The ordination of women has been one of the most pressingand passionately debated - issues facing the church in recent years. In this volume, based on the prestigious 1995 Didsbury Lectures, R. T. France explores several important questions of biblical interpretation raised by the serious disagreements among Christians over the nature of women's ministry. France primarily focuses on the issues as they are manifest in evangelical circles, where appeal is made instinctively to the authority of Scripture. He challenges readers to think out what it means to claim that our theology and practice are "biblical". His insightful arguments help point the way beyond the impasse over the role and place of women in church ministry.

In this book, the author discusses the reception of Paul in the modern day church, and argues that Paul and his gospel are the least understood parts of the New Testament in the church today. Beker examines the deutero-Pauline literature to reveal how the earliest churches received Paul's message. Refreshingly, Beker doesn't assume that the deutero-Pauline letters are a corruption of Paul's message. Rather, Beker's reconstruction reveals the ways Paul's gospel was adapted to the particular situations of the deutero-Pauline texts, and this becomes a model for the church today in receiving Paul afresh.

As the most forceful biblical proponent of the ideals of justice, loyalty, and kindness, Micah holds special appeal for those who are concerned about the powerlessness of the poor and humble.

This volume in the New Testament in Context (NTC) commentary series is a concise treasure-trove of information about two New Testament letters (2 and 3 John) and a treatise or sermon (1 John). Issues of authorship and province are considered, and related commentaries by Bultmann, Schnackenberg, and Brown are engaged. In contract to the infinite detail of these latter commentaries, Gerard Sloyan s work stands as a paragon of clarity, insight, and access to the meaning of the Johannine letters. The overall effect provides the reader with perspective on the kinds of issues christological, ethical, organizational, and theological that were troubling and dividing the church in the second century. Gerard S. Sloyan is a priest of the Diocese of Trenton (NJ) and Professor Emeritus of Religion at Temple University. He is currently a visiting professor in the School of Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America. His most recent book is The Crucifixion of Jesus: History, Myth, Faith.

In this reflection on a lifetime's study of the Old Testament, William McKane shows how biblical exegesis should be less of an art to interpret revelation and inspiration than an illuminating humanist and linguistic discipline. He argues that the use of 'Word of God' in connection with prophetic utterances, and as a term for Scripture as a whole, leaves too much unsaid about the divine-human encounter. Exploring the limits of our knowledge of God in the tradition of Maimonides, he suggests that God does not speak Hebrew, that all language is human language, and that the language of the Old Testament should be studied like any other language embedded in ancient documents.

Did a volcano part the Red Sea? Have scientists found Eve? Was the pharaoh of the Oppression a woman? Did the Jordan River really cease flowing the day Jericho fell?

A brilliant author, scientist, and adventurer who has been called "the real Indiana Jones," Dr. Charles Pellegrino takes us on a remarkable journey from the Nile to the Tigris-Euphrates rivers -- crossing time, legend, and ancient lands to explore the unsolved mysteries of the Old Testament. Return to Sodom and Gomorrah is an epic saga of discovery that interweaves science, history, and suspense --the first book ever to bring archaeologists, scientists and theologians together to examine the same evidence. In this enthralling revelatory adventure, Pellegrino introduces us to dedicated pioneers like Benjamin Mazar, Leonard Woolley, and T. E. Lawrence, who retraced the steps of Moses to demystify the Exodus and the Flood. In the process, he enables us to view ancient relics in an extraordinary new light -- as both fascinating windows on the past and vivid signposts to the future.

J. Benton White claims that both modernists and fundamentalists believe in the Bible and take it seriously. Here he surveys the many Protestant approaches to the Bible and then focuses on the issues raised by each group during this century. He gives special attention to Protestants' struggle with the question of how the Bible should be understood. By doing so, he helps individuals examine this crucial question and allows them to draw their own conclusions. White focuses on Martin Luther's affirmation of the "Protestant principle" of the Bible alone, then follows debate up to the present.

It is a common belief that Paul's letters are not stories but rather theological ideas and practical advice. Ben Witherington III thinks otherwise. He is convinced that all of Paul's ideas, arguments, practical advice, and social arrangements are ultimately grounded in stories, some found in the Hebrew Scriptures and some found in the oral tradition.

This collection of stories recalls women such as Sarah and Hagar, the women of Exodus, and children such as those slaughtered at the time of the birth of Jesus. These true stories call for an examination of our lives both individually and collectively, and reveal an understanding of the good news that is dynamic and alive today.

"We would be naive to think that we can hear these narratives with the same clarity that the first hearers did. An equal naivete, however, would be to suggest that we have no access to their situation, or that it is irrelevant to know how the texts originally functioned. One way to proceed is to juxtapose narratives with issues faced by the people of God in the context to which the narratives were addressed. To lay contextual issues alongside narrative should enable illumination of the text, and give breadth and depth to the results of one's interpretation. This approach has the advantage of avoiding an abstract concern about what the author might have 'intended.' Rather, in the juxtaposition of context and text, we are concerned about what issues faced by the audience might have been addressed."

"Although the Word of God is always addressed to a particular situation, the insights gained through hearing it will assist in the hearing of a Word in the contemporary situation." (excerpts from the Introduction, by Terence E. Fretheim)

"Disinheriting the Jews" is a scholarly work of great interest and significance for both Christians and Jews. Jeffery Siker shows how strongly the figure of Abraham has shaped our religious identities. He also uses the portrayals of Abraham by early Christians as a new means of understanding the dynamics involved in the church's separation and estrangement from Judaism. Siker argues that the separation was precipitated by historical contingencies more so than by Christian identity, and in so doing suggests self-corrections that could mend the rift between Christianity and Judaism.

From the earliest days of Israel's existence as a people, holy war was a sacred institution, undertaken as a cultic act of a religious community. The concept of holy war, an intriguing and sometimes disturbing theme in the Old Testament, is given its most articulate expression in this classic study by the distinguished German scholar Gerhard von Rad. For Israel, the most important feature of holy war was the demand for faith in Yahweh's saving acts. However, von Rad argues, it was not Yahweh alone who acted; rather, because they envisioned Yahweh fighting on their behalf the Israelites themselves were inspired - and obliged - to fight even harder. In this regard, the actual events differed vastly from the picture given by the biblical narratives, which downplay and often exclude the human factor and stress the exclusive warlike action of Yahweh, thus equating holy war with absolute miracle.

Translated by Inkeri Vaananen-Jensen. Proverbs of Finland heritage. Front and back covers of Finland State Forest, Minnesota. Hand calligraphy and line art throughout by Esther Feske. An axe is not sharpened on only one side. Keep learning as long as you live. Hurry slowly. If you don't go, you can't return. Every man can tell you how, even if he can't do it. The day is longer in the morning. There is time enough to rest in the grave. Sauna, the poor man's drug store. Even the most wise makes one mistake. A full purse does not jingle. 6"x9" 51 pages.

This is part of a series of modern commentaries based on new English translations made by their respective editors.
While adhering strictly to sound scholarship and doctrine, they intend, above all, to bring out the theological and religious message of the New Testament to the contemporary Church.

Story Journey offers a series of biblical stories to be learned and explored in a variety of ways. Each story is printed in episodes to facilitate memorization. Exegetical comments are offered, with references to good commentaries that explain the meaning of the story in the original context. Each chapter also includes suggestions about ways to connect the story with contemporary experience and to pray with the story

Boomershine's chapters describe the essence of story as intertwining truth. Boomershine distinguishes learning a story in solitude from learning it with a friend or relating the story to another person altogether. Besides moral instruction, Boomershine examines roles stories have in pastoral care, peacemaking/arbitration scenarios.

A profound mystic, Bernard of Clairvaux sought, above all and in all, to be with God and to bring all persons to the experience of God. His Sermons on the Song of Songs are among the most famous and most beautiful examples of medieval scriptural exegesis. In them the modern reader can catch a glimpse of the genius which an entire generation found irresistible.

Ever since it was written the Revelation to John has both baffled and fascinated its readers, chiefly because its language is so strange and the visions it describes so mysterious. Those unfamiliar with the language of apocalyptic can easily misinterpret its message, and it can puzzle those who forget that John was writing of what he believed would 'soon take place', in order to warn, guide and comfort particular people in a specific historical situation. Throughout the Guide the author has kept these two considerations in view. His introduction sets the scene, with a brief survey of the historical and literary background to the Revelation and John's purpose in writing it. His Postscript points to the remarkable similarity, as well as differences, between John's time and our own. Study of the Bible text follows the usual pattern for the series. Fuller notes on some general themes support the detailed interpretation; the customary question material includes subjects for discussion and research; and topical photographs underline the relevance of John's message for the Church in the world today.