In the early nineteenth century Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States and principal author of the Declaration of Independence, conceived the idea of extracting a gospel purified of what he saw as extraneous philosophical, mythological, and theological elements. To do so, he took verses from the four canonical gospels and arranged them into a single narrative, focusing on the actual words of Jesus. This work was never published during Jefferson's lifetime, but was inherited by his grandson and printed for the first time in the early twentieth century. The original bound manuscript, often referred to as "the Jefferson Bible," is held by the United States National Museum in Washington.

Written by a select group of internationally renowned scholars, this volume authoritatively assesses the present state of historical-Jesus research. The book examines different aspects of Jesus life and thought in his historical and geographical setting and within his religious and cultural context, also suggesting what we may learn from Jesus teachings. / Arising from the first Princeton-Prague Symposium on Jesus Research, held in the spring of 2005 in Prague, this comprehensive collection from the luminaries in this area of research provides a much-needed focus on the issues involved with seeking to re-create Jesus in his world.

The 'Ephesians: For Everyone Bible Study Guide' by renowned Christian author and professor, Tom Wright, is an excellent starting point for new Christians, those studying or Bible study groups to explore and understand more on the book of Ephesians. As part of the 'For Everyone Bible Study Guides' series, this title by Tom Wright offers a range of thought-provoking study questions and accessible introductory material. The guides in this series can be used on their own or alongside Tom Wright's engaging New Testament for Everyone commentaries. 'For Everyone Bible Study Guides' are designed to help you understand the Bible in fresh ways under the guidance of one of the world's leading New Testament scholars, Tom Wright. Thoughtful questions, prayer suggestions, and useful background and cultural information all guide you into a deeper understanding of the Christian story and the Christian life. When you have a story at the back of your mind, have you noticed how it sometimes keeps coming up, even if you are talking about something else? Throughout his exhortation, prayers and instructions for living in the letter to the Ephesians, Paul cannot contain his joy and amazement at God's plan to save us in Jesus the Messiah. These eleven studies from Tom Wright within 'Ephesians: For Everyone Bible Study Guide' help us to see the significance of our role in God's grand narrative, and encourage us to live fully as people who are lavishly loved by God. This book on Ephesians is the perfect introduction to the topic, designed to not only teach but also question the reader and give thoughtful insight.

The people suffered under two oppressive systems. On the one hand they lived under the shadow of the Mighty Roman Eagle and the "Good News" of peace on Earth through the military power of the lord and savior, Caesar. On the other hand they suffered the judgment and condemnation of the religious elite that believed Jehovah's grace was only large enough for law abiding Jews. The radical teacher from Nazareth, named Jesus, came to tear down both of these destructive systems and offer an alternative way of being. He offered a new kind of kingdom where love, mercy, and forgiveness was the path to true life. In this study you will follow Jesus' life story as it is recorded in the four gospels of the New Testament - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. All four Gospels have been combined to create one continuous story. The study is divided into 15 Sessions with 5 lessons each. On your own you will read the text, answer the study questions, and chew on the 'food for thought'. There is also a "just for kids" section to involve the whole family. Ideally you will gather with others in a small group or house church to discuss your findings and encourage each other to follow the teachings of Jesus.

"Over the years, Thomas Moore has taught us how to discover the holiness concealed in the ordinary." - Harold Kushner In his latest book, Thomas Moore finds striking new meaning in the rich stories and imagery of the Gospels, recasting Jesus not as a teacher of morals and beliefs but as a spiritual visionary with a radical vision for humanity. This highly original take on the Gospels offers a fresh, new way of imagining human life and society. It presents Jesus not as the founder of a religion but as a world reformer offering a spiritual path to everyone, from every background. It offers a personal spirituality fit for the 21st century, where the individual bears responsibility for meaning and for a creative, convivial way of life. "The sincerity, intelligence and style - so beautifully clean - of Tom Moore's 'Care of the Soul' truly moved me. The book's got strength and class and soul, and I suspect may last longer than psychology itself." - James Hillman

This guide explores and summarizes scholarship on Philemon, acquainting beginning students with what has been said about Philemon, and equipping them to understand the larger debates and conversations that surround it. It explores how different initial scholarly assumptions result in different interpretations and "meanings;" these meanings always have ethical implications. Reading Philemon challenges us to rethink the process of commentary and the communities interpretation creates. Though only one chapter long, Paul's Letter to Philemon has generated a remarkable amount of commentary and scholarship over the centuries, figuring in debates over textual reconstruction, the formation of biblical canon, the culture of ancient Rome, Greek language and its translation, and the role of the Bible in Western politics and economics. The focus of this short letter is labor, love and captivity. Tradition since Chrysostom has argued the letter is an appeal to Philemon on behalf of a fugitive slave Onesimus, now a convert to Christianity. Yet this interpretation depends upon several assumptions and reconstructions. Other equally plausible contexts could be -- and have been -- argued.

Not too many other texts in biblical studies received more attention than the parables of Jesus, in fact raising the question whether or not we need yet another book on this subject. The answer to this question will always remain an emphatic yes. For Jesus and the church, the parables are mysteries, i.e. not beyond understanding, but open to an infinite possibility of meaning. This perhaps explains why more than a century after Adolf Julicher convincingly argued for a non-allegorical reading of the parables this quest is far from over. Notwithstanding their significant metaphorical force, this book will attempt to shed new light on the parables in understanding and reading these short stories as speech-events (J.G. Hamann) and language-games (L. Wittgenstein). Parables do not primarily signify abstract truths, but illustrate a world reminiscent of God's kingdom. Engaging in the parables, therefore, does not simply evoke thought processes, but actively calls readers into participating in the unfolding events pictured by the text, hereby joining in actions that seek to establish the kingdom of God as envisioned through the words of Jesus. Reading and interpreting the parables as language-games renders these stories accessible to questions of faith that could not be asked previously: Why does a man without wedding garment face expulsion from the banquet? Why are wise virgins rewarded by not sharing their oil? Why is anxiety and caution severely punished and financial risk taking awarded? Understanding Jesus' parables as pictures of a world reigned by God, yet in need of redemption and our collaboration will remove these texts from the pedestal of enigma and obscurity, placing them into the hands of the faithful reader.

"When studying Romans, I usually reach for Shedd first. Highly valued in past generations, Shedd's careful treatment of the original text is succinct and yet richly suggestive of profitable lines of exposition. A must have for serious study of Paul's most important letter." Dr. Robert P. Martin, Pastor, Emmanuel Reformed Baptist Church, Seattle, Washington, Editor, Reformed Baptist Theological Review

This is the latest release in Enduring Word Media's commentary series by David Guzik. David Guzik's commentaries are noted for their clear, complete, and concise explanation of the Bible. Pastors, teachers, class leaders, home study groups, and everyday Christians all over the world have found this commentary series remarkably helpful.

This book anchors its account of the beauty of Jesus Christ to a scheme found in St Augustine of Hippo's Expositions of the Psalms. There Augustine recognized the beauty of Christ at every stage-from his pre-existence ('beautiful in heaven'), through his incarnation, the public ministry ('beautiful in his miracles, beautiful in calling to life'), passion, crucifixion, burial, resurrection ('beautiful in taking up his life again'), and glorious life 'in heaven'. Augustine never filled out this laconic summary by writing a work on Christ and his beauty. The Beauty of Jesus Christ seems to be the first attempt in Christian history to write a comprehensive account of the beauty of Christ in the light of Augustine's list. The work begins by offering a working description of what it understands by beauty as being perfect, harmonious, and radiant. Beauty, above all the divine beauty, enjoys inexhaustible meaning and overlaps with 'the holy' or the awesome and fascinating mystery of God. Loving beauty opens the way to truth and helps us grasp and practise virtue. The books needs to add some items to Augustine's list by recognizing Christ's beauty in his baptism, transfiguration, and post-resurrection sending of the Holy Spirit. It also goes beyond Augustine by showing how the imagery and language Jesus prepared in his hidden life and then used in his ministry witness to the beautiful sensibility that developed during his years at home in Nazareth. Throughout, this book draws on the Scriptures to illustrate and justify Augustine's brief claims about the beauty revealed in the whole story of Christ, from his pre-existence to his risen 'post-existence'. Where appropriate, it also cites the witness to Christ's beauty that has come from artists, composers of sacred music, the creators of icons, and writers.

The first book to supply the English reader with a comprehensive view of the apocryphal literature connected to the New Testament. It contains translations of all the important texts in the style of the Authorized Version, and makes available the results of historic researches into their origin, history, and value.

An overview of the current controversy over the nature of Scripture: What a Christian believes about everything turns on what he believes about the Bible.

Christianity Today 2013 Book Award Winner Winner of The Foundation for Pentecostal Scholarship's 2012 Award of Excellence 2011 Book of the Year, Christianbook.com's Academic Blog Most modern prejudice against biblical miracle reports depends on David Hume's argument that uniform human experience precluded miracles. Yet current research shows that human experience is far from uniform. In fact, hundreds of millions of people today claim to have experienced miracles. New Testament scholar Craig Keener argues that it is time to rethink Hume's argument in light of the contemporary evidence available to us. This wide-ranging and meticulously researched two-volume study presents the most thorough current defense of the credibility of the miracle reports in the Gospels and Acts. Drawing on claims from a range of global cultures and taking a multidisciplinary approach to the topic, Keener suggests that many miracle accounts throughout history and from contemporary times are best explained as genuine divine acts, lending credence to the biblical miracle reports.

Reading Genesis presents a panoramic view of the most vital ways that Genesis is approached in modern scholarship. Essays by ten eminent scholars cover the perspectives of literature, gender, memory, sources, theology, and the reception of Genesis in Judaism and Christianity. Each contribution addresses the history and rationale of the method, insightfully explores particular texts of Genesis, and deepens the interpretive gain of the method in question. These ways of reading Genesis, which include its classic past readings, map out a pluralistic model for understanding Genesis in - and for - the modern age.

(Foreword by John F. Walvoord) Leading evangelical educators combine efforts in this thorough look at the text of Revelation and the issues that most interest and trouble twenty-first-century readers and students. Includes a verse-by-verse explanation and background analysis.

Born in Slutzk, Russia, in 1805, Elijah Zvi Soloveitchik is a largely forgotten member of the prestigious Soloveitchik rabbinic dynasty. Before Hayyim Soloveitchik developed the standard Brisker method of Talmudic study, or Joseph Dov Soloveitchik helped to found American Modern Orthodox Judaism, Elijah Soloveitchik wrote Qol Qore, a rabbinic commentary on the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Qol Qore drew on classic rabbinic literature, and particularly on the works of Moses Maimonides, to argue for the compatibility of Christianity with Judaism. To this day, it remains the only rabbinic work to embrace the compatibility of Orthodox Judaism and the Christian Bible. In The Bible, the Talmud, and the New Testament, Shaul Magid presents the first-ever English translation of Qol Qore. In his contextualizing introduction, Magid explains that Qol Qore offers a window onto the turbulent historical context of nineteenth-century European Jewry. With violent anti-Semitic activity on the rise in Europe, Elijah Soloveitchik was unique in believing that the roots of anti-Semitism were theological, based on a misunderstanding of the New Testament by both Jews and Christians. His hope was that the Qol Qore, written in Hebrew and translated into French, German, and Polish, would reach Jewish and Christian audiences, urging each to consider the validity of the other's religious principles. In an era characterized by fractious debates between Jewish communities, Elijah Soloveitchik represents a voice that called for radical unity amongst Jews and Christians alike.

The Life Application Bible Commentary: Revelation provides personal help, teaching notes, and sermon ideas that will address needs, answer questions, and provide help for daily living. This Bible commentary provides explanation, background, and application for every verse in the book of Revelation.

Much scholarship has focused on Paul's insistence on Gentile membership of the people of God equally with Jews. Dr Yee's study of Ephesians 2 reveals how the distinctively Jewish world view of the author of Ephesians underlies this key text. He explores how the Ephesians' author provides a resolution to one of the thorniest issues regarding two ethnic groups in the earliest period of Christianity: can Jew and Gentile, the two estranged human groups, be one (people of God) and if so, how? Setting Ephesians 2 as fully as possible into its historical context, he describes some of the relevant Jewish features and demonstrates them, revealing many explosive but hidden issues. This book provides an important contribution to the continuing reassessment of Christian and Jewish self-understanding in regard to each other during the critical period of the latter decades of the first century CE.

"The Victorious Christ" is the perfect guide for nonspecialists in search of a reliable and interesting exploration of the book of Revelation. The reader is invited to approach the text in a logical and nonthreatening fashion. After acquainting the reader with the book of Revelation and the basic questions, C. Freeman Sleeper deals with matters such as imagery and symbolism and the use of these images in other texts from the same period. He goes on to address the difficult issues of interpretation and the implications of Revelation for Christian living today.