Kategoria BISAC: Religion >> Biblical Studies - New Testament - General

In this book, Paul Walaskay discusses Luke's description of the early church, its leadership, and its struggles as a people of God amid competing religious claims. He helps the reader understand Luke and his contemporaries and examines the first-century church's situation in light of today's issues.

Books in the Westminster Bible Companion series assist laity in their study of the Bible as a guide to Christian faith and practice. Each volume explains the biblical book in its original historical context and explores its significance for faithful living today. These books are ideal for...

Paul's influence on Christian thought has been powerful and formative. The deuteropauline epistles, attributed to but not written by Paul, were actually authored by early Christians in an attempt to apply Pauline insights to particular challenges not addressed specifically by Paul. According to Lewis Donelson, this rearticulation and reinterpretation of Pauline wisdom served these early communities by linking them more closely to their apostolic roots. It also provided them with a living gospel that had continuing relevance for their particular time and place.

Books in the...

Fred B. Craddock examines the letters of First and Second Peter and Jude, asking, what kind of literature is it? who wrote the letter? to whom was the letter written? and for what purpose was the letter written? Craddock's answers let us draw from these often undervalued epistles an awareness of what is involved in living a Christian life in this world. We also see the similarities and differences in how Christ is portrayed in these epistles as opposed to the depiction found in other New Testament writings.

Books in the Westminster Bible Companion series assist laity in their study...

In this book, Peter Stuhlmacher stresses the Old Testament and postbiblical Jewish traditions as the primary backdrop to Paul's thought, as these traditions were known by Paul himself or mediated to him through Jesus and the early church. The themes of the righteousness of God and the corresponding justification of both Jews and Gentiles are viewed as the center of Romans. Finally, Stuhlmacher seeks to place the apostle's theology within its historical context. He overcomes the false dichotomy that has often characterized the study of Romans, mediating between the view that it is a general...

In this concise and clearly written commentary, Charles H. Talbert brings to mainline Christians a fresh reading of the book of Revelation, demonstrating that it is not only accessible but relevant for the modern-day Christian. According to Talbert, the primary causes of the marginalized status of the book of Revelation by mainline Christians are threefold--the apparent inaccessibility of its meaning, the seeming impossibility of its pastoral application, and its demonstrated susceptibility to abuse. Talbert ably demonstrates that the book of Revelation was written to help the early...

This excellent book shows how literary criticism illuminates the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, reclaiming them as biblical narrative. William Kurz explores literary aspects such as implied authors or readers, plot, and assumed information, or gaps. He then highlights the role of the narrator, who is the primary key to the focus and perspective of the narrative. Kurz also discovers an implicit commentary in Luke--Acts. Finally, he traces the implications of reading Luke--Acts as canonical Scripture and the merits of literary methods.

This book thoroughly examines Matthew's gospel. It discusses appropriate methods for interpretation and considers in detail the gospel's origin, purpose, and social setting. Graham Stanton claims that Matthew wrote the Gospel following a period of prolonged bitter disputes with fellow Jews. With considerable literary, catechetical, and pastoral skill the evangelist composed a gospel for a new people (both Jews and Gentiles) in a cluster of Christian communities. Dividing his book into three sections, Stanton discusses redaction critical, literary critical, and social scientific approaches...

R. David Kaylor believes that Jesus' vision of a just society and his prophetic engagement with social, political, and economic conditions led to his execution by the Romans. Here, he presents Jesus' message of a just society based on Israel's covenant tradition. He shows the prophetic background and social content of Jesus' ethical teaching and demonstrates that the parables (especially those with economic and agricultural associations) critiqued the social conditions and called for a restructuring of community life. He provides evidence that Jesus' vision remains, offering criticism of...

William Farmer has devoted much of his career to addressing the question of the relationship among the three Synoptic Gospels--Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In particular, Farmer has challenged the Two Source Hypothesis, which says that Mark is the earliest Gospel, and that Matthew and Luke used Mark and another document, called "Q," as the two primary sources for their own Gospels. Instead, Farmer argues that Matthew was the Earliest Gospel, that Luke used Matthew and other traditions known to him, and that Mark used both Matthew and Luke in compiling a shorter, more ecumenical account of...

In The Theology of the First Christians, Walter Schmithals offers a comprehensive history of the development of religious thought from the preaching of Jesus to the formation of the New Testament canon. This well-researched volume will be of great interest to New Testament scholars and students.

One of the best known and most influential passages in the New Testament is the hymn of Philippians 2:5-11, which traces the dialectical path of Christ from preexistence--or pretemporal existence--to incarnation and exaltation. There is little agreement and a great deal of debate on this central text of Christian theology. In this book, an international group of scholars comment on the classic and current understandings of this passage, searching for insights into the ongoing exegetical inquiry.

The Victorious Christ is the perfect guide for nonspecialists in search of a reliable and interesting exploration of the book of Revelation. The reader is invited to approach the text in a logical and nonthreatening fashion. After acquainting the reader with the book of Revelation and the basic questions, C. Freeman Sleeper deals with matters such as imagery and symbolism and the use of these images in other texts from the same period. He goes on to address the difficult issues of interpretation and the implications of Revelation for Christian living today.

Jerome Neyrey clarifies what praise, honor, and glory meant to Matthew and his audience. He examines the traditional literary forms for bestowing such praise and the conventional grounds for awarding honor and praise in Matthew's world.

Mitzi Minor offers a reading of the Second Gospel that emphasizes the book's instruction for a life of faith. Mark, according to Minor, provides extensive guidance to Christians on how to live authentically--even radically--in Christ. Its messages of profound faith and boundless love are timeless. This book is of immense value to those preaching and teaching the Gospel of Mark, as well as to all who seek to expand their life in faith.

How did ancient persons understand themselves, other people, and the world around them? Is there a marked contrast between their understandings of "self" and "other" and the way modern Westerners define the same? Bruce Malina and Jerome Neyrey focus on the figure of Paul to provide a comprehensive investigation of how one man was perceived in the ancient world. Drawing on primary sources from antiquity, as well a lessons from cultural anthropology, the authors help provide a fuller understanding of the person of Paul and his world. The result is a new, more balanced way to approach the New...

How should we understand the Christ of the New Testament? What is the biblical framework that theologians and students must master if their systematic Christology is to be rooted in Scripture? In this book, Frank Matera answers these questions through a comprehensive study of the Christology found in the New Testament.

Many Bible interpreters assume a biblical text has only one right meaning and that it can be found if the reader uses the right methods. Charles Cosgrove, on the other hand, recognizes that language often admits multiple meanings and that scholars must deal with several sensible readings. As an example, Elusive Israel examines the identity of Israel in Romans 11, arguing for three equally plausible interpretations.

Sharon Ringe sheds new light on a heretofore neglected aspect of the Fourth Gospel--friendship--and through it links the concepts of community and Wisdom Christology. This connection between Johannine ecclesiology and Christology, she writes, is critical to an in depth understanding the Fourth Gospel.

In response to recent books that claim to reveal "the real Jesus," Burton Throckmorton Jr. discusses the significance of Jesus Christ. He offers an understanding of the identity of Jesus as portrayed in the Gospels and constructs an account of recent trends in New Testament studies.