Paul's Letter to the Galatians is central to the understanding of the relation of Paul and the law, and contains important historical, social and theological material. This book provides a detailed interpretation of the text, drawing on contemporary and modern literary models. It outlines the problems often associated with reading Galatians, the context of the text, its rhetoric, and its intercultural and social implications.

By applying perspectives from sociology and anthropology to a wide range of biblical data, The First Christians in their Social Worlds examines how the New Testament documents were influenced by the social realities of the early Christian communities for whom they were written, with the result that the texts reveal an intimate connection between society and Gospel. Overlaying this theoretical foundation, Philip Esler's book studies specific socio-political ideas in various texts of the New Testament, for example, charismatic phenomena, the admission of Gentiles into early Christian...

Modelling Early Christianity explores the intriguing foreign social context of first century Palestine and the Greco-Roman East, in which the Christian faith was first proclaimed and the New Testament documents were written. It demonstrates that a sophisticated analysis of the context is essential in order to understand the original meaning of the texts.
The contributors examine social themes such as early Christian group formation, the centrality of kinship and honour and the economic setting. They offer a wealth of novel and socially realistic interpretations which make sense of...

Always observing the established techniques of New Testament analysis, especially redaction criticism, Professor Esler makes extensive use of sociology and anthropology to examine the author of Luke-Acts' theology as a response to social and political pressures on the Christian community for whom he was writing. Various themes such as table-fellowship, the law, the temple, poverty and riches, and politics are examined to determine how they have been influenced by the social and political background of Luke's audience. This book offers a New Testament paradigm and warrant for those interested...

As we enter the twenty-first century after Christ's birth, does Christianity have a clear future? Does it have the resources to meet the challenges of the new millennium thrown up in a world grown increasingly secular and pluralist? Can its theological and moral vision help build a future which is more informed, more compassionate, more just? Philip F. Esler and a team of expert contributors provide a basis for saying 'yes' to these questions. By looking at how Chrstianity has responded to various challenges and at many strands in its rich ethical tradition, they show that Christians could...

What is the purpose of Paul's letter to the Romans? Esler provides an illuminating analysis of this epistle, employing social-scientific methods along with epigraphy and archaeology. His conclusion is that the apostle Paul was attempting to facilitate the resolution of intergroup conflict among the Christ-followers of Rome, especially between Judeans and non-Judeans, and to establish a new identity for them by developing a form of group categorization that subsumes the various groups into a new entity.

Using social identity theory, Esler and Piper set out what social identity theory actually means, how it works, and how it applies to John's Gospel. They then show how their ecclesiological reading of the Lazarus story finds confirmation in the catacomb art from Rome. The book includes four pages of full-color illustrations from the catacombs and concludes by setting out some of the theological dimensions of the investigation, and ultimately provides fresh theological insight into this New Testament text.