"Clarence Jordan spoke with an unwavering prophetic voice. He firmly rejected materialism, militarism, and racism as obstacles to authentic faith... He was a fearless and innovative defender of human rights." -President Jimmy Carter On 440 depleted acres in Sumter County, Georgia, a young Baptist preacher and farmer named Clarence Jordan gathered a few families and set out to show that Jesus intended more than spiritual fellowship. Like the first Christians, they would share their land, money, and possessions. Working together to rejuvenate the soil and the local economy, they would demonstrate racial and social justice with their lives. Black and white community members eating together at the same table scandalized local Christians, drew the ire of the KKK, and led to drive-by shootings, a firebombing, and an economic boycott. This bold experiment in nonviolence, economic justice, and sustainable agriculture was deeply rooted in Clarence Jordan's understanding of the person and teachings of Jesus, which stood in stark contrast to the hypocrisy of churches that blessed wars, justified wealth disparity, and enforced racial segregation. "You can't put Christianity into practice," Jordan wrote, "You can't make it work. As desperately as it is needed in this poor, broken world, it is not a philosophy of life to be 'tried.' Nor is it a social or ethical ideal which has tantalized humankind with the possibility of attainment. For Christianity is not a system you work - it is a Person who works you." This selection from his talks and writings introduces Clarence Jordan's radically biblical vision to a new generation of peacemakers, community builders, and activists.

This book offers a detailed analysis of the Gospel of Thomas in its historic and literary context, providing a new understanding of the genesis of the Jesus tradition. Discovered in the twentieth century, the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas is an important early text whose origins and place in the history of Christianity continue to be subjects of debate. Aiming to relocate the Thomasine community in the wider context of early Christianity, this study considers the Gospel of Thomas as a bridge between the oral and literary phases of the Christian movement. It will therefore, be useful for Religion scholars working on Biblical studies, Coptic codices, gnosticism and early Christianity.

Jesus Becoming Jesus presents a theological interpretation of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Unlike many conventional biblical commentaries, Weinandy concentrates on the theological content contained within the Synoptic Gospels. He does this in the light of the Church's doctrinal and theological tradition, particularly in keeping with the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution, Dei Verbum. Weinandy accomplishes this through a close reading of the individual Gospels themselves as well as observing their theological relationship to one another. His interpretation of the Gospels also brings to the fore the theological significance of God's revelation that is contained within the Old Testament which, likewise, shows how theological themes contained within Matthew, Mark, and Luke are found and developed within the Gospel of John, the Pauline Corpus and other New Testament writings. This original theological interpretation focuses primarily on the events narrated with the Synoptic Gospels-the conception and birth of John the Baptist and Jesus, Jesus's baptism and temptations, his miracles, Peter's profession of faith and Jesus' transfiguration, Jesus' triumphal entrance into Jerusalem with the subsequent passion and resurrection narratives. Within the theological examination of these salvific events, Jesus teaching is likewise discussed, particularly concerning the Beatitudes and his relationship to the Father and the Holy Spirit. The overarching theme of this book, as the title suggests, is that Jesus, being named Jesus, throughout his public ministry and particularly in his passion, death, and resurrection, is enacting his name and so becoming who he is-YHWH-Saves. Jesus Becoming Jesus offers a singular, vibrant, and luminous reading of the Synoptic Gospels; one that reveals the theological depth and doctrinal sophistication contained within Matthew, Mark and Luke.

Mark's Gospel has been seen as history, or as literature. The tensions between these two approaches point to what neither approach can articulate: the rich and ambiguous connections and disjuncture's between human experience itself and human retelling, remembering, and reliving of that experience. This energetic pulling and resistance between our ordered categories and the chaos of existence fuels Mark's gospel and arguably Christianity itself. With the aid of ritual theory this book seeks to explore that energy in Mark's passion narrative. In particular, Duran uses Catherine Bell's concept of 'ritualization', the process of ordinary actions taking on ritual meaning and form, to examine the ways in which the gospel draws from the chaos of Jesus' death and the wrong, upside-down order it signifies, a frightening kind of meaning and hope. Mark sets out to understand his world through the story he tells, to stake out some area of sense amid what he views as a chaotic universe. His effort to find or produce sense pushes against the very medium of language, going as far as language can into the boundary lands of ritual performance. In his effort to see and to present the apparently senseless movement of this crisis as meaningful, Mark is drawn into ritual, where unexplained and inexplicable actions do have meaning. Defining ritual as an effort to make order of experience without losing the turbulent truth of experience itself, Duran points out ways in which Mark's story engages in such an effort of ritualization.

The first monograph examining the implied metaphysics of the quest for the historical Jesus. It takes a multidisciplinary approach to historical Jesus research and making a significant, original contribution to the field.

This is a clearly written and extremely helpful introduction to many different approaches to the interpretation of the New Testament. Experts from around the world and across many disciplines contribute specialised explanations, while Paula Gooder's excellent discussions apply each form of criticism to actual New Testament textual examples. It will become an indispensable tool and is greatly to be welcomed' Richard A. Burridge Dean of King's College London and Professor of Biblical Interpretation This book introduces readers to the different methods used when interpreting the New Testament. Although there are other books on the market that introduce the various techniques they are often very theoretical and it is hard for readers to see what difference the methods of interpretation make in practice to how a passage might be understood. Here, Paula Gooder responds to this gap in the market by giving practical textual examples of how a text might be interpreted using a broad range of interpretational methods. She also explores techniques that are often omitted from books on biblical interpretation, such as textual criticism and post-colonial criticism. The emphasis throughout is on what difference the method of interpretation makes for understanding the text. The text is mainly written by Paula Gooder but includes short contributions from world class scholars who offer nuggets of wisdom on their particular area of expertise.

The Gospel of John is renowned for the challenges it presents to interpreters: its historical complexity, theological and literary unity, and its consistently critical stance toward characters known as 'the Jews'. There is abundant scholarly literature on each of these challenges, and yet there are very few studies that consider the Gospel as a whole in light of these pressing issues. Mark Blumhofer offers a fresh approach to understanding the Fourth Gospel, one that draws together the insights of scholarship in all of these areas. He shows that a historically sensitive, ethically attuned, and theologically and literarily compelling reading of the Fourth Gospel lies before us in the synthesis of the approaches that have long been separated. Unlike studies that consider only a narrow portion of the Gospel, Blumhofer's unique approach draws on most of it and shows how common themes and interests run throughout the narrative of John.

In this study the methods of social concept criticism, poststructuralism, and social memory theory are innovatively and rewardingly combined with a revalued component of Greimas' system, the morpho-syntactic and actantial model. Analysis clearly reveals that the Lukan author reconceptualized social memory of the covenant and employed it as a literary device by following a sequence of the Exodus motifs culminating in the altered Exodus goal of covenant service/worship. The Lukan author also employed the reconceptualized covenant as a theological device that provided thematic links in the logical flow of the story, organizing the collective memory of Israel, through which perceived social needs are addressed and a call is issued for a mimetic response to the salvific activity of servant Jesus. The actantial model accurately illustrates the organizing capacity of the covenant, mapping the covenant's strategic placement and function to structure the plot-episode story and interrelate themes which articulate the servant identity of the Christian community. Researchers and academics alike will engage with this study that demonstrates the organizational capacity of the covenant concept in Lukan compositional design.

