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.

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.