In this title, Finney argues that the conflict in 1 Corinthians is driven by lust for honour and Pauls use of the paradigm of the cross. Studies in contemporary social anthropology have noted the importance of male honour and how this is able to generate ideas of social identity within a community and to elucidate patterns of social behaviour. Finney examines the letter of 1 Corinthians , which presents a unique expose of numerous aspects of social life in the first-century Greco-Roman world where honour was of central importance. At the same time, filotimia (the love and lust for honour) also had the capacity to generate an environment of competition, antagonism, factionalism, and conflict, all of which are clearly evident within the pages of 1 Corinthians . Finney seeks to examine the extent to which the social constraints of filotimia, and its potential for conflict, lay behind the many problems evident within the nascent Christ-movement at Corinth. Finney presents a fresh reading of the letter, and the thesis it proposes is that the honour-conflict model, hitherto overlooked in studies on 1 Corinthians , provides an appropriate and compelling framework within which to view the many disparate aspects of the letter in their social context. Formerly the Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement , this is a book series that explores the many aspects of New Testament study including historical perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and theological, cultural and contextual approaches. The Early Christianity in Context series, a part of JSNTS , examines the birth and development of early Christianity up to the end of the third century CE. The series places Christianity in its social, cultural, political and economic context. European Seminar on Christian Origins and Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus Supplement are also part of JSNTS .

Minna Shkul examines how Ephesians engages in social entrepreneurship (the deliberate shaping of emerging Christian Identity through provision of ideological and social paradigms for the fledgling Christian community). Shkul uses social entrepreneurship as an umbrella for a variety of social processes reflected in the text. This eclectic theoretical framework and deutero-Pauline reading position has two key aims. The first is to offer a theoretically informed social-scientific reading which demonstrates the extensive socio-ideological shaping within the text, and displays the writer's negotiation of different group processes throughout the letter. The second is to examine emerging Christian identity in the text, testing its ideological and social contours and its reforms upon Jewish traditions. Crucially this is done without the theological presupposition that something was wrong with the Judaism practiced at the time, but rather by focusing upon the divine 'legitimating' of the Christian group and its culture. These readings of Ephesians examine how the writer engages in a self-enhancing discourse that reinforces basic components of communality. These include the construction of a positive in-group identity and the provision of ideological and social legitimating for the community. Shkul also discusses the textual reflection of communal relations in other groups in Greco-Roman antiquity. She examines how Christ-followers are positioned in a Jewish symbolic universe, which is forced to make room for Christ and his non-Israelite followers. Finally, she explores the attitude toward non-Israelites within Ephesians, and their need for re-socialization. Formerly the "Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement", a book series that explores the many aspects of New Testament study including historical perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and theological, cultural and contextual approaches. "The Early Christianity in Context" series, a part of JSNTS, examines the birth and development of early Christianity up to the end of the third century CE. The series places Christianity in its social, cultural, political and economic context. European Seminar on Christian Origins and Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus Supplement are also part of JSNTS.

Even when he was a prototype of European identity, Paul transgressed the limits of Europe. It is not clear whether he was conformist or rebellious, orthodox or liberal, sexist, or egalitarian. Instead of pushing the Apostle into the arbitrary categories of modern European identity, Fatima Tofighi takes into account the challenge that Paul brings to normative conceptions of political theology (Rom 13), 'religion' (Gal 2.12-14), and women's veiling (1 Cor 11. 5-16). Alternative interpretations of these passages, with the help of postmodern theory, both solve the major problems of biblical exegesis and offer a critique of the allegedly well-defined European categories.

Justin Marc Smith argues that the gospels were intended to be addressed to a wide and varied audience. He does this by considering them to be works of ancient biography, comparative to the Greco-Roman biography. Smith argues that the earliest Christian interpreters of the Gospels did not understand their works to be sectarian documents. Rather, the wider context of Jesus literature in the second and third centuries points toward the broader Christian practice of writing and disseminating literary presentations of Jesus and Jesus traditions as widely as possible. Smith addresses the difficulty in reconstructing the various gospel communities that might lie behind the gospel texts and suggests that the 'all nations' motif present in all four of the canonical gospels suggests an ideal secondary audience beyond those who could be identified as Christian.

