This introduction to the study of Paul's ethics collects fourteen essays by notable scholars which, with commentary to the editor, illumine the origin, context, social dimension, shape, logic, foundations, and relevance of Paul's ethics.

What are the origin and meaning of the words -greed is idolatry- found in Ephesians 5:5 and Colossians 3:5? In what sense are the greedy guilty of idolatry? Many different answers have been given to this question throughout the history of interpretation. In fact, a consensus exists on only one score -- that the expression serves to vilify greed.

Brian Rosner ably takes on the challenge of interpretation by tackling the phrase as a metaphor, structuring his argument around an intriguing comparison to mountain climbing. From this vantage point, he offers a thorough history of...

The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology will quickly establish itself as an essential building block of every library of basic biblical reference books. Building on its companion volumes, the New Bible Dictionary and New Bible Commentary, this work takes readers to a higher vantage point where they can view the thematic terrain of the Bible in its canonical wholeness. In addition, it fills the interpretive space between those volumes and the New Dictionary of Theology. At the heart of this work is an A-to-Z encyclopedia of over 200 key biblical-theological themes such as atonement, creation,...

Paul, Scripture and Ethics evaluates the widely held view that Scripture did not play an important role in the formation of Paul's ethics by investigating 1 Corinthians 5-7. It concludes that in spite of the relatively few quotations of Scripture and other indications to the contrary, Scripture is nevertheless a crucial and formative source for Paul's moral teaching. The major lines and many of the details of Paul's ethics in these chapters are traced back into the Scriptures, in most cases by way of Jewish sources. The conclusion is drawn that the Scriptures were for Paul not only...

This careful, sometimes innovative, mid-level commentary touches on an astonishingly wide swath of important, sensitive issues -- theological and pastoral -- that have urgent resonances in twenty-first-century life. Roy Ciampa and Brian Rosner reveal how 1 Corinthians directly addresses the claims of unity and truth, church discipline, sexual matters, the Lord's supper, the nature of love, Christian leadership, and many other significant topics.
Those who preach and teach 1 Corinthians will be grateful to Ciampa and Rosner for years to come and scholars will be challenged to see this...

Paul as Missionary: Identity, Activity, Theology and Practice takes the view that before anything else Paul must first and foremost be identified as a missionary. Using the entire Pauline corpus the contributors to this volume assess what Paul's correspondence can tell us about how he perceived his role and identity. The work comprises four parts: in section one, Paul's identity as priest, eschatological herald, and missionary-pastor are explored while in part two topics such as the apostle's activity among pagans, his suffering, and Paul's missionary message; to the church at Rome are...

Preaching's Preacher's Guide to the Best Bible Reference for 2014 (Pauline Studies) "For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God" (1 Cor 7:19). The apostle Paul's relationship to the Law of Moses is notoriously complex and much studied. Difficulties begin with questions of definition (of the extent of Paul's corpus and the meanings of "the law") and are exacerbated by numerous problems of interpretation of the key texts. Major positions are entrenched, yet none of them seems to know what to do with all the pieces of the puzzle....