For far too long, Lauri Thuren argues, the parables of Jesus have been read either as allegories encoding Christian theology - including the theological message of one or another Gospel writer - or as tantalizing clues to the authentic voice of Jesus. Thuren proposes instead to read the parables "unplugged" from any assumption beyond those given in the narrative situation in the text, on the common-sense premise that the very form of the parable works to propose a (sometimes startling) resolution to a particular problem. Thuren applies his method to the parables in Luke with some surprising results involving the Evangelist's overall narrative purposes and the discrete purposes of individual parables in supporting the authority of Jesus, proclaiming God's love, exhorting steadfastness, and so on. Eschatological and allegorical readings are equally unlikely, according to Thuren's results. This study is sure to spark learned discussion among scholars, preachers, and students for years to come.

Using both ancient and modern rhetoric, linguistics, and argumentation theory, this study offers a fresh approach to 1 Peter and New Testament ethics. It is often claimed that the growing interest in paraenesis, or ethical teaching, among early Christians indicates how Jesus' revolutionary teaching and the Pauline notion of justification by faith were gradually replaced by an emphasis on good works and ethics borrowed from the surrounding Hellenistic and Jewish culture. The Motivation of the Paraenesis challenges this traditional view of ethics in early Christianity, arguing that paraenesis was an original, essential part of early Christian doctrine and life. The book also provides a new, well-balanced picture of 1 Peter and its message, giving a natural interpretation to many puzzling sections and clarifying the internal logic of the text and the theology behind it.>