Inventing Hebrews examines a perennial topic in the study of the Letter to the Hebrews, its structure and purpose. Michael Wade Martin and Jason A. Whitlark undertake at thorough synthesis of the ancient theory of invention and arrangement, providing a new account of Hebrews' design. The key to the speech's outline, the authors argue, is in its use of 'disjointed' arrangement, a template ubiquitous in antiquity but little discussed in modern biblical studies. This method of arrangement accounts for the long-observed pattern of alternating epideictic and deliberative units in Hebrews as blocks of narratio and argumentatiorespectively. Thus the 'letter' may be seen as a conventional speech arranged according to the expectations of ancient rhetoric (exordium, narratio, argumentatio, peroratio), with epideictic comparisons of old and new covenant representatives (narratio) repeatedly enlisted in amplification of what may be viewed as the central argument of the speech (argumentatio), the recurring deliberative summons for perseverance. Resolving a long-standing conundrum, this volume offers a hermeneutical tool necessary for interpreting Hebrews, as well as countless other speeches from Greco-Roman antiquity.

This book addresses two crucial, related questions in current research on the Epistle to the Hebrews: when and where did Jesus offer himself? And what role does Jesus' death play both in Hebrews' soteriology as a whole, and specifically in Jesus' high-priestly self-offering? The work argues that the cross is not when and where Jesus offers himself, but it is what he offers. After his resurrection, appointment to high priesthood, and ascent to heaven, Jesus offers himself to God in the inner sanctum of the heavenly tabernacle, and what he offers to God is the soteriological achievement enacted in his death. Hebrews figures blood, in both the Levitical cult and the Christ-event, as a medium of exchange, a life given for life owed. Represented as blood, Christ's death is both means of access and material offered: what he achieved in his death is what he offered to God in heaven.

In this title, Kuecker uses social identity theory to examine the interface between the Holy Spirit and ethnicity in "Luke-Acts". Kuecker uses an artillery of social identity theory to demonstrate that in "Luke"'s narrative the Spirit is the central figure in the formation of a new social identity. In his argumenation, Kuecker provides extended exegetical treatments of "Luke" 1-4 and "Acts" 1-15. He shows that "Luke" 1-4 establishes a foundation for "Luke"'s understanding of the relationship between human identity, the Spirit, and the 'other' - especially as it relates to the distribution of in-group benefits beyond group boundaries. With regard to "Acts" 1-15, Kuecker shows that the Spirit acts whenever human identity is in question in order to transform communities and individuals via the formation of a new social identity. Kuecker argues that "Luke" depicts this Spirit-formed social identity as a different way of being human in community, relative to the normative identity processes of other groups in his narrative. This transformed identity produces profound expressions of interethnic reconciliation in "Luke-Acts" expressed through reformed economic practice, impressive intergroup hospitality, and a reoriented use of ethnic language. Formerly the "Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement", this is a book series that explores the many aspects of New Testament study including historical perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and theological, cultural and contextual approaches. "The Early Christianity in Context" series, a part of "JSNTS", examines the birth and development of early Christianity up to the end of the third century CE. The series places Christianity in its social, cultural, political and economic context. European Seminar on Christian Origins and "Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus Supplement" are also part of "JSNTS".

Sechrest describes Pauline Christianity as a nascent ancient racial group, drawing on a Jewish understanding of race in Second Temple Judaism. With analysis of nearly five thousand Jewish and non-Jewish passages about identity from around the turn of the era, the models presented describe ancient Greek and Jewish ethnic and racial identity. Further, these models become resources for examining the racial character of Paul's self-identity and the continuities and discontinuities between the three races in his social world: Jews, Gentiles, and Christians/ Using historical and literary methods of exegesis for passages in the Pauline corpus, Sechrest describes Paul as someone who was born a Jew, but who later saw himself as a member of a different race. Analyzing Christian identity in Galatians in terms of membership criteria, membership indicia, and inter-group dynamics, a final section of the book con-trasts the portrait of Paul that emerges from this study with those in Daniel Boyarin's "A Radical Jew: Paul and the Politics of Identity" and Brad Braxton's "No Longer Slaves: Galatians and African American Experience". This section engages all three of these descriptions of community and identity, and illuminates the problems and opportunities contained in a modern appropriation of a racial construction of Christian identity. Formerly the "Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement", a book series that explores the many aspects of New Testament study including historical perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and theological, cultural and contextual approaches. "The Early Christianity in Context" series, a part of "JSNTS", examines the birth and development of early Christianity up to the end of the third century CE. The series places Christianity in its social, cultural, political and economic context. European Seminar on Christian Origins and "Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus Supplement" are also part of "JSNTS".

