Much historical-critical work on the opponents in the Pastoral Epistles has resulted in sweeping generalizations concerning their Jewish and/or Gnostic nature. Literary analyses have been somewhat more promising in focusing on the stereotypical nature of the polemic, but either fail to do justice to the urgency of the language in the Pastorals or do not provide a convincing description of the opponents. Pietersen approaches the problem of the opponents from a socio-scientific perspective. Utilizing labelling theory and social control theory from the sociology of deviance, he argues that the Pastorals function as a literary version of a status degredation ceremony whereby previously influential insiders within the community are transformed into outsiders. This is volume 264 in the Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement series.

Fifty years after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls there have been many advances in the field of Qumran Studies. Yet much work remains undone. In particular the study of the scrolls has continued to follow long established historical critical methods while largely falling to incorporate recent advances in literary, ideological and sociological approaches. The essays collected here are the result of the Bristol Colloquium on the Dead Sea Scrolls held in September 2003. Here, ten scholars working in a diversity of areas demonstrate how these recent advances in scholarship increase our knowledge of the scrolls, their historical context, and their impact on modern critical scholarship. The contributors consider a wide range of approaches, ranging across discussions in sociology, anthropology, literary studies, post-colonialism and ideological criticism. These essays will help to take Qumran Studies forward in new and creative ways. This is volume 52 in the Library of Second Temple Studies series (formerly the Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Supplement series).

"Reading Acts Today" provides a 'state of the art' view of study of Acts from a variety of perspectives and approaches. It is a fresh and stimulating collection of scholarly essays at the cutting edge of the discipline. The contributions come at "Acts" from many different angles including historical, theological, socio-economic, literary, narrative, and exegetical approaches. This enables a thorough examination of the way that other ancient writings illuminate "Acts" and locates the book in its ancient context. The wide range of contributors features some of the most influential names in modern New Testament studies, providing a remarkable assessment of current scholarship on the book of "Acts". These include James D.G. Dunn, I. Howard Marshal, and Richard Burridge. It was formerly the "Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement", a book series that explores the many aspects of New Testament study including historical perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and theological, cultural and contextual approaches.

Reading Acts Today provides a 'state of the art' view of the study of Acts from a variety of perspectives and approaches. It is a fresh and stimulating collection of scholarly essays at the cutting edge of the discipline. The contributions approach Acts from many different angles including historical, theological, socio-economic, literary, narrative, and exegetical approaches. This enables a thorough examination of the way that other ancient writings illuminate Acts and locates the book in its ancient context. The wide range of contributors features some of the most influential names in modern New Testament studies, providing a remarkable assessment of current scholarship on the book of Acts. These include James D.G. Dunn, I. Howard Marshall, and Richard Burridge.