Digs into the Bible to find out what Jesus did and said Encourages you to decide what place Jesus has in your life today More than 110 titles available! Features the popular inductive study approach Includes helpful notes for group leaders Convenient workbook format for groups or individuals Approach questions help get you thinking or start group discussion Application questions help you to act on what you have learned Field-tested by individuals and groups prior to publication

Twenty years on from its original appearance, this ground-breaking first volume in N. T. Wright's magisterial series, 'Christian Origins and the Question of God', still stands as a major point of reference for students of the New Testament and early Christianity. This latest impression has been completely reset to make Wright's elegant and engrossing text more readable. 'The sweep of Wright's project as a whole is breathtaking. It is impossible to give a fair assessment of his achievement without sounding grandiose: no New Testament scholar since Bultmann has even attempted - let alone achieved - such an innovative and comprehensive account of New Testament history and theology.' Richard B. Hays

This book pays special attention to the hermeneutical location where the fig-tree story appears in Mark 11; it is situated between Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and his "Temple incident" in Mark 11. The fig-tree story plays a pivotal role in understanding the stories immediatlely preceding and following it. It reverses the mode of Jesus' entry from being triumphal to untriumphal, and convinces the first Markan readers to feel at ease in confronting Jesus' outrage in the Temple. The way in which Jesus entered Jerusalem contradicts the common description of the entry as a triumphant one. Additionally, the story finds a proper solution to the problem of Jesus' actions in the Temple being shockingly in contrast to his overall character as revealed through the Markan Gospel.

In "Discourse Grammar of the Greek New Testament," Steve Runge introduces a function-based approach to language, exploring New Testament Greek grammatical conventions based upon the discourse functions they accomplish. Runge's approach has less to do with the specifics of language and more to do with how humans are wired to process it. The approach is cross-linguistic. Runge looks at how all languages operate before he focuses on Greek. He examines linguistics in general to simplify the analytical process and explain how and why we communicate as we do, leading to a more accurate description of the Greek text. The approach is also function-based--meaning that Runge gives primary attention to describing the tasks accomplished by each discourse feature. This volume does not reinvent previous grammars or supplant previous work on the New Testament. Instead, Runge reviews, clarifies, and provides a unified description of each of the discourse features. That makes it useful for beginning Greek students, pastors, and teachers, as well as for advanced New Testament scholars looking for a volume which synthesizes the varied sub-disciplines of New Testament discourse analysis. With examples taken straight from the "Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament," this volume helps readers discover a great deal about what the text of the New Testament communicates, filling a large gap in New Testament scholarship. Each of the 18 chapters contains: - An introduction and overview for each discourse function - A conventional explanation of that function in easy-to-understand language - A complete discourse explanation - Numerous examples of how that particular discourse function is used in the Greek New Testament - A section of application - Dozens of examples, taken straight from the Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament - Careful research, with citation to both Greek grammars and linguistic literature - Suggested reading list for continued learning and additional research

The Gospel of Matthew is both deliberately deceptive and emotionally compelling.Karl McDaniel explores ways in which the narrative of the Gospel of Matthew elicits and develops the emotions ofsuspense, surprise, and curiosity within its readers. While Matthew 1:21 invites readers to expect Jewish salvation, progressive failure of the plot's main characters to meet Jesus' salvation requirements creates increasing suspense for the reader. How will Jesus save 'his people'? The commission to the Gentiles at the Gospel's conclusion provokes reader surprise, and the resulting curiosity calls readers back to the narrative's beginning.Upon rereading with a retrospective view, readers discover that the Gentile mission was actually foreshadowed throughout the narrative, even from its beginning, and they are invited to partake in Jesus' final commission.

The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship. Overview of Commentary Organization Introduction-covers issues pertaining to the whole book, including context, date, authorship, composition, interpretive issues, purpose, and theology. Each section of the commentary includes: Pericope Bibliography-a helpful resource containing the most important works that pertain to each particular pericope. Translation-the author's own translation of the biblical text, reflecting the end result of exegesis and attending to Hebrew and Greek idiomatic usage of words, phrases, and tenses, yet in reasonably good English. Notes-the author's notes to the translation that address any textual variants, grammatical forms, syntactical constructions, basic meanings of words, and problems of translation. Form/Structure/Setting-a discussion of redaction, genre, sources, and tradition as they concern the origin of the pericope, its canonical form, and its relation to the biblical and extra-biblical contexts in order to illuminate the structure and character of the pericope. Rhetorical or compositional features important to understanding the passage are also introduced here. Comment-verse-by-verse interpretation of the text and dialogue with other interpreters, engaging with current opinion and scholarly research. Explanation-brings together all the results of the discussion in previous sections to expose the meaning and intention of the text at several levels: (1) within the context of the book itself; (2) its meaning in the OT or NT; (3) its place in the entire canon; (4) theological relevance to broader OT or NT issues. General Bibliography-occurring at the end of each volume, this extensive bibliographycontains all sources used anywhere in the commentary.

