.

Walter Brueggemann's unique gift of joining historical-exegetical insights to penetrating observations about the traumas and joys of contemporary life--both personal and social--is here forcefully displayed. Everyone who is familiar with his work knows the power of his speech about "doxological, polemical, political, subversive, evangelical faith: and about the ways such faith is enacted in the praise of ancient Israel and in the church. Readers of this book will find fresh insight into: the Psalms as prayer and praise the categories of the Psalms the social context in which psalms were prayed and sung the theology of the Psalms the dialogical character of the Psalms justice and injustice in the Psalms the study and "use" of the Psalms by the church praise as an act of basic trust and abandonment the impossible wonders of God's activity that overturn conventional ways of thinking and acting

The issue of community-identity construction in Galatians is considered using two methods: first, by applying anthropological theories to the mechanism and natures of community-identity and its construction, and second, by comparing the Galatian community with another minority religious community. Asano argues that Paul's effort at identity construction is partially conditioned by his self-awareness as an autonomous apostle and by the external pressures of the significant groups elsewhere. Paul's conflict, depicted in Galatians 2 and projected upon the Galatian situation, is understood as a conflict between the ethno-centred and the 'instrumental mode' of community constructions, the latter of which is free from the constraints of core ethnic sentiment. Galatians 4.21-31 is identified as a conceptual framework (or 'recreated worldview') for the community members to be assured of their authentic existence under marginalizing pressure. This recreated worldview is ritually acted out in baptism with the egalitarian motif (Gal 3.28) to help internalize the authentic identity. Finally, Paul's letter is suggested to have functioned as a physical locus of community-identity. Thus the autographic marker (Gal 6.11) directs the attention of the audience not only to the conceptual content but to the presence of the founding apostle that the letter replaces.

The letters of James, 1 and 2 Peter, and Jude are among the most neglected letters of the New Testament. Thus, methodological advances in New Testament study tend to arise among the Gospels or Pauline letters. But now these letters are beginning to receive increased attention in the scholarly community. Reading James With New Eyes is the first of four volumes that incorporate new research in this area. The essays collected here examine the impact of recent methodological developments in New Testament studies to the letter of James, including, for example, rhetorical, social-scientific, socio-rhetorical, ideological and hermeneutical methods, as they contribute to understanding James and its social context. Each essay has a similar three-fold structure, making them perfect for use by students: a description of the methodological approach; the application of the methodological approach to James; and a conclusion identifying how the methodological approach contributes to a fresh understanding of the letter.

Narrating the story from the perspective of key characters gives us insights into its many horrors and uncertainties as well as its joys