F. Gerald Downing explores the teachings of Paul, arguing that the development of Paul's preaching and of the Pauline Church owed a great deal to the views of the vagabond Cynic philosophers, critics of the gods and of the ethos of civic society. F. Gerald Downing examines the New Testament writings of Paul, explaining how he would have been seen, heard, perceived and understood by his culturally and ethnically diverse converts and disciples. He engages in a lucid Pauline commentary and offers some startling and ground-breaking views of Paul and his Word. Cynics, Paul and the Pauline Churches is a unique and controversial book, particularly in its endorsement of the simple and ascetic life proffered in Paul's teachings in comparison with the greedy, consumerist and self-promoting nature of today's society.

Judas Iscariot has been demonized as the quintessential traitor, the disciple who betrayed his master for the infamous thirty pieces of silver. But the recent sensational discovery and publication of the long lost Gospel of Judas, with its remarkable portrayal of Judas Iscariot as the disciple closest to Jesus, raises serious new questions. Was Judas the only member of the Twelve who truly understood Jesus? Did Jesus secretly collaborate with Judas to set in motion the series of events that would redeem all of humankind? In search of answers, Marvin Meyer, one of the world's leading experts on the Gospel of Judas presents a collection of the earliest accounts of Judas, which together paint a fuller portrait of this most enigmatic disciple.

This book presents the essential texts that deal with the figure of Judas, including New Testament writings, Gnostic documents, and other early and later Christian literature. These are the earliest known testimonies about Judas and include selections from the gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John, the Acts of the Apostles, and relevant passages from Paul. The centerpiece of the book is the Gospel of Judas, followed by excerpts from three other Gnostic texts--the Dialogue of the Savior, the Concept of Our Great Power, and the "Round Dance of the Cross"--which may shed new light on the figure of Judas. A series of additional writings on Judas produced over the centuries provide glimpses of the vilification of Judas and the emergence of anti-Semitic themes.

Meyer offers evidence of traitors before Judas--the Genesis story of Joseph's brothers who sold him into slavery, the duplicitous friend of the poet in Psalm 41, and Melanthius the goatherd in Homer's Odyssey--all of which raise the question of whether the story of Judas Iscariot could be simply a piece of religious fiction derived from earlier stories.

Judas provides a rich collection of original sources that tell the story of Christianity's most infamous figure, offering the fullest understanding of Judas Iscariot's undeniable importance in the climax of Jesus's life.

When Dr. David Jeremiah prepares a sermon or teaching, at the forefront of his mind
is helping people understand what the Bible says, what it meant to the people at the
time it was written, and what is means to us today. The Jeremiah Bible Study Series
captures Dr. Jeremiah's forty years of teaching employing this approach and will lead
readers through each book of the New Testament, one chapter at a time. Along the
way, readers will gain insights into the text, identify the key stories and themes, and
be challenged to correctly apply the truths and meanings they find to their own lives.

Sections in each lesson include:

Getting Started: An opening question to introduce readers to the lesson
Setting the Stage: A short reflection to explain the context of the study
Exploring the Text: The Scripture reading for the lesson with related study questions
Reviewing the Story: Questions to help readers identify key points in the Scripture reading
Applying the Message: Questions to help readers apply the key ideas to their lives
Reflecting on the Meaning: A closing reflection on the key teachings in the lesson
Each of the Bible studies in this series will help readers understand what the Bible says-particularly in its original context-and how to apply its teachings to their lives.

