Kategoria BISAC: Religion >> Biblical Criticism & Interpretation - New Testament

This Guide reads the Gospel of Mark as a 1st-century CE story about Jesus, for his followers, and against tyranny or the abusive use of power.

First, the book shows students how the Gospel uses the form of a traditional laudatory biography (a 'Life') to reshape the memory of the shame-ridden trials and suffering of Jesus. Such a biography portrayed Jesus' descent (as a son of God), his deeds, and his heroic death, dispelling any notion that the teacher Jesus was a charlatan or huckster.

Second, Smith demonstrates how the Gospel devotes a great deal of...

The New Testament writing known as First Peter was probably written at the end of the 1st century CE; it is addressed to 'resident aliens' who live as colonial subjects in the Roman Province of Asia Minor. They are portrayed as a marginalized group who experience harassment and suffering. This letter is ascribed to the apostle Peter but was probably not written by him. It is a rhetorical communication sent from Christians in the imperial centre in Rome (camouflaged as Babylon), an authoritative letter of advice and admonition to good conduct and subordination in the sphere of colonial...

In this guide Margaret Aymer introduces the letter of James, countering arguments that it is of limited theological value and significance for early Christianity. Aymer focuses on James' theology of God's divine singularity and immutability, and of God's relationship to the community as father and benefactor. These are theological foundations for its emphasis on community actions of belief, humility and mutual care.

Aymer introduces and examines the letter's stand against empire, not least in regard to wealth. Divine power is envisioned as an alternative power to that of the Romans,...

This guide considers the historical contexts, the literary forms, the social and rhetorical backgrounds, the politics, the theologies, and the reception of 2 Corinthians. Each chapter surveys recent scholarly approaches to the text, focussing especially on critical perspectives that mesh with our contemporary concerns about gender, identity, race and class. 2 Corinthians becomes, in the process, less the work of a single 1st-century writer than a set of fraught, even fractured negotiations between competing interests and impulses, conducted in Paul's voice. The last chapter brings the...

1 Thessalonians provides a fascinating glimpse into the origins and social life of the Christ group in the ancient Roman city of Thessalonike, while 2 Thessalonians reveals how the community developed at a somewhat later time. This guide narrates the story of the founding of the group by considering the social and cultural contexts, the literary form, the rhetorical strategies, the theologies, and the reception of the two canonical letters.

While centering on the texts of 1 and 2 Thessalonians themselves, Ascough draws widely on literary and archaeological data, giving particular...

The book of Acts opens with the dramatic story of tongues of flame descending upon believers at Pentecost and the prophecy of an egalitarian dispensation of the Spirit being fulfilled. Yet, as the narrative unfolds, we become aware of a tension between the socially egalitarian promise of the Pentecost story and the author's underlying concern to provide reassurance for his elite patron Theophilus that Jesus followers do not disturb the existing social order.

In this guide, Acts is read as a struggle to tame the tongues of fire. Acts mutes the egalitarian promise of the Spirit through...

Today the Asian church ministers in a multi-religious and often multi-cultural environment and faces serious challenges. Thankfully we have a resource that offers guidance and encouragement - the ancient documents known as 1, 2 and 3 John. In this commentary Dr. Gilbert Soo Hoo provides careful textual analysis alongside contextual relevance in the hope that the reader will hear God's voice, encouraging them to become disciples that live in fellowship with the Father and the Son and with one another. The fundamental christological truths presented serve as a template to help evaluate...

In this guide Stephen E. Fowl introduces students to both theological fruit and critical issues of the letter to the Ephesians.

On the theological front, Fowl shows how Ephesians offers an unparalleled cosmic vision of the significance of the death and resurrection of Jesus, of the role of heavenly powers in the universe, and of how the community of Christians is to engage with those powers. Fowl also opens up the major identity questions Ephesians shows existed for early Christians: how to conceive the relationship of Gentiles with the Jews from among whom their faith emerged, and...

Relatively brief and seemingly unassuming, Philippians is frequently underestimated by its readers and users. This guide shows that what lies within this letter is much more complicated and dynamic than many expect.

After surveying the major historical problems and the methods scholars use to arrive at competing solutions, Marchal focuses on the letter's famous hymn of Christ-a rare glimpse into a tradition created by the community in Philippi, even earlier than Paul's letter. Given its impact and potential, the hymn deserves sustained attention, including its connections to slavery...

Recent decades have seen significant shifts in biblical scholarship opening up a range of ways of engaging the biblical narrative - both methodologically (the tools and techniques for engaging the text) and hermeneutically (the perspectives that inform an interpreter's approach to the text and to the interpretative task). It is these shifts that give shape to this introduction and study guide, so that students encounter not only the text of Matthew itself but also its rich lode of recent interpretation.

Among aspects of 1st-century life brought to the fore by current...

In Lydia as a Rhetorical Construct in Acts, Gruca-Macaulay explores the sociorhetorical function of the story of Lydia, a named Lydian woman ancient interpreters would have associated with cultural stereotypes of Lydians. As a rhetorical figure, Lydia both influenced and was influenced by the ideology of the surrounding text in Acts 16, as well as the approach Luke-Acts as a whole takes to people who are somehow like Lydia.

In Lydia as a Rhetorical Construct in Acts, Gruca-Macaulay explores the sociorhetorical function of the story of Lydia, a named Lydian woman ancient interpreters would have associated with cultural stereotypes of Lydians. As a rhetorical figure, Lydia both influenced and was influenced by the ideology of the surrounding text in Acts 16, as well as the approach Luke-Acts as a whole takes to people who are somehow like Lydia.

Cette etude met en lumiere l originalite de l art rhetorique de Paul. Loin de s assimiler aux orateurs classiques, Paul conserve la vive conscience d etre apotre du Christ crucifie au service de Dieu pour la fondation et la croissance de la communaute de Corinthe. C est a raison que sa rhetorique en 1Co 1 4 est redevable au motif de la croix et a l autorite de l agir paradoxal de Dieu qu il assume pour definir la coherence de son argumentation et en assurer la pertinence. Ceci explique l interet pour les recours scripturaires soigneusement exploites sous le mode de citations, d allusions...