This volume presents 12 interactive Bible stories exploring the wealth of meaning in the terms "healing" and "salation" used by Jesus. Are they the same thing? What happened to the individuals concerned? What is the bigger message the Gospel writers are trying to get across? Focusing on key episodes in Jesus' ministry, this book aims to transform our understanding of these two great Christian concepts and offer fresh insights into the meaning of Scripture for today. John Davies is the former Bishop of Shrewsbury and was previously Principal of the College of Ascension in Birmingham. He spent many years as a priest in South Africa townships where his theology was shaped.

In this introduction to the heart of the gospel, readers are invited to discover for themselves what Jesus has done for the world and continues to do in the world today. The invitation is offered in the form of daily readings from the four gospel accounts of Jesus' story. The story itself is preceded by suggestions for reading and background aids for understanding the world in which Jesus carried out his earthly ministry. This is followed by brief accounts of how others responded to Jesus, along with the authors' answers to commonly-asked questions about the Christian faith.

Death does not speak the final word. Resurrection does. Christianity stands or falls with this central confession: God raised Jesus from the dead. Bruce Chilton investigates the Easter event of Jesus in Resurrection Logic. He undertakes his close reading of the New Testament texts without privileging the exact nature of the resurrection, but rather begins by situating his study of the resurrection in the context of Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, and Syrian conceptions of the afterlife. He then identifies Jewish monotheistic affirmations of bodily resurrection in the Second Temple period as the most immediate context for early Christian claims. Chilton surveys first-generation accounts of Jesus' resurrection and finds a pluriform - and even at times seemingly contradictory - range of testimony from Jesus' first followers. This diversity, as Chilton demonstrates, prompted early Christianity to interpret the resurrection traditions by means of prophecy and coordinated narrative. In the end, Chilton points to how the differing conceptions of the ways that God governs the world produced distinct understandings - or ""sciences"" - of the Easter event. Each understanding contained its own internal logic, which contributed to the collective witness of the early church handed down through the canonical text. In doing so, Chilton reveals the full tapestry of perspectives held together by the common-thread confession of Jesus' ongoing life and victory over death.

Allen Hilton examines how pagan critics ridiculed the early Christians for being uneducated, and how a few literate Christians took up pen to defend the illiterate members of their churches. Hilton sheds light on the peculiarity of this "defense", in which the authors openly admit that the critics have the facts on their side, noting that the Book of Acts even calls two of its heroes, Peter and John, illiterates. Why did the authors of these biblical texts, intent on presenting Christianity in a positive light, volunteer such a negative detail? The answer to this question reveals a fascinating social exchange that first surrounded education levels in antiquity, and proceeded to make its way into the New Testament. This volume provides context for pagan education as opposed to early Christian illiteracy - touching upon the methods of ancient learning and the relationship between Christian and pagan schools - and analyses the 'uneducated virtue' of the Apostles. Hilton provides a useful window onto the social construction of ancient education and ushers readers into the everyday experience of ancient Christians, and those who disdained and defended them.

In this definitive work, popular Christian apologist Hank Hanegraaff offers a detailed defense of the Resurrection, the singularly most important event in history and the foundation upon which Christianity is built. Using the acronym F.E.A.T., the author examines the four distinctive, factual evidences of Christ's resurrection-Fatal torment, Empty tomb, Appearances, and Transformation-making the case for each in a memorable way that believers can readily use in their own defense of the faith.

In this book some of the sharpest and most discerning New Testament scholars offer their frank assessment of the contemporary significance of the birth of Jesus. Philip Alexander; Gerald Dawning, Elaine Graham, Grace Jantzen, Todd Klutz, Barry Matlock, Arthur Peacocke, and Graham Ward consider issues ranging from Jesus' circumcision and his DNA, to the power of the nativity stories and their symbolic efficacy.

Over the past two hundred years, several scholars have concluded that Jesus was a Cynic, a magician, a witch, a wise teacher, and a Jewish apocalyptic prophet. These papers, collected from two conferences at Creighton University, draw on some of the best contemporary scholarship in historical Jesus studies. Catholic scholars Luke Timothy Johnson, Daniel Harrington, and Monika Hellwig provide overviews of the history of the search for the historical Jesus. Jewish scholars Alan Segal, Amy-Jill Levine, and Adele Reinhartz explore the significance of Jesus for Judaism and for contemporary culture. With clear insight, the essays point out the ways that historical Jesus scholarship can be applied to everyday issues. The essays offer a unique perspective on the historical Jesus that provides a view contrary to many other contemporary books on Jesus. Contributors include: Bernard Brandon Scott (University of Tulsa); Luke Timothy Johnson (Emory University); Daniel Harrington (Weston School of Theology); Monika Hellwig (Georgetown University); Michael Cook (Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion); Amy-Jill Levine (Vanderbilt University Divinity School); Adele Reinhartz (McMaster University); Alan Segal (Barnard College); and Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus (Wheaton College). Bryan F. Le Beau is the John C. Kenefick Faculty Chair in the Humanities at Creighton University. Leonard Greenspoon holds the Philip and Ethel Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization and is Chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies at Creighton University. Dennis Hamm, S.J., is Professor of Theology at Creighton University.

