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This lecture addresses the question of when and under what
conditions the reception of Oriental traditions took place in
ancient Greek culture. As a result of spectacular theories about
the Oriental origins of Homer's epics, the question has once again
become an issue of current interest, arousing controversial debate.
Albrecht Dihle covers the relevant material step by step: from the
Oriental loanwords used in Greek to the art-historical influences
of the classical period, right up to the philosophical debates and
the mystery cults of the later period. In doing so, his portrayal
of the meeting and reciprocal exchange between the East and West in
the course of ancient Greek history is at once both vivid and
differentiated.
The New Testament book known as ""The First Letter of Peter""
describes how Christians should relate to the world. Specifically,
it suggests how Christians should define themselves against a
powerful and sometimes hostile culture. Written to first-century
Christians in Asia Minor who were suffering from religious
persecution, this letter brings Biblical and extra-Biblical
traditions together to forge an original and unique pastoral
strategy. At the same time, in its depiction of ""practical
piety,"" the letter is an impressive display of early Christian
theology. Here, one of the world's authorities on Peter provides a
verse by verse interpretation of First Peter that is both highly
readable and deeply informed.
In God of the Living , noted biblical scholars Reinhard Feldmeier
and Hermann Spieckermann provide a comprehensive theology of the
God of the Christian Bible. A remarkable achievement, God of the
Living joins together the very best of Old and New Testament
scholarship to craft a comprehensive biblical theology. Feldmeier
and Spieckermann wrestle with the whole of scripture to give a
definitive and decisive voice to the church's central
missionabearing witness to the living God. Both historical and
systematic, God of the Living explores God's multifaceted, complex,
and sometimes contradictory character presented in the scriptures.
Yet, whether in wrath or reconciliation, judgment or justification,
suffering or salvation, God has given and shares divine life in the
person of Jesus Christ. Thus, Feldmeier and Spieckermann uncover
God's profound affirmation of human life, as the God of the
livingathe God of the Bibleafinds fulfillment in relation to the
living partners of his own creation.
Since ancient times, depictions of the divine have been painted
with the colors of divine power. Not surprisingly, power language
became a central part of the New Testament's understanding of God
and human relationships. In Power, Service, Humility, biblical
scholar Reinhard Feldmeier reads across the New Testament
canon--the Gospels, Pauline epistles, and Revelation of John--to
distinguish two ways in which power works. Feldmeier's chief claim
is that power based on oppression, the kind Satan offers Christ, is
a far different kind of power than the empowerment that God grants
Jesus in the resurrection. Further, Feldmeier demonstrates the
antithetical link between worldly power and the power present in
Christ-like service and humility. As Feldmeier discovers, the
differences between sacred and secular power have dramatic
implications for how humans handle power within the church and
beyond. Power, Service, Humility provokes thoughtful considerations
of both human and divine relationships with power and power's holy
place within the Christian faith.
The incarnation-the act of God assuming mortal flesh through Jesus
Christ-reveals God's radical love for a world marked by the
rebellion of the created against their creator. God becomes human
to create life and restore the disrupted divine-human relationship.
This doctrine is thus the theme of the Christian faith par
excellence. However, the incarnation does not begin with its
ultimate realization in Jesus Christ; that single event is preceded
by a long history of a God who continually reunites with his people
to lead them from death to life, from bondage to freedom.God
Becoming Human pursues the astonishing arc of the incarnation,
chronicling the varying ways Scripture recounts the divide between
God and the creatures of his likeness as well as the diverse
expressions the text gives regarding the desire for reconciliation.
As the expectations of an existing intermediary that can somehow
bridge this gap between God and humans dwindle throughout the Old
Testament, hope is increasingly placed on new forms of closeness to
God. The closeness made possible by Jesus Christ receives a wide
range of interpretations by New Testament witnesses and is
continued by a rich chorus that culminates in the early church with
the theology of the incarnation. Reinhard Feldmeier and Hermann
Spieckermann invite readers to see that the doctrine of the
incarnation, the pinnacle of the scriptural saga of redemption,
reveals that God's ultimate purpose in dealing with creation was to
become human. As narrated in the story of the fall, if paradise was
lost because humanity wanted to emulate God, the one reconciled
with God through Christ is now given the opportunity-and
challenge-to become a child of God. In accordance with the One who
descended from the heavenly throne, one must precisely lower
oneself and thus fully embrace one's created humanness. It is
through the flesh that the created and their creator are joined;
there is no other path to unity.
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