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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Christianity > The Bible > New Testament
The writings of internationally respected preacher and teacher John
Stott continue to speak to millions of readers around the world.
This book-originally published in 1954 as Men with a
Message-introduces readers to the message of the New Testament
writers, including Mark, Matthew, Luke, John, Paul, and more. This
trim new issue presents the text of the book's 1994 edition, which
bears the vintage Stott hallmarks-comprehensive knowledge of his
subject, acute intellectual rigor, and powerful analysis-and was
updated and expanded by Stephen Motyer at John Stott's invitation.
After more than 50 years as a lawyer, having been a clerk, Judge's
associate, barrister, solicitor, law teacher, and five various
types of judicial officer, Alan Hogan decided to retire, in order
to do something different. He obtained a Masters degree, majoring
in Biblical Studies, at the Catholic Institute of Sydney. He was
astonished at how little he had known about the fundamental
documents of his religion. This book is an attempt to share some of
what he learnt about the New Testament with other Catholics, and
with anyone else who may be interested. It is not so much a book
about the New Testament as a plan for reading all the books that go
to make it up, roughly in the order in which they were written,
with such additional information as to make available the message
that each author intended to convey.
Christopher Armitage considers previous theological perception of 1
John as a text advocating that God abhors violence, contrasted with
biblical scholarship analysis that focuses upon the text's birth
from hostile theological conflict between 'insiders' and
'outsiders', with immensely hostile rhetoric directed towards
'antichrists' and those who have left the community. Armitage
argues that a peace-oriented reading of 1 John is still viable, but
questions if the commandment that the community loves each other is
intended to include their opponents, and whether the text can be of
hermeneutic use to advocate non-violence and love of one's
neighbour. This book examines five key words from 1 John, hilasmos,
sfazo, anthropoktonos, agape and adelphos, looking at their
background and use in the Old Testament in both Hebrew and the LXX,
arguing that these central themes presuppose a God whose engagement
with the world is not assuaging divine anger, nor ferocious defence
of truth at the expense of love, but rather peace and avoidance of
hatred that inevitably leads to violence and death. Armitage
concludes that a peacemaking hermeneutic is not only viable, but
integral to reading the epistle.
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