Authors Dee Brestin and Kathy Troccoli introduce readers to the ultimate love relationship of all time: a relationship with Jesus Christ. Using humor, contemporary love songs, real-life stories, and solid Biblical teaching, Dee and Kathy help women discover a life-changing intimacy with Jesus. No matter your age or marital status, you are His bride, the object of His affection. The secret to an abundant life lies not in ten steps, but in developing a deep love relationship with Jesus, abandoning yourself to the greatest romance of your life

Twenty-seven authors from a variety of backgrounds contribute essays concerning the distance, historically and theologically, between the historical Jesus and the Gospel of John to this collection. Part One discusses issues related to the historical and ideological context in which the Fourth Gospel was produced. Part Two explores the possibility of oral and written sources that John may have utilized. Part Three compares the Fourth Gospel with early noncanonical literature to identify various ways in which Jesus' traditions were appropriated by early Christians.

Who was Jesus? What did he do during his lifetime? What do people say about him today? The answers to these questions and many others are provided in this collection of facts, articles, stories, and more. Each entry is arranged alphabetically by topic and draws from sources such as the Bible, literature, and popular culture. Jesus: Everything You Need to Know to Figure Him Out is a delightful and engaging book that reveals fascinating information about Jesus Christ and his enduring influence today.

Two thousand years on, Jesus of Nazareth still attracts hundreds of millions of followers world wide. A genius for leadership is self-evident and yet John Adair, the internationally renowned author and consultant on leadership, finds that little has been said or written about this aspect of Jesus, despite the world's hunger for visionary, inspirational leaders. Using the body of knowledge about leadership that we have today, he offers a captivating analysis of Jesus as a leader - then and now. 'Jesus is one of the few individuals who seem somehow to rise above history, nationality, race, gender and creed - he belongs to us all. What is his contribution to that timeless yet timely leadership that the world needs today.' John Adair in his introduction

Virtually all the current debates about the historical Jesus have their roots in questions that have been pursued by biblical historians over the past two centuries. This anthology brings together seminal essays by those scholars who have been most influential in the rise and development of Jesus studies, enabling the reader to compare their differing points of view.

This illuminating exploration of how and why Christianity became so radically disconnected from the Jesus of history provides suggestions for returning the true Jesus of Nazareth to the center of Christian faith.>

"I left Jesus to search for the Tao when I was sixteen," writes Kenneth Leong. "Now I am forty and realize that I could have found the Tao in Jesus." This is an intriguing book that reveals how Zen philosophy parallels the core message of the gospel. It is the spiritual side of Zen, the art to trust and accept life that coincides with the core of the Gospel message. For power, dogma and doctrine were not Jesus' passion, but the mystery of life and the possibility of love. Sometimes people have overlooked the joy, the humor and the depth of Jesus' teachings--often because they could not surmount the narrow confines of openness to the scripture's power to transform our lives.

A meditation on the seven words of Mary's life as recorded in the Scriptures and Our Lord's seven words on the cross. It is interesting and instructive that Our Lord spoke only seven times on Calvary and that his mother is recorded as speaking only seven times, the last of which is at the Marriage Feast of Cana, the beginning of Christ's ministry.

