Even though millions of people world-wide read the New Testament—whether from curiosity or religious devotion—very few ask what this collection of books actually is or where it came from, how it came into existence, who decided which books to include, on what grounds, and when.
At the end of the book of Ecclesiastes, a wise father warns his son concerning the multiplication of books: “Furthermore, of these, my son, be warned. There is no end to the making of many books!” (12:12). The Targum to this biblical book characteristically expands the thought and takes it in a different, even contradictory, direction: “My son, take care to make many books of wisdom witho…
Before we can define “Judaism” for the purpose of our study of the New Testament, we had best say what we mean by any religion, the genus of which Judaism forms a species (and, we shall argue, with earliest Christianity as a subspecies of that same species of religion). Defining religion comes before defining a particular religion, just as defining a particular religion takes priority over …
Every organization faces challenges and hardships. The Only Leadership Book You’ll Ever Need teaches leaders how to overcome their most difficult obstacle: employee engagement. By pinpointing specific areas leaders can focus on and change, this book shows how one leader can effectively change the entire workplace environment — for the better. Topics addressed include: -The 10 Keys to Workpl…
This reissue of Barth’s A Shorter Commentary on Romans links to the renewed interest today in a ‘theological’ interpretation of Scripture. In response to the modern preoccupation with what lies behind the text (the author’s context), and to a postmodern preoccupation with what lies in front of the text (the reader’s context), both theologians and biblical scholars are asking the follo…
This book explores some early works of Christian literature, those devoted to the New Testament in the 200 years or so after the rise of Constantine by Juvencus, Sedulius, and Arator. They have been somewhat neglected in the Anglophone world, at least, though there are notable exceptions among the small number of relevant monographs; it is important, especially in an increasingly interdisciplin…
In its heyday during the 1990s, neoliberalism bestrode the world like a colossus. It ate its way into the heart of the former Soviet bloc. It confronted countries of the global South with the new rules and conditions for their economic development. Showing itself to be a remarkably versatile creature, neoliberalism even charmed the post-Mao Chinese Communist Party cadres whose reformed ‘socia…
This book examines the theology and ethics of land use, especially the practices of modern industrialized agriculture, in light of critical biblical exegesis. Nine interrelated essays explore the biblical writers’ pervasive concern for the care of arable land against the background of the geography, social structures, and religious thought of ancient Israel. This approach consistently brings …
Despite the challenging theological language of Alfred North Whitehead and some of his followers, process theology can be accessible to students, laypeople, and pastors as well as academics; but, more importantly, process theology can be life-transforming. I am a process theologian, who has integrated writing, teaching, preaching, administration, pastoral care, and spiritual direction, for over…
A fascinating compendiu of early-twentieth-century mechanical devices, this wide-ranging work covers a variety of applications. More than 1,800 engravings-ranging from simple diagrams to detailed cross-sections-illustrate the workings of each item, from simple hooks and leavers to complex machinery used in stea, motive, hydraulic, air, and electric power, navigation, gearing, clocks, mining, co…
If people claim to speak for God, what enables us to know when to credit or discredit the claim? This book analyses the criteria for discernment of prophetic authenticity in the Old Testament, and for discernment of apostolic authenticity in the New Testament; and also considers their validity and viability in a contemporary context.
Since its publication in 1950, Protestant Biblical interpretation has been a standard introduction to hermeneutics in evangelical colleges and seminaries. Twice revised, this textbook has sold well over 100,000 copies. “Hermeneutics,” writes the author, “is the science and art of Biblical interpretation.. . .As such it forms one of the most important members of the theological sciences. …
The truth behind the Gospel accounts of the Nativity, updated to include the latest research--a classic by a renowned scholar, hailed as "masterly" and "definitive" in the original edition.
The book of Proverbs is the starting point of the biblical wisdom tradition. But how did individual proverbs, instructions and poems come together to form the various collections we have today? Katharine Dell explores the possible social contexts for this varied material in the royal court, wisdom schools and popular culture. She draws shrewdly on materials from the wisdom traditions of the anc…
The Expanded Bible: New Testament reflects the latest scholarship, current English, and the needs of contemporary students of the Bible. This new testament includes a multitude of study aids right in line with the text. Expanded translations and other helps make it possible for you to study the Bible while you read Expanded translations bring out the meaning of words and offer alternatives. …
Luke's Acts of the Apostles is the only documentation available on the birth of Christianity, despite the author's vigorously disputed reliability as a historian. Daniel Marguerat avoids this true/false quagmire by establishing his evaluation of Luke's talent as an historian within the framework of ancient historiography (the rules of ancient historians and narrative criticism). His study portr…
The New Testament book known as The First Letter of Peter describes how Christians should relate to the world. Specifically, it suggests how Christians should define themselves against a powerful and sometimes hostile culture. Written to first-century Christians in Asia Minor who were suffering from religious persecution, this letter brings Biblical and extra-Biblical traditions together to for…
"The Bible and the social and moral consequences that derive from its interpretation are all too important to be left in the hands of the pious or the experts, and too significant to be ignored and trivialized by the uninformed and indifferent.
