This study contributes to the new approach to the problem of the authority of the Bible and religious authority in general known as canon criticism, and will at the same time promote better understanding and cooperation between Christian and Jewish biblical scholars. The author considers the Hebrew canon, and especially the juxtaposition of law and prophecy within it, not as a component of Christian canon, as is usually done, but as a historical and theological problem focusing on the issue of religious and sociological implications of the claims that underlie the formation of the tripartite canon, particularly the claims staked by the authority of the Bible and how this bears on the self-understanding of Judaism-and Christianity. Joseph Blekinsopp has traveled and studied extensively in the Middle East and Europe. Among his many books are A Sketchbook of Biblical Theology, Sexuality and the Christian tradition, Gibeon and Israel, and Scripture Discussion Commentary: Pentateuch. He is presently professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. Prophecy and Canon is the third publication based on research sponsored by the University of Notre Dame Center for the Study of Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity.

Life in this world is challenging. Brokenness and sin surround us. Controversies and confusion about complicated issues seem endless. It’s easy for Christians to be overwhelmed as they struggle to remain faithful to God’s teaching in a rapidly changing world. Along with the changes have come great problems and difficult questions.

What kind of future does Africa have? What, if anything, can the children of God do for their native lands and peoples?

Problems are not solved until we acknowledge them and face them openly, honestly, and courageously. In Biblical Christianity in Modern Africa, Wilbur O’Donovan addresses the problems facing the church in Africa from a biblical perspective. He wisely and boldly confronts issues that challenge the church in Africa, such as: Urbanization, Pornography, Poverty, False teaching, Broken marriages.

Denominationalism Although modern Africa’s problems are great, they are not intimidating to God. God does not change, and remembering what God did for his people in the past will help us know what he can do today. Biblical Christianity in Modern Africa reminds us that the wisdom of God is the answer to the problems of Africa today, just as they were to the people who lived thousands of years ago.

Religious Minorities and Cultural Diversity in the Dutch Republic explores various aspects of the religious and cultural diversity of the early Dutch Republic and analyses how the different confessional groups established their own identity and how their members interacted with one another in a highly hybrid culture. This volume is to honour Dr. Piet Visser on the occasion of his 65th birthday. Piet Visser has become a leading scholar in the field of the Anabaptist and Mennonite History. Since January 1, 2002, he served as the chair of Anabaptist/Mennonite History and Kindred Spirits at the Doopsgezind Seminarium, VU-University, Amsterdam.

While concentrated on the famous Passio Perpetuae et Felicitatis, this book focuses on an area that has so far been somewhat marginalized or even overlooked by modern interpreters: the recontextualizing of the Passio Perpetuae in the subsequent reception of this text in the literature of the early Church. Since its composition in the early decades of the 3rd century, the Passio Perpetuae was enjoying an extraordinary authority and popularity. However, it contained a number of revolutionary and innovative features that were in conflict with existing social and theological conventions. This book analyses all relevant texts from the 3rd to 5th centuries in which Perpetua and her comrades are mentioned, and demonstrates the ways in which these texts strive to normalize the innovative aspects of the Passio Perpetuae. These efforts, visible as they are already on careful examination of the passages of the editor of the passio, continue from Tertullian to Augustine and his followers. The normalization of the narrative reaches its peak in the so-called Acta Perpetuae which represent a radical rewriting of the original and an attempt to replace it by a purified text, more compliant with the changed socio-theological hierarchies.

"The Sleeping Giant" is the fastest-growing minority group in the U.S.--the Hispanic community. Hispanics, especially Puerto Ricans, Cubans and Mexicans, are changing society and the church. As a second-generation Puerto Rican, born and reared in El Barrio of New York City, Manuel Ortiz knows first-hand what it is like to be a Hispanic in the U.S. As a sociologist, he recognizes the exciting potential for the future of the church--if leadership development is undertaken. Oritz first explores the unique needs and concerns of Hispanics in the U.S. Then he turns to key missiological issues, including Protestant-Catholic relationships, justice, racial reconcilliation and ecclesiastical structures. Ortiz has interviewed numerous Hispanic leaders working in a variety of contexts and describes their models for ministry. Finally, the book focuses on leadership training and education, with a particular emphasis on developing second-generation leadership. The sleeping giant must not be ignored. This is a book that will awaken awareness of the possibilities of the Hispanic church.

Emmanuel's history encompasses Puritanism and links with Pilgrim Fathers, and continuing involvement in theological debate. Discussion of college finances on scale never previously attempted in Oxbridge college history. Emmanuel College was founded by the royal minister Sir Walter Mildmay in 1584; he chose a leading moderate puritan, Laurence Chaderton, as first Master, and aimed to educate godly ministers and good preachers. This history presents its development from these beginnings to the present day. They show how the college's original puritan character gave way to the liberal views of the Cambridge Platonists and the high churchmanship of William Sancroft, instrumental in bringing Christopher Wren to design the new college chapel; and how during the nineteenth century, as with other Cambridge colleges, it expanded in numbers and disciplines, becoming once again a notable centre of theology,and for the first time the home of serious teaching in the natural sciences. It has had a role in all the movements of the twentieth century which have made Cambridge what it is today: in learning, teaching, sport, and social life. A special feature of the book is the substantial account of the history of the college estates and finances, on a scale never before attempted for an Oxbridge college. Dr SARAH BENDALLis Fellow Librarian and Archivistof Merton College, Oxford; CHRISTOPHER BROOKE is Dixie Professor Emeritus of Ecclesiastical History, University of Cambridge; PATRICK COLLINSONis Professor Emeritus of Modern History at the University of Cambridge.