Since the advent of formal biblical criticism, many have come to see the crucifixion as merely one event in the process of religious development. Yet for the New Testament writers it was so much more, representing a radical break that forever affected their perception of God and the world.

In this book Roy Harrisville examines the thought worlds of the New Testament writers, showing how the cross fractured their previously held ideas, causing a profound reorientation centered on the story of the cross. Focusing chronologically on Paul, the Synoptic writers, John, and the authors of Hebrews...

Historical-critical method in biblical scholarship has been a Pandora's box for the intellectual life of the church. No achievement of modern scholarship has been more effective in understanding the Bible, yet it has also seriously challenged a church trying to preserve the integrity of its cherished theological traditions. In this critically acclaimed book Roy Harrisville and Walter Sundberg trace the development and drama of historical-critical method by surveying the major figures who created and employed it -- from Baruch Spinoza in the seventeenth century to present-day interpreters....

For many, the historical-critical method has released a host of threats to Christian faith and confession. In Pandora's Box Opened, however, Roy Harrisville argues that despite the evils brought upon biblical interpretation by the historical-critical method, there is still hope for it as a discipline.
Harrisville begins by describing the emergence and use of the historical-critical method. He then attends to the malaise that has come over the method, which he says still persists. Finally, Harrisville commends the historical-critical method, though shorn of its arrogance. He claims...

The name Hermann Gunkel is as familiar to biblical scholars as their own. Gunkel founded a school, fathered form-critical research, and taught most of the giants of the last generation. . . from the Introduction This little book, the first by Hermann Gunkel, shattered the reigning images of the New Testament idea of the Spirit. Gunkels argument not only revolutionized the theology of his time but has continued to be foundational for most subsequent studies on the subject. As he did in so much of his work, Gunkel not only explores the milieu of the New Testament but also demonstrates the...

In this biography -- translated for the first time into English -- German theologian Oswald Bayer describes the life and work of journalist-theologian Johann Georg Hamann (1730-1788). At a time when it seemed that the forces of secularization were attempting to claim the future, Hamann churned out small publications aimed at undermining the Enlightenment zeitgeist, turning its assumptions upside down and skewering its pretensions. Although largely forgotten until recent times, Hamann as radical dissenter -- whom Goethe called the -brightest man of his age- -- remains relevant today, as Bayer...