The Gospel of Matthew and Its Readers is a biblical commentary with a difference. Howard Clarke first establishes contemporary scholarship's mainstream view of Matthew's Gospel, and then presents a sampling of the ways this text has been read, understood, and applied through two millennia. By referring forward to Matthew's readers (rather than back to the text's composers), the book exploits th…
The author of the bestselling The Tao of Physics and The Web of Life explores the profound social implications of emerging scientific principles and provides an innovative framework for using them to understand and solve some of the most important issues of our time. For most of history, scientific investigation was based on linear thinking. But the 1980's brought a revolutionary change. Wit…
One of the general or catholic epistles near the end of the New Testament, this letter traditionally attributed to the apostle Peter contains important ideas and reveals a fascinating relationship to the surrounding literary world. The book shows what problems Christians faced at the time the epistle was written and how the author addressed them. The commentary discusses the Greek original, wit…
In this examination of the questions posed by the problem of evil, John Feinberg addresses the intellectual and theological framework of theodicy. Beginning with a discussion of the logical problem of evil, he interacts with leading thinkers who have previously written on these themes.
A new commentary for today's world, The Story of God Bible Commentary explains and illuminates each passage of Scripture in light of the Bible's grand story. The first commentary series to do so, SGBC offers a clear and compelling exposition of biblical texts, guiding readers in how to creatively and faithfully live out the Bible in their own contexts. Its story-centric approach is ideal for pa…
The present edition of this commentary has been totally reset and rewritten to comment on the text of the New International Version (NIV). Nonetheless, it is still substantially the same as the original Good News Commentary, first published in 1984. These three letters (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus), called the Pastoral Epistles (PE) since the eighteenth century, purport to be letters from the Apo…
A classic work that has revolutionized thinking throughout the Western world about the nature of the psychiatric profession and the moral implications of its practices.
An overview of discussions about the nature of New Testament theology, which examines the development, purpose and scope. * Contributions are written by some of the most distinguished writers in the field of New Testament studies. * Looks at the relationship of New Testament theology with other branches of theology.
Naturalism provides a rigorous analysis and critique of the major varieties of contemporary philosophical naturalism. The authors advocate the thesis that contemporary naturalism should be abandoned, in light of the serious objections raised against it. Contributors draw on a wide range of topics including: epistemology, the philosophy of science, the philosophy of mind and agency, and natural …
This book offers new and insightful perspectives on early Christian communities and their cultural environment, through exploration of rituals central to Greco-Roman life.
John Lierman investigates the ways in which the New Testament writings, read within the context of ancient Judaism, envisage the relationship of Moses to Israel and to the Jewish people. His study shows how New Testament material can illuminate aspects of ancient Judaism and at the same time throws fresh light on the importance of the figure of Moses for NT religion and theology, especially Chr…
An upper-level introduction to the Old Testament that offers students a thorough understanding of three key issues: historical background, literary analysis, and theological message. This second edition of An Introduction to the Old Testament integrates recent developments in Old Testament scholarship. It has many distinctive features that set it apart from other introductions to the Old Testam…
A classic work that has revolutionized thinking throughout the Western world about the nature of the psychiatric profession and the moral implications of its practices. "Bold and often brilliant.”—Science "It is no exaggeration to state that Szasz's work raises major social issues which deserve the attention of policy makers and indeed of all informed and socially conscious Americans...Quit…
In this combative, controversial book, Terry Eagleton takes issue with the prejudice that Marxism is dead and done with. Taking ten of the most common objections to Marxism—that it leads to political tyranny, that it reduces everything to the economic, that it is a form of historical determinism, and so on—he demonstrates in each case what a woeful travesty of Marx's own thought these assum…
THE NEW TESTAMENT was written in Koine Greek during the first century AD. From the time of its original revelation, handwritten copies continually were prepared in order tomaintain and preserve that original text into the modern era. All copies made prior to the invention of movable-type printing were made by hand, resulting in various scribal alterations, most of these being of a minor nature.…
Myth is that most elusive of cultural forms—forever avoiding the constraints of definition and analysis; yet always attesting, through its protean persistence, to an indomitable grip upon the human imagination. Call myth what you will, others will certainly put it differently and claim good grounds for their standpoint. For those bred in the West, the ancient Greek patrimony casts a long shad…
Containing both triumphant stories of God's provision and difficult prophetic images, the book of Daniel stirs readers' imagination and interest. Examples abound of Daniel's unswerving dedication to the God of Israel, and the prophet describes the coming days in striking detail. Throughout this book the nature of Daniel's God is revealed to us. God's plans for the future judgment and deliveranc…
Robert Yarbrough, coauthor of the bestselling Encountering the New Testament , offers a historical and theological commentary on the Johannine Epistles in this new addition to the BECNT series. The commentary features the author's detailed interaction with the Greek text, explores the relationship between John's Epistles and Jesus's work and teaching, interacts with recent commentaries, is atte…
In this new addition to the BECNT series, respected New Testament scholar Robert Stein offers a substantive yet highly accessible commentary on the Gospel of Mark. The commentary focuses primarily on the Markan understanding of the Jesus traditions as reflected in this key New Testament book. For each section in Mark, the author analyzes how it fits the immediate and larger context of the Gospe…
Three decades ago, renowned literary expert Robert Alter radically expanded the horizons of biblical scholarