The fifty-six essays in this book present cultural reflections on the gospel reading assigned for each Sunday in Cycle B of the Roman Lectionary. Each essay highlights aspects of the first-century, Eastern Mediterranean cultural world in which Jesus lived and suggests across-cultural comparison with contemporary Western culture. With this background information, readers can make more fitting applications of the Scripture to modern life situations.

With acknowledgment that Christian theology contributed to the persecution and genocide of Jews comes a dilemma: how to excise the cancer without killing the patient? Kendall Soulen shows how important Christian assertions-the uniqueness of Jesus, the Christian covenant, the finality of salvation in Christ-have been formulated in destructive, supersessionist ways not only in the classical period (Justin Martyr, Irenaeus) and early modernity (Kant and Schleiermacher) but even contemporary theology (Barth and Rahner). Along with this first full-scale critique of Christian supersessionism, Soulen's own constructive proposal regraps the narrative unity of Christian identity and the canon through an original and important insight into the divine-human covenant, the election of Israel, and the meaning of history.

"'May they be cursed in town and cursed in the fields. May their barns be cursed and may their bones be cursed. May the fruit of their loins be cursed as well as the fruit of their lands.' French monks of the Middle Ages hurled curses like these at their enemies, seeking supernatural assistance when no secular judge could help them. In a long-awaited book written with elegance and erudition, Lester Little undertakes the first full-length study of these maledictions. . . . The book's focus is the way that religious communities--especially the monks who followed Benedict's Rule and hence were known by his name--used liturgical cursing to safeguard their integrity and their possessions, against both laymen and other ecclesiastics." --Journal of Social History

The reader witnesses spiritual adventure of a depth and intensity rarely equaled by creative human beings. Schure is master in depicting for moderns seekers the engrossing story of man's eternal search for the esoteric knowledge of his origin, evolution and destiny in the light of eternal spirit.

John Chrysostom, or "Golden Mouth", was a famous ascetic and preacher of the fourth/fifth century, a controversial bishop of Constantinople, and a brilliant orator - hence the epithet. This is the first comprehensive study of him in the English language in over a century. In the early chapters John Kelly highlights Chrysostom's youthful experiments with asceticism at Antioch in Syria, his six years as a monk and then a recluse in the nearby mountains, and his influential role as Antioch's leading preacher. The central section of the book shows him as a fearlessly outspoken populist bishop of the capital. Kelly focuses on his authoritarian style, his interventions in political crises, and his clashes with the Empress Eudoxia, as well as his efforts to promote the primacy of the see of Constantinople in the east. The final chapters reconstruct the plots that led to Chrysostom's downfall, the drama of his trial, and his exile and death. Golden Mouth also provides fresh analyses of Chrysostom's principal treatises and public addresses, and discussions of his views on monasticism, sexuality and marriage, education, and suffering.

The Chronicle of Pseudo-Dionysius (or the Zuqnin Chronicle) is an important historiographical work dating from the end of the eighth century. The third part of the Chronicle, translated here, is based on the otherwise lost part of the Ecclesiastical History of John of Ephesus (d. ca.588), which relates events in the reigns of Zeno, Anastasius, Justin I and Justinian. The work is written from the point of view of a religious dissident, a Monophysite, whose personal experience as a persecuted monk in his native Mesopotamia, as well as his later life in Constantinople, make the History a most interesting and unusual source.

The Donatist Church of North Africa was known as the Church of the Martyrs, yet its martyr stories are virtually unknown. The Donatists lived in Africa Proconsularis, Numidia and Mauretania (present-day Tunisia and Algeria), and their communities produced songs, sermons, pamphlets and stories of martyrs. These documents were suppressed in antiquity, and few of them survived. They remained untranslated, and were therefore mainly ignored by scholars, who instead relied on what the opponents of the Donatists had to say.

By the time Christianity became a political and cultural force in the Roman Empire, it had come to embody a new moral vision. This wise and eloquent book describes the formative years-from the crucifixion of Jesus to the end of the second century of the common era-when Christian beliefs and practices shaped their unique moral order. Wayne A. Meeks examines the surviving documents from Christianity's beginnings (some of which became the New Testament) and shows that they are largely concerned with the way converts to the movement should behave. Meeks finds that for these Christians, the formation of morals means the formation of community; the documents are addressed not to individuals but to groups, and they have among their primary aims the maintenance and growth of these groups. Meeks paints a picture of the process of socialization that produced the early forms of Christian morality, discussing many factors that made the Christians feel that they were a single and "chosen" people. He describes, for example, the impact of conversion; the rapid spread of Christian household cult-associations in the cities of the Roman Empire; the language of Christian moral discourse as revealed in letters, testaments, and "moral stories"; the rituals, meetings, and institutionalization of charity; the Christians' feelings about celibacy, sex, and gender roles; and their sense of the end-time and final judgment. In each of these areas Meeks seeks to determine what is distinctive about the Christian viewpoint and what is similar to the moral components of Greco-Roman or Jewish thought.

An introduction to the history of the Christian church from its inception to approximately 600 C.E., this volume seeks to balance the traditional presentation of notable figures, councils, and controversies with the telling of the story of the ordinary Christian during this era. An important feature of this work is its attendance to the stories of ordinary lay Christians--particularly women--and what Christian faith meant within the overall context of their lives. Other emphases include the church's changing role in society during this period (and the fateful consequences those changes have had for modern Christians) and the development of early Christian spirituality.

Employing a socio-institutional approach, Hinson divides his material into five major periods: (1) Beginnings to 70 C.E. (2) 70-180, during which Christianity broadcast itself throughout the Roman Empire and beyond (3) 175-313, wherein the church achieved new status and came under official scrutiny as a threat to the empire (4) 313-400, in which the church faced the major challenge of Christianizing the empire now embracing it (5) 400-600, when the Germanic "invasions" led to a rift between East and West and posed new challenges to the church's survival and growth.

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This addition to Sheffield's acclaimed Old Testament Guides series introduces students not only to Proverbs but also to the genre of 'wisdom literature' in general (dealing with such questions as the origin and location of 'wisdom' in ancient Israel). Martin discusses the structure of the book of Proverbs as a whole, provides a guided reading to the more or less sustained discourses in chapters 1-9 and to the collections of proverb-type sentences in the remaining chapters, and considers the relationship of Proverbs to other ancient Near Eastern literature. The Guide is completed by essays on 'The Feminine in the Book of Proverbs' and 'Wisdom and Theology'.>

Amid the high mountains of Egypt's southern Sinai Peninsula stands Jebel Musa, "Mount Moses," revered by most Christians and Muslims as Mount Sinai. (Jewish tradition holds that Mount Sinai should remain terra incognita, unlocated, and does not associate it with this mountain.) In this fascinating study, Joseph Hobbs draws on geography and archaeology, Biblical and Quranic accounts, and the experiences of people ranging from Christian monks to Bedouin shepherds to casual tourists to explore why this mountain came to be revered as a sacred place and how that very perception now threatens its fragile ecology and its sense of holy solitude.

After discussing the physical characteristics of Jebel Musa and the debate that selected it as the most probable Mount Sinai, Hobbs fully describes all Christian and Muslim sacred sites around the mountain. He views Mount Sinai from the perspectives of the centuries-long inhabitants of the region--the monks of the Monastery of St. Katherine and the Jabaliya Bedouins--and of tourists and pilgrims, from medieval Europeans to modern travelers dispirited by Western industrialization.

Hobbs concludes his account with the recent international debate over whether to build a cable car on Mount Sinai and with an unflinching description of the negative impact of tourism on the delicate desert environment. His book raises important, troubling questions for everyone concerned about the fate of the earth's wild and sacred places.

A scholarly and masterful exploration of the meaning and importance of 'mystery' and 'mysticism' to the Christian revelation, offering a fuller understanding of Christian spirituality down the ages and a firmer grasp of what it means to be a Christian.>

This book starts with a general introduction by Jurgen Becker, and continues with a study of the interaction of Jesus with the world around him by Christoph Burchard. Varieties of early Christianity are illuminated in an examination of the oldest Jewish-Christian community by Carsten Colpe; "The Circle of Stephen and Its Mission," by Karl Loning; and "Paul and His Churches," by Jurgen Becker. Starting from the gospels, John K. Riches explores "The Synoptic Evangelists and Their Communities." "Post-Pauline Christianity and Pagan society" are analyzed by Peter Lampe and Ulrich Luz. "Apocalyptic Currents" are reviewed by Ulrich B. Muller, and finally C. Kingsley Barrett delineates "Johannine Christianity."

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.

Bede states in the first chapter of this work (De Templo) that the building of the tabernacle and the temple signifies one and the same Church of Christ. Yet this allegorical exposition of the building of the Temple, a paradigm of the genre, is relevant not only to biblical exegetes but to readers of diverse interests, including iconographers, and those concerned with mysticism or merely desiring spiritual nourishment. Even to those primarily interested in Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica, it affords an understanding of that work, for its ideas are there given flesh and blood - the two books, as it were, forming a diptych.

Continuing from the year 817, reached in his The Lives of the Eighth-Century Popes, Raymond Davis deals with the remaining ten biographies of the Liber Pontificalis down to 886, when compilation ceased. The 9th-century biographies, as a semi-official papal chronicle, are one of the most important sources for Italian history. Major themes preoccupying the popes of this period and their contemporary biographers were relations with the Carolingian and Byzantine Empires. In respect of the former, the popes were determined to maintain freedom of action while the Western emperors were concerned to exercise some influence in Rome. In the case of the Eastern Empire, the popes wished to maintain their independence, established in the previous century, yet to assert primacy over the Byzantine Church; hence their concern both to have their right to decide between claimants to the See of Constantinople acknowledged and to assert jurisdiction in territory disputed between East and West. Rome itself was under threat, and the Saracen invasion of 846 forms a high-point of the narrative.

In this book Walter Brueggemann raises a variety of contemporary and intriguing questions on the relation of society and text in the Old Testament, among them-the hidden agendas that underlie the making and reading of Scripture the conflictual tension in ancient Israel the cry to God of the oppressed and God's response the political dimension of mercy theodicy, violence, horses, and chariots Brueggemann opens to a variety of readers a compelling picture of subversive paradigm and social possibility in the Hebrew Bible.

A fresh examination of the history of early Christian doctrine, by one of the world s leading authorities, which sets its development in the political and cultural context of the Roman Empire.>

Through deft use of available data and texts, Wagner brings the enigmatic second century to life. Selecting five fateful challenges--issues of Creation, human nature, Jesus' identities, roles of the church, and Christians in society--he shows what was at stake for emerging Christianity and how its five key players responded. Map; glossary; bibliography.

Commonly called the Gospel according to St. John. Are you ready for the esoteric message of the Gospel never before so clearly revealed? Contents: The Seen and the Unseen; The Four Evangels; The Drama of the Soul; Explanatory Note; The Magical Message according to Ioannes; The Prodigal Son; The Birth from Above; Index. St. John the mystic, calls to you. Listen to this inspiring message of faith, hope, love, and mystical achievement. Are you ready for it?

While the book of Jonah is, in some ways, unique, it stands firmly in the Old Testament tradition. There have been various suggestions as to genre, the most likely being the (short) didactic story; but the aim of the author is not easy to discern. The authenticity of Jonah's message to the Ninevites is stressed, as is their repentance, and Yahweh's mercy. The purpose of the book must lie in a combination of these themes. Lamentations is a neglected book, perhaps because it was associated with the book of Jeremiah and considered almost as an appendix. On the question of genre it has the closest affinities with the psalms of lament; but, whereas it is very difficult to link a psalm with a specific historical event or period, the five chapters of Lamentations appear to have the Fall of Jerusalem as background. While gloom abounds, the careful reader discovers the faith of the author shining through. He is a practical monotheist who interprets the castastrophe of the fall of Jerusalem in the light of his faith.

Isle of the Saints recreates the harsh yet richly spiritual world of medieval Irish monks on the Christian frontier of barbarian Europe. Lisa Bitel draws on accounts of saints' lives written between 800 and 1200 to explain, from the monks' own perspective, the social networks that bound them to one another and to their secular neighbors.

Caesarius was born in 469/70 and served as Bishop of Arles from 502 until his death in 542. Originally trained as a monk at Lerins, he devoted himself as Bishop to an ambitious programme of church reform and Christianization inspired by strict monastic standards of piety. Best known as a preacher, with a corpus of over 250 sermons, Caesarius also founded a monastery whose rule he composed and presided over several important church councils whose canons still survive. The documents included in this volume - most never before translated into English - vividly illustrate Caesarius's career and the social and religious history of Provence at a time of far-reaching political change, during which the region was ruled by a series of Visigothic, Burgundian, Ostrogothic and, ultimately, Frankish kings. The 'Life of Caesarius', written shortly after his death by five clerics of his acquaintance, provides a first-hand record of the Bishop's achievements as pastor, politician and wonderworker. The 'Testament' demonstrates Caesarius's efforts to endow and protect his monastery and in the process furnishes valuable information about diocesan landholdings. The collection of twenty-four 'Letters' sent and received by Caesarius chronicles his relations with fellow aristocrats and bishops and illuminates a wide variety of topics, from penalties for incest to political intrigue among rival bishops. Taken together, these texts shed light on a region and period in which the Christian church, with its leaders, rituals and doctrines, was coming to play an increasingly important role in the daily lives not only of aristocrats and clerics, but also of ordinary men and women.
The volume includes scholarly notes and an introduction."

This volume contains the first English translation of Bede's allegorical commentary on the tabernacle of Moses, which he interpreted as a symbolic figure of the Christian Church. Written in the early 720s at the monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow in Northumbria, On the Tabernacle (De tabernaculo) was the first Christian literary work devoted entirely to this topic and the first verse-by-verse commentary on the relevant portions of the Book of Exodus. On the Tabernacle was one of Bede's most popular works, appearing in a great many manuscripts from every period of the Middle Ages.