This book introduces the concept "ordinary African readers' hermeneutics" in a study of the reception of the Bible in postcolonial Africa. It looks beyond the scholarly and official church-based material to the way in which the Bible, and discourses on or from the Bible, are utilized within a wide range of diverse contexts. The author shows that "ordinary readers" can and did engage in meaningful and liberating hermeneutics. Using the Agikuyu's encounter with the Bible as an example, he demonstrates that what colonial discourses commonly circulated about Africans were not always the "truth", but mere "representations" that were hardly able to fix African identities, as they were often characterized by certain ambivalences, anxieties and contradictions. The hybridized Biblical texts, readings and interpretations generated through retrieval and incorporation of the defunct pre-colonial past created interstices that became sites for assimilation, questioning and resistance. The book explores how Africans employed "allusion" as a valid method of interpretation, showing how the critical principle of interpretation lies not in the Bible itself, but in the community of readers willing to cultivate dialogical imagination in order to articulate their vision. The author proposes an African hermeneutical theory, which involves the fusion of both the "scholarly" and the "ordinary" readers in the task of biblical interpretation within a specific socio-cultural context.

"Reading Jesus" is a personal journey through the fundamental Biblical stories. As celebrated author Mary Gordon ponders the intense strangeness of a deity in human form, unresolved moral ambiguities within the text, and the problem posed to her as an enlightened reader by the miracle of the Resurrection. What she rediscovers--and reinterprets with her signature candor, intelligence, and straightforwardness--is a rich store of overlapping, sometimes conflicting teachings that feel both familiar and tantalizingly elusive.

The act of martyrdom in the worldview of the Apocalypse has been considered to be an exemplification of non-violent resistance. Paul Middleton argues here, however, that it is in fact a representation of direct participation by Christians, through their martyrdom, in divine violence against those the author of Revelation portrays as God's enemies. Middleton shows that acceptance of martyrdom is to grasp the invitation to participate in the Revelation's divine violence. Martyrs follow the model laid down by the Lamb, who was not only slain, but resurrected, glorified, and who executes judgement. The world created by the Apocalypse encourages readers to conquer the Beast through martyrdom, but also through the experience of resurrection and being appointed judges. In this role, martyrs participate in the judgement of the wicked by sharing the Lamb's power to judge. Different from eschewing violence, the conceptual world of the Apocalypse portrays God, the Lamb, and the martyrs as possessing more power, might, and violent potential than the Emperor and his armies. Middleton believes that martyrdom and violence are necessary components of the worldview of Revelation.

A gripping historical biography, which will appeal to believer and non-believer alike

How can we find abundance in our daily journey? As part of the "Spirit-Filled Life(R) Study Guide" series, "Living Beyond the Ordinary" examines the profound truths revealed in the gospel of John. This "how-to" guide leads readers into experiencing life far beyond what this world has to offer. "Spirit-Filled Life(R)" "Study Guides" are perfect companions to the "New Spirit-Filled Life(R)" "Bible "or for use on their own.

Features Include:

• 12 lessons, plus an introduction to establishing and deepening a relationship with Jesus, who gives abundant life
• Foundational, practical helps like Kingdom Keys, Kingdom Life, and Word Wealth in each lesson
• More than 1.5 million guides sold

"His father and mother were amazed at what was being said about Him." Luke 2:33 "Everyone was amazed at all the things He was doing." Luke 9:43 "He went home, amazed at what had happened." Luke 24:12 From start to finish, the book of Luke is filled with amazement. Throughout the life and ministry of Jesus, those who met him were astonished by their encounter, from the shepherds at the nativity to the disciples at the empty tomb. With careful attention to detail, Michael Card embarks on an imaginative journey through the Gospel of Luke. He introduces us to Luke the historian and imagines his life as a Gentile, a doctor and a slave. Card explores Luke's compelling account of this dynamic rabbi who astounded his hearers with parables and paradoxes. What might Luke have experienced as he interviewed eyewitnesses of Jesus? What leads Luke to focus on the marginalized and the unlikely? Why does Luke include certain details that the other Gospel writers omit? Join Michael Card in the work of opening heart and mind to the "Gospel of Amazement."

For over one hundred years the International Critical Commentary has had a special place amongst works on the Bible. This new volume on James brings together all the relevant aids to exegesis - linguistic, textual, archaeological, historical, literary and theological - to enable the scholar to have a complete knowledge and understanding of this old testament book. Allison incorporates new evidence available in the field and applies new methods of studies. No uniform theological or critical approach to the text is taken.

