From its very beginning, Christianity was an innovative movement which had to construct and maintain its identity, morality, and social as well as theological boundary markers as it developed from a religion of conversion into a religion of tradition. Early Christianity's sensitivity to -outsiders- evolved in various ways as circumstances and socio-cultural contexts changed. In this volume, scholars from around the world reflect on the dynamic relationship between mission and ethos in the New Testament and Early Christianity, focusing particularly on the sensitivity, or lack thereof, to...

In New Perspectives on Healing, Restoration and Reconciliation in John, Jacobus (Kobus) Kok investigates the depth and applicability of Jesus' healing narratives in John's gospel. Against the background of an ancient group-oriented worldview, it goes beyond the impasse of most Western approaches to interpreting the Biblical healing narratives to date. He argues that the concept of healing was understood in antiquity (as in some parts of Africa) in a much broader way than we tend to understand it today. He shows inter alia why the interaction between Jesus and the Samaritan woman could...

This open access book brings together works by specialists from different disciplines and continents to reflect on the nexus between leadership, spirituality and discernment, particularly with regard to a world that is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA).