'[W]hen they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost (phantasma), and cried out; for they all saw him, and were terrified' (Mark 6:49, RSV). There is a growing awareness among biblical scholars and others of the potential value of modern and postmodern fantasy theory for the study of biblical texts. Following theorists such as Roland Barthes, Tzvetan Todorov, and Gilles Deleuze (among others), we understand the fantastic as the deconstruction of literary realism. The fantastic arises from the text's resistance to understanding; the "meaning" of the fantastic text is not its reference to the primary world of consensus reality but rather a fundamental undecidability of reference. The fantastic is also a point at which ancient and contemporary texts (including books, movies, and TV shows) resonate with one another, sometimes in surprising ways, and this resonance plays a large part in my argument. Mark and its afterlives "translate" one another, in the sense that Walter Benjamin speaks of the tangential point at which the original text and its translation touch one another, not a transfer of understood meaning but rather a point at which what Benjamin called "pure language" becomes apparent. Mark has always been the most "difficult" of the canonical gospels, the one that requires the greatest amount of hermeneutical gymnastics from its commentators. Its beginning in media res, its disconcerting ending at 16:8, its multiple endings, the "messianic secret," Jesus's tensions with his disciples and family - these are just some of the more obvious of the and many troublesome features that distinguish Mark from the other biblical gospels. If there had not been two other gospels (Matthew and Luke) that were clearly similar to Mark but also much more attractive to Christian belief, it seems likely that Mark, like the gospels of Thomas and Peter, would not have been accepted into the canon. Reading Mark as fantasy does not "solve" any of these problems, but it does place them in a very different context, one in which they are no longer "problems," but in which there are different problems. A fantastical reading of the gospel of Mark is not the only correct understanding of this text, but rather one possibility that may have considerable appeal and value in the contemporary world. This fantastic reading is a "reading from the outside," inspired by the parable "theory" of Isaiah 6:9-10 and Mark 4:11-12: "for those outside everything is in parables; so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand." Reading from the outside counters a widespread belief that only those within the faith community can properly understand the scriptures. It is the "stupid" reading of those who do not share institutionalized understandings passed down through catechisms and creeds, i.e., through the dominant ideology of the churches.

This critically acclaimed series provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The authors are scholars of international standing.

What is an 'echo' of Scripture? How can we detect echoes of the Old Testament in Paul, and how does their detection facilitate interpretation of the Pauline text? These are questions addressed by this collection of essays from the SBL programme unit Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity. The first part of the book reports its vigorous 1990 discussion of Richard Hays's 'Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul', including contributions by Craig Evans, James Sanders, William Scott Green and Christiaan Beker, as well as a response by R.B. Hays. The second part of the book studies specific passages where reference is made to the Old Testament explicitly or allusively. The contributors here are James Sanders, Linda Belleville, Carol Stockhausen, James Scott, Nancy Calvert and Stephen Brown.

This title demonstrates that the Qumran document "The Rule of the Community", provides linguistic clues which illuminate our understanding of the "Fourth Gospel". This work sets out to demonstrate that the sectarian Qumran document "The Rule of the Community", provides linguistic clues which illuminate our understanding of how the author of the "Fourth Gospel" used truth terminology and expected it to be understood. It establishes that there are significant linguistic similarities shared by these two corpora. While these may be attributed to a development of the common tradition shared by both, as well as the influence ideology, the semantic continuity with the Rule of the Community makes it likely that the author of the "Fourth Gospel" was familiar with the mode of thought represented in the linguistic matrix of the Qumran literature and that he followed this in articulating his ideas in certain parts of his Gospel. This series focuses on early Jewish and Christian texts and their formative contexts; it also includes sourcebooks that help clarify the ancient world.

We are living in exciting times, where God is stirring His daughters to step up and grasp hold of His Kingdom purposes, daring to apply His truth to their lives at new levels. In so doing, they are influencing others to do the same - and the Kingdom is rapidly growing stronger as a result. Patricia Talbott is one of these women at the forefront, and her book will be a powerful tool to help release this great potential. Cherie Minton, Co-Founder, Hope Force International I have known Patricia for 20 years, and from the time I met her I knew she was a woman of purpose and destiny. She is also a woman of discernment, wisdom, courage, prayer, determination, obedience, faith and commitment For women of all ages this is a wonderful book containing Biblical truth, with application. Patricia has found such treasures in these women's lives, treasures that can be become part of our lives today. She has already incorporated many of these values in her own life, so she writes with authority. I highly recommend this book for individual and group study, for processing and for reflection. Donna Ruth Jordan, YWAM Associates

'We are the Beloved. We are intimately loved long before our parents, teachers, spouses, children and friends loved or wounded us. That's the truth of our lives. That's the truth I want you to claim for yourself. That's the truth spoken by the voice that says, "You are my Beloved."' - Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved Henri Nouwen, priest, professor and writer, devoted much of his later ministry to emphasising the singular concept of our identity as the Beloved of God. In an interview, he said that he believed the central moment in Jesus' public ministry to be his baptism in the Jordan, when Jesus heard the affirmation, 'You are my beloved son on whom my favour rests.' 'That is the core experience of Jesus,' Nouwen writes. 'He is reminded in a deep, deep way of who he is ... I think his whole life is continually claiming that identity in the midst of everything.' You Are Beloved is a daily devotional created from the very best of Nouwen's writings, paired with daily Scripture readings, that reveals our identity as children of God, and which encourages us to live out that truth in our daily lives. Nouwen is at once refreshingly accessible, unafraid to wrestle with challenging questions, and above all an encouraging and sympathetic voice along the way.

Matthew's Gospel is a witness to conflicting interests. The leaders of Israel are part of the so-called 'retainer class', who pursue their own interests by promoting the interests of the Roman rulers. Jesus (and the Matthaean community), on the contrary, acts on behalf of the marginalized in society. Jesus challenges the underlying values of the leaders who, contrary to what is expected, do not forgive and act mercifully. The leaders try to resolve the conflict negatively by labelling Jesus as possessed by the devil. At the same time, the conflict spirals onward: the Matthaean community is called to act in the interests of the marginalized. It is Vledder's special contribution to Matthaean study that he brings to light the underlying dynamics of this conflict in a stimulating sociological study.

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.

A Bible-themed word search book featuring scriptural words hidden in full-page puzzles, Bible verses, and large-print type. Exercise your brain while exploring the New Testament! With large-print type, word lists pulled directly from Scripture, and Bible verses throughout, 101 Inspirational Bible Word Searches: The New Testament provides hours of encouraging fun with a positive message for all ages. Adults and kids alike will enjoy word searches that include 101 New Testament topics, people, and well-known Bible verses such as the Lord's Prayer, the Gospels, Jesus, the Beatitudes, angels, and more. And the large type makes it easy to read and interact with the puzzles.

"Zechariah" 1-8 is a deeply intertextual work which takes up formerly disparate streams of tradition - especially various elements of what it calls 'the former prophets' - and creatively combines these traditions, in applying them to a post-exilic context. This fact means that "Zechariah" 1-8 is situated in a dual context - the literary context of 'the former prophets', and the historical context of the early post-exilic period. This work seeks to understand "Zechariah" 1-8 in the light of its dual context. When "Zechariah" 1-8 is read in this way, a number of otherwise perplexing passages are made clearer, and the message of the work as a whole is better understood. This book offers a critique of and refinement to the approaches of intertextuality/inner-biblical allusion/tradition history in understanding the effect of 'texts re-using texts'. Against a recent trend which seeks to limit this phenomenon to 'verbal repetition', it demonstrates that "Zechariah" 1-8 involves the use of a wide variety of literary devices (including thematic allusions, 'ungramaticalities', and sustained allusions) to make connections with other texts. The kind of 'intertextual' approach followed in this study demonstrates that intertextuality does not necessarily lead to radical indeterminacy (as claimed by some), and instead actually aids in the limiting the possible ranges of meaning. The manner in which "Zechariah" 1-8 invokes/re-activates/ re-applies the words of the 'former prophets' raises important issues related to prophecy and fulfilment, history and eschatology, and the development of 'apocalyptic', which are addressed in the course of this enquiry. Over the last 30 years this pioneering series has established an unrivaled reputation for cutting-edge international scholarship in Biblical Studies and has attracted leading authors and editors in the field. The series takes many original and creative approaches to its subjects, including innovative work from historical and theological perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and more recent developments in cultural studies and reception history.