This addition to the well-received Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible offers a theological exegesis of 1 & 2 Peter. This commentary, like each in the series, is designed to serve the church--through aid in preaching, teaching, study groups, and so forth--and demonstrate the continuing intellectual and practical viability of theological interpretation of the Bible. "The Brazos Theological Commentary exists to provide an accessible authority so that the preacher's application will be a ready bandage for all the hurts of life. The Brazos Commentary offers just the right level of light to make illuminating the word the joy it was meant to be."--Calvin Miller, author of A Hunger for the Holy and Loving God Up Close

The theme of justice pervades the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. And all Christians agree that justice is important. We often disagree, however, about what justice means, both in Scripture and for us today. Many turn to Old Testament laws, the prophets, and the life of Jesus to find biblical guidance on justice, but few think of searching the letters of Paul. Readers frequently miss a key source, a writing in which justice is actually the central concern: the book of Romans. In Resurrecting Justice, theologian Douglas Harink invites readers to rediscover Romans as a treatise on justice. He traces Paul's thinking on this theme through a sequential reading of the book, finding in each passage facets of the gospel's primary claim-that God accomplishes justice in the death and resurrection of Jesus Messiah. By rendering forms of the Greek word dikaiosyne as "just" or "justice," Harink emphasizes the inseparability of personal, social, and political uprightness that was clear to Paul but is obscured in modern translations' use of the words "righteous" and "righteousness" instead. Throughout this book, Harink includes personal reflection questions and contemporary implications, helping readers connect Paul's teaching to issues in their world such as church life, politics, power, criminal justice, and violence. Romans demands nothing less than a fundamental rethinking of all things in the light of the gospel. And in Romans the life, death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus makes all the difference in how we think about justice. Resurrecting Justice makes clear that the good news of a justice that can come only from God is crucial not only for individual lives but for all peoples and nations of the world.

Douglas Harink's "Paul Among the Postliberals "sheds new light on Paul's letters by creating links between contemporary scholarship and the writings of theologians such as Stanley Hauerwas and John Howard Yoder. Harink argues that Paul's central doctrine of justification by faith has been widely misunderstood; he emphasizes instead that the goal of the gospel is to free Christians for faithful action.
Reading Paul in dialogue with Yoder and Hauerwas, Harink outlines the political ramifications of Paul's writings, calling the church to embrace, rather than avoid, the political realm. Finally, drawing on the Pauline doctrine of God's election of Israel, "Paul Among the Postliberals" addresses the need for a Christian theology of Israel and Judaism.
Pastors, teachers, students, and anyone seeking a more thorough understanding of Paul's letters will take a keen interest in "Paul Among the Postliberals."

Synopsis: Ernst Kasemann famously claimed that apocalyptic is the mother of Christian theology. J. Louis Martyn's radical interpretation of the overarching significance of apocalyptic in Paul's theology has pushed Kasemann's claim further and deeper. Still, despite the recognition that apocalyptic is at the core of New Testament and Pauline theology, modern theology has often dismissed, domesticated, or demythologized early Christian apocalyptic. A renewed interest in taking apocalyptic seriously is one of the most exciting developments in recent theology. The essays in this volume, taking their point of departure from the work of Martyn (and Kasemann), wrestle critically with the promise (and possible peril) of the apocalyptic transformation of Christian theology. With original contributions from established scholars (including Beverly Gaventa, Stanley Hauerwas, Robert Jenson, Walter Lowe, Joseph Mangina, Christopher Morse, and Fleming Rutledge) as well as younger voices, this volume makes a substantial contribution to the discussion of apocalyptic and theology today. A unique feature of the book is a personal reflection on Ernst Kasemann by J. Louis Martyn himself. Endorsement: "Many Pauline scholars have long recognized the importance of Martyn's apocalyptic reading of Paul's gospel in Galatians, while some view it as the sine qua non of accurate work on Paul. But questions then arise: where should interpreters go after Martyn? What other interpretative trajectories need to be engaged? And how should the apocalyptic reading be teased out further? This collection is an array of vigorous responses to these questions, whose diversity indicates the debate will certainly continue, and whose depth suggests the conversation will be rich and significant." --Douglas A. Campbell, Associate Professor of New Testament, Duke Divinity School "In conversation with the groundbreaking work on New Testament apocalyptic by Louis Martyn, this excellent collection of essays illuminates the current challenging contours of apocalyptic theology. Bringing together New Testament scholars and Christian theologians, this is an important, compelling book not to be missed." --Travis Kroeker, Professor of Religious Studies, McMaster University "This is as distinguished a collection on the relation between apocalyptic and theology as can be imagined. If the whole is more than the sum of its parts, each essay makes a decisive contribution to figuring a relation that is profoundly constructive and generative. The collection represents a fitting tribute to the pioneering work of the biblical scholar Louis Martyn." --Cyril O'Regan, Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame Author Biography: Joshua B. Davis (PhD, Vanderbilt) has been Visiting Assistant Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and has taught courses for the Loyola University (Chicago) Institute for Pastoral Studies. His research and writing interests include modern Roman Catholic theology, Continental philosophy, and the doctrines of grace, creation, and divine and human agency. Douglas Harink is Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Professor of Theology at The King's University College in Edmonton, Canada. He is the author of Paul among the Postliberals (2003) and 1 & 2 Peter (2009) in the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible, and the editor of Paul, Philosophy and the Theopolitical Vision (2010) in the Theopolitical Visions series published by Cascade.