In this landmark study of the literary relationship between the gospel of John and the synoptic gospels, Gary Greenberg presents compelling evidence for the existence of a written pre-canonical Alpha gospel that contained almost all of the main episodes in the adult life of Jesus (excluding major speeches, such as discourses, parables, and "I Am" sayings) and which became the written source for the core biography of Jesus in Mark, Luke, John, and Matthew. While Mark used the Alpha gospel with only slight variations, John had profound theological disagreements with it, objecting to its theological message about how to obtain eternal life, the depiction of Jesus, and other matters. This induced him to rewrite the Alpha gospel so that it conformed to his own very different theological agenda. Consequently, John's gospel functions as a thorough theological critique of Mark, but the changes he introduced made it difficult to see how he and Mark worked from the same written source. By using John's theological concerns as a filter for reading and understanding what objections John would have with Mark's Jesus stories, The Case for a Proto-Gospel reverse-engineers the editorial path taken by John and reconstructs the content of the Alpha gospel. Finally, the author discusses the relationship of the other two synoptic gospels to the Alpha gospel, asserting that Luke also knew the Alpha gospel but used Mark as his primary source, and that while Matthew did not know the Alpha gospel, his use of Mark as a primary source ensured that his core biography of Jesus also derived from this earlier source.

Though much-studied, Pauline soteriology can be seen afresh by giving focused attention to the apostle's language and conception of sin. Sometimes Paul appears to present sin and disobedience as transgression, while at other times sin is personified as an enslaving power. Is there a single model or perspective that can account for Paul's conceptual range in his discussion of sin? What does careful study of Paul's letters reveal about the christological and pneumatological remedies to the problem of sin as he conceives of them? These questions are explored in the context of individual Pauline letters, building a richer understanding of the apostle's attitude to sin and its remedy.

The Gospel of John has always been one of the most-read books of the Bible, and this special paperback edition makes it easy to share with others. It includes a short gospel presentation, the ESV text of the Gospel of John, and favorite verses from this Bible book.

Although Roman centurions appear at crucial stages in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, the significance of the centurion's office for the development of Luke's story has not been adequately researched. To fill in that void, this study engages the relevant Greco-Roman and Jewish sources that reflect on the image of the Roman military and applies the findings to the analysis of the role of the Roman centurion in the narrative of Luke-Acts. It argues that contemporary evidence reveals a common perception of the Roman centurion as a principal representative of the Roman imperial power, and that Luke-Acts employs centurions in the role of prototypical Gentile believers in anticipation of the Christian mission to the Empire. Chapter 1 outlines the current state of the question. Chapter 2 surveys the background data, including the place of the centurion in the Roman military organization, the role of the Roman army as the basis of the ruling power, the army's function in the life of the civilian community, Luke's military terminology, and the Roman military regiments in Luke-Acts. Chapter 3 reviews Greco-Roman writings, including Polybius, Julius Caesar, Sallust, Livy, Velleius Paterculus, Tacitus, Appian, Cornelius Nepos, Plutarch, Suetonius, Plautus, Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Petronius, Quintilian, Epictetus, Juvenal, Fronto, Apuleius, as well as non-literary evidence. Chapter 4 engages the Jewish witnesses, including 1 Maccabees, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jewish pseudepigrapha, Philo, Josephus, Talmudic sources, and non-literary sources. Chapter 5 examines the relevant accounts of Luke-Acts, focusing on Luke 7:1-10 and Acts 10:1-11:18. The Conclusion reviews the findings of the study and summarizes the results.

Exam board: Edexcel Level: A-level Subject: Religious Studies First teaching: September 2016 First exams: Summer 2017 Build, reinforce and assess students' knowledge throughout their course; tailored to the 2016 Edexcel A level specification and brought to you by the leading Religious Studies publisher, this guide combines clear content coverage with practice questions and sample answers. Written by teachers with extensive examining experience, this guide: - Helps students identify what they need to know with a concise summary of the topics examined at AS and A-level - Consolidates understanding through assessment tips - Offers opportunities for students to improve their exam technique by consulting sample student answers and commentary for each question type - Builds understanding through accessible explanations of key definitions and thinkers

The relationship between the so-called 'theological' (Eph 1 3) and 'paraenetic' (Eph 4 6) sections of Ephesians has been a matter of extensive scholarly discussion. Central to this debate is the question whether the ethical material found in Ephesians 4 6 is an integral part of the theological statements in Ephesians 1 3, or whether it is merely an appendage with its own self-contained theology. This study undertakes a fresh investigation into the relationship between the 'theological' and 'paraenetic' sections of Ephesians. It demonstrates the intrinsic integration of both parts of the letter by examining the soteriological pattern of Ephesians, and how salvation entails the moral and social transformation of believers; this, in turn, renders meaningless the category-distinction between 'theology' and 'ethics'.

This collection of essays brings together into one volume papers from the Society of Biblical Literature meetings in 1990 and 1991. This volume divides itself neatly into two sections. Part I, Verbal Aspect, includes two major presentations and responses on the topic of Greek verbal aspect. The subject is an important one, and one that promises not to go away in the next several years. If the proponents of the theory are correct, the semantic category of verbal aspect will prove vital to future analysis and exegesis of Greek, including that of the New Testament. Part II includes four substantial papers on various topics in Greek grammar and linguistics, including work on discourse analysis, construction grammar, the phrase as a constituent in Greek grammatical description and the possible Semitic origins of the finite verb with cognate participle. These interesting and varied essays are designed both to illustrate the current state of discussion of New Testament Greek grammar and to provide impetus for future research and publication.

In A Relevant Way to Read, Margaret G. Sim draws on her in-depth knowledge of New Testament Greek to forge a new exegesis of the Gospels and Paul's letters. Locating her studies in the linguistic concept of relevance theory, which contends that all our utterances are laden with crucial yet invisible context, Sim embarks on a journey through some of the New Testament's most troubling verses. Here she recovers some of that lost information with a meticulous analysis that should enlighten both the experienced biblical scholar and the novice. Whether discussing Paul's masterful use of irony to shame the Corinthians, or introducing the ground-breaking ideas behind relevance theory into a whole new field of study, Margaret G. Sim demonstrates her vast learning and experience while putting her complex subject into plain words for the developing student.

A quick and focused guide to the New Testament of the Bible. This rich and practical handbook-an abridged edition of the major textbook An Introduction to the New Testament-brings the best of New Testament scholarship to the church and makes it accessible to the everyday reader. Introducing the New Testament focuses on historical questions dealing with authorship, date, sources, purpose, and destination of the New Testament books. By honing in on the essentials, renowned Bible scholars D. A. Carson and Douglas Moo ensure that each book is accurately understood within its historical and cultural settings. For each New Testament document, the authors also provide: A summary of that book's content. Discussion of the book's theological contribution to the overall canon. End-of-chapter questions for group discussion or personal reflection. A bibliography of further resources. Introducing the New Testament makes the words, history, and culture of biblical times come alive for readers. Laypersons as well as church leaders will gain a solid understanding of the historical background and theological message of the New Testament and be inspired to apply biblical truths to their lives.