Historical- critical approaches to Scripture rule out some readings and commend others, but they rarely offer much help to either theological reflection or the preaching of the Word. They do not point the church forward in the life of discipleship. These commentaries have learned from tradition, but they are most importantly commentaries for today. The authors share the conviction that their work will be more contemporary, more faithful, and more radical, to the extent that it is more biblical, honestly wrestling with the texts of the Scriptures.--from the series introduction The volumes in Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible from Westminster John Knox Press offer a fresh and invigorating approach to all the books of the Bible. Building on a wide range of sources from biblical studies, the history of theology, the church's liturgical and musical traditions, contemporary culture, and the Christian tradition, noted scholars focus less on traditional historical and literary angles in favor of a theologically focused commentary that considers the contemporary relevance of the texts. This series is an invaluable resource for those who want to probe beyond the backgrounds and words of biblical texts to their deep theological and ethical meanings for the church today.

In his Epistle to the Philippians, Paul positions himself as an example of 'being in Christ'. The way in which he does this points out that he consciously positions himself in the tradition of classical rhetoric, where the use of paradigms (exempla) was a standard element in deliberative arguing. Paul describes his life as coloured by Christ in such a way that he represents Christ to the Philippians, and the response he hopes to evoke in their congregation is that of similar behaviour. The analysis of Smit combines observations on classical rhetoric, exegetical analyses of Philippians, and views from the perspective of gender and masculinity studies into a new and fresh analysis of the material. He shows that ancient ideals of deliberative rhetoric have influenced Philippians in much the same way in which they appear in e.g. Aristotle, Plutarch, and (also) 2 Maccabees. This study both positions Paul in the cultural context of his day and indicates the newness of his enterprise.

This book proposes a theological reading of 1 Thessalonians, making an important response to the increasing demand to relate biblical scholarship more closely to theological concerns. Paddison's interpretation adheres very closely to the text and is divided into three parts. Part I offers a theological critique of dominant historical-critical readings of 1 Thessalonians. Part II examines the history of interpretation of 1 Thessalonians focusing on the pre-Modern exegesis of Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin. Paddison explores what theological exegetes can learn from Thomas Aquinas' Lectura and John Calvin's commentary on 1 Thessalonians. Aided by the insights of these neglected pre-Modern commentators, Part III presents a theologically driven interpretation of the letter. Theological exegesis is practised as a dialogue with Paul, the canon and a plethora of theological voices to elucidate Paddison's central argument, that the astonishing subject-matter of 1 Thessalonians is God's all-powerful hold over death.

Writing in an accessible and anecdotal style, Tom Wright helps us to approach the rich and many-sided story of the book of Acts. Wright shows how the book builds on Luke's gospel, laying out the continuing work and teaching of the now risen and ascended Jesus in the power of the Spirit. His writing captures the vivid way in which Luke's work draws us all into the story, while leaving the ending open and challenging, inviting Christians today to pick up and carry on the story as we in turn live our lives in the service of Jesus.

This detailed exegetical study of Gal 3.28c in the light of 3.14-29 and 4.21-31 shows not only how integral this verse is to chapters 3 and 4 of the letter, but also that it is the key to understanding Paul's theological argument of promise in Galatians. Paul's use of the story of Abraham in 3.14-29 and of Sarah in 4.21-31 in light of God's promise to the patriarch and the matriarch in Genesis 17 have implications displays the joint role of Abraham and Sarah in bringing about the promise, and underscores the unity of the believers in Christ. In light of this, Uzukwu examines important aspects of the history of the interpretation of Gal 3.28c. Uzukwu sheds light on the link between Gal 3:28 and the three expressions of gratitude found in Greek writings. Links are also revealed to the three blessings of gratitude that appear at the beginning of the Jewish cycle of morning prayers, Gen 1.27c (in the Septuagint), and the alleged pre-Pauline baptismal formula. She goes further to demonstrate how 3.28c is related to the unity of Galatians 3-4, focusing on the theme of the promise as the text discusses the effect of the Christ event in bringing about the fulfillment of that promise.

Did Jesus exist? In recent years there has been a massive upsurge in public discussion of the view that Jesus did not exist. This view first found a voice in the 19th century, when Christian views were no longer taken for granted. Some way into the 20th century, this school of thought was largely thought to have been utterly refuted by the results of respectable critical scholarship (from both secular and religious scholars). Now, many unprofessional scholars and bloggers ('mythicists'), are gaining an increasingly large following for a view many think to be unsupportable. It is starting to influence the academy, more than that it is starting to influence the views of the public about a crucial historical figure. Maurice Casey, one of the most important Historical Jesus scholars of his generation takes the 'mythicists' to task in this landmark publication. Casey argues neither from a religious respective, nor from that of a committed atheist. Rather he seeks to provide a clear view of what can be said about Jesus, and of what can't.