To some, the Song of Songs is a simple love story of a man and a maiden. But for those with enlightened hearts, it becomes the key that unlocks the treasure chest of divine love. The Sacred Journey is an allegorical journey and a verse by verse commentary on the Song of Songs to lead every reader to discover God's fiery heart of love. Also included is The Passion Translation's Song of Songs: Divine Romance.

The New Testament for Everyone is the result of a passionate conviction that scripture should be something that everyone can read, understand and enjoy. Broken up into easy-to-read, bite-sized chunks, and now including helpful introductions to each biblical book, informative maps and a substantial glossary of key words, here is a new rendering of ancient wisdom that can be read like a novel, studied in sections or used as an aid to daily devotion.

Peter is a fascinating character in all four canonical gospels, not only as a literary figure in each of the gospels respectively, but also when looked at from an intertextual perspective. This book examines how Peter is rewritten for each of the gospels, positing that the different portrayals of this crucial figure reflect not only the theological priorities of each gospel author, but also their attitude towards their predecessors. Rewriting Peter as an Intertextual Character in the Canonical Gospels is the first critical study of the canonical gospels which is based on Markan priority, Luke's use of Mark and Matthew, and John's use of all three synoptic gospels. Through a selection of close readings, Damgaard both provides a new critical portrait of Peter and proposes a new theory of source and redaction in the gospels. In the last thirty years there has been an increasing appreciation of the gospels' literary design and of the gospel writers as authors and innovators rather than merely compilers and transmitters. However, literary critics have tended to read each gospel individually as if they were written for isolated communities. This book reconsiders the relationship between the gospels, arguing that the works were composed for a general audience and that the writers were bold and creative interpreters of the tradition they inherited from earlier gospel sources. Damgaard's view that the gospel authors were familiar with the work of their predecessors, and that the divergences between their narratives were deliberate, sheds new light on their intentions and has a tremendous impact on our understanding of the gospels.

Approach the New Testament with confidence. Chronological and Background Charts of the New Testament will help students organize and synthesize the vast amount of biblical and extrabiblical information on the New Testament by providing a helpful visual overview of the data, chronology, historical background, and criticism. This format allows facts, relationships, parallels, and contrasts to be grasped quickly and easily. Perfect for enhancing every type of teaching and learning situation and style, including homeschooling curricula and tutoring, church classes and Sunday school. The 90 charts in this updated, expanded edition are divided into four broad categories: General material for reading and understanding the New Testament. Backgrounds to the New Testament, such as historical and cultural settings. The Gospels-information on their authors, differences, audiences, etc. The apostolic age-chronology, theology, history, interpretations, etc. These charts cover a wide range of topics, from basic information to extrabiblical data such as "The Roman Military System," "Rabbinic Writings," and "The Five Gospels of the Jesus Seminar." ZondervanCharts are ready references for those who need the essential information at their fingertips. Accessible and highly useful, the books in this library offer clear organization and thorough summaries of issues, subjects, and topics that are key for Christian students and learners. The visuals and captions will cater to any teaching methodology, style, or program.

Alfred Heidenreich addresses the puzzling apparent contradictions in the Gospels head on, and argues that these difficulties are necessary to encourage us to make an active spiritual effort to understand.

In this fully revised new edition of a pioneering study of John's gospel, John Ashton explores fresh topics and takes account of the latest scholarly debates. Ashton argues first that the thought-world of the gospel is Jewish, not Greek, and secondly that the text is many-layered, not simple, and composed over an extended period as the evangelist responded to the changing situation of the community he was addressing. Ashton seeks to provide new and coherent answers to what Rudolf Bultmann called the two great riddles of the gospel: its position in the development of Christian thought and its central or governing idea. In arguing that the first of these should be concerned rather with Jewish thought Ashton offers a partial answer to the most important and fascinating of all the questions confronted by New Testament scholarship: how did Christianity emerge from Judaism? Bultmann's second riddle is exegetical, and concerns the message of the book. Ashton's answer highlights a generally neglected feature of the gospel's concept of revelation: its debt to Jewish apocalyptic.