Not long after Jesus' death, some of his followers began to report that they had seen Jesus, that he had been raised from the dead. Are these stories pious hoaxes? Do they represent living reality? Are they theological fantasies, concocted by the early Christian church as a means to distinguish itself from its religious and political context? With all the books that have been written about this subject, it seems that some kind of consensus might have arisen. Yet, in the late twentieth century previously unknown Gospels and other scriptures were discovered that expand and clarify the New Testament records. In Telling the Untold Stories, John Beverly Butcher explores the canonical and non-canonical Resurrection stories helping readers discover the enormous variety of experiences Jesus friends, family, and followers had of the Risen Christ. At the same time, Butcher's book invites readers to reflect on these first-century stories to discover what the Resurrection means in their own lives. John Beverley Butcher is a priest of the Episcopal Diocese of California and is the author of The Tao of Jesus. For: General audiences; pastors; seminarians; undergraduates>

A new edition of this classic devotional and doctrinal work. It is about the relation between Jesus and God: the Father personally in the Son, and the Son personally in the Father. Central to this relation is the atoning sacrifice of Jesus upon the Cross. Throughout, without resorting to technical theological terms, and using arguments of persuasive beauty closely related to Christian experience, the author presents the evangelical heart of the historical creeds. Here is a simple yet profound little book, where people can find great nourishment for Christian belief and experience in the world today.>

This book provides a learning-by-doing approach to the study of the Gospels. It allows students to uncover literary patterns, theological issues, and interpretive problems through close readings of primary sources. Questions are asked along the way that help readers understand the shape of the narrative, and the themes important to each Gospel writer.

6-8 sessions. The Miracles of Jesus will help learners experience the miracles as part of the redemptive work of Jesus and to understand these miracles as a testimony to Jesus identity, as depicted in the Gospels. Included are: Jesus as a miracle-working figure, Healing as symbolic action, such as rethinking the purpose of the Sabbath, Exorcisms, Portents miracles showing Jesus divine authority and Old Testament predecessors, such as Moses and Elijah, Miracles, or signs, in the Gospel of John, Miracles as signs of the early church, Miracles of healing and touch, and Jesus and miracles beyond the Gospels. DAVID OTTO is an Associate Professor of Religion at Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana, and a nationally recognized speaker and provocative scholar. Dr. Otto is the author of several books and is a featured workshop leader throughout the church."

Recent books about Jesus and early Christianity can be divided into two kinds: those that examine the life and work of the historical Jesus prior to his death and those that reconstruct events between JesusGCO death and the writings of the first Gospels. SawickiGCOs provocative book challenges the results of both kinds of research by using both archaeology and anthropology to situate Jesus clearly in his Galilean cultural context. Sawicki contests recent portraits of Jesus as a Mediterranean peasant, a Cynic sage, or the convener of a fellowship of equals. In addition, she calls into question readings of ancient Galilee that emphasize it as a society marked simply by economic stratification or by an GC honor-shameGCY sociology. Rather, she discovers the Galilean JesusGCO indigenous cultural idiom in its material structures for the negotiation of kinship, the management of labor, the distribution of commodities, and the construction of gender. SawickiGCOs book is the first to balance classical urban archaeology against the more recent archaeology of villages and of local and regional commerce. It frames current issues in Jesus research in terms that can guide both ongoing village excavations in Israel and responsible exegesis of the Gospels in church and academy. Marianne Sawicki is the author of Seeing the Lord: Resurrection and Early Christian Practices. For: Seminarians; graduate students; biblical archaeologists

In the early 1990s, the church in Malawi mounted concerted and public opposition to the regime of Hastings Banda. The Catholic bishops issued a Lenten pastoral letter, which ignited the processs that led to a democratic election. This record of the story through the 1960s onwards is about a church discovering its mandate, and struggling to live with it. The record is a chronicle of events and developments before and after the publication of the bishops' Lenten letter, It also contains the literal text, in part or in full, of important statements and docucments issued by the parties concerned.

Jim McManus' book will introduce Mary to those who do not yet know her, and deepen the understanding of many who already know and love this woman "full of grace." Beginning from the scriptural portrayal of the mother of Jesus, the author considers Mary in the history of the Church, in doctrine, and in public and private devotion.

So this little message is but a kaleidescope putting of the one simple sublime truth which was the key and core of the whole message of the universal redemption, as Jesus the redeemer of all making, by his deathless precept and practice, has ever proclaimed it.

There are countless paths to follow when seeking spiritual guidance, but thousands of years of religion and theology cannot replace the premier example that Jesus himself set. In A Portrait of Jesus, bestselling writer Joseph Girzone recaptures the truth of Jesus that is presented in the Gospels and gives a compelling vision of the person Jesus' contemporaries must have known. In his most powerful work yet, Girzone seeks to personify Christ in the minds of readers by asking some simple questions: "What did people see in Jesus as he walked down the street? How did he approach others and what would these people take away from meeting him? What do his actions tell us about how we can live our lives today?" It is Girzone's empowering and loving understanding of the heart of Christianity that will make A Portrait of Jesus a groundbreaking classic in the tradition of his bestselling books, Joshua and Never Alone.


From the Hardcover edition.