This collection pulls together sermons from Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the book of Hebrews, giving readers a deeper look at this important book of the Bible and helping them understand how it applies to their lives.

The Nubian Museum (Aswan) houses the Kasr el-Wizz Codex, which was copied around the middle of the IX century in a Southern scriptorium. It contains two Coptic apocryphals. The first a " a secret revelation by the Saviour after the Resurrection a " is closely related to the Old Nubian Stauros Text published by F. Ll. Griffith, the second presents a hitherto unknown narrative about the Savioura (TM)s time spent with his disciples on the Mount of Olives before the Crucifixion. This second text is particularly interesting because of its proximity to the Strasbourg Coptic Gospel fragment and the recently discovered Gospel of the Saviour.The volume offers edition, German translation and commentary as well as coloured images of the codex.

This new work aimed at upper level undergraduates provides an invaluable handbook for students seriously engaging with Paul's life, letters and context. This new coursebook assesses Paul from four key areas. This book is written by several co-authors, all experts in their given fields, to give the most up-to-date and accurate information to readers - but also to present a sense of authorial continuity throughout the book. This book is divided into three main parts; the environment, life, work and person of Paul; Paul's letters and theological themes; and, the reception of Paul and his letters. As such it provides a comprehensive overview of scholarship on Paul and is the perfect handbook for the serious student wishing to engage with some of the most important writings in the New Testament. This book features maps, tables, text-boxes, up-to-date bibliographies and key points are identified throughout.

The Biblical World is a comprehensive guide to the contents, historical settings, and social context of the Bible. This new edition is updated with several new chapters as well as a new section on biblical interpretation. Contributions from leading scholars in the field present wide-ranging views not just of biblical materials and their literary and linguistic context, but also of the social institutions, history and archaeology, and religious concepts. New chapters cover topics such as the priesthood and festivals, creation and covenant, ethics, and family life, while a new section on biblical interpretation discusses Jewish and Christian bible translation and key thematic emphases, and modern reader-response and cultural approaches. This revised edition of The Biblical World offers an up-to-date and thorough survey of the Bible and its world, and will continue to be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament and their history and interpretation, as well as anyone working on the societies, religions, and political and cultural institutions that created and influenced these texts.

St Paul was a pivotal and controversial figure in the fledgling Jesus movement of the first century. The New Cambridge Companion to St Paul provides an invaluable entryway into the study of Paul and his letters. Composed of sixteen essays by an international team of scholars, it explores some of the key issues in the current study of his dynamic and demanding theological discourse. The volume first examines Paul's life and the first-century context in which he and his communities lived. Contributors then analyze particular writings by comparing and contrasting at least two selected letters, while thematic essays examine topics of particular importance, including how Paul read scripture, his relation to Judaism and monotheism, why his message may have been attractive to first-century audiences, how his message was elaborated in various ways in the first four centuries, and how his theological discourse might relate to contemporary theological discourse and ideological analysis today.

Let the wisdom of Colossians transform relationships in every area of your life -- home, church, and even the world -- with this study guide from renowned Bible teacher Joyce Meyer. Paul's letter to the Colossians reminds us that as we have died with Christ, we also need to die to our sins. It encourages us that because we have also been raised in Him, we must submit to Jesus and adopt qualities motivated by Christian love. In this comprehensive study tool, Joyce Meyer's commentary on Colossians affirms the Lordship of Christ and offers practical advice on family, relationships, and faith.

The Max Lucado Life Lessons series continues to be one of the bestselling study guide series on the market today. This updated edition of the popular New Testament and Old Testament series will offer readers a complete selection of studies by Max Lucado. Intriguing questions, inspirational storytelling, and profound reflections will bring God's Word to life for both individuals and small-group members. Each session now includes a key passage of Scripture from both the NIV (formerly NCV) and the NKJV, and the guides have been updated to include content from Max's recent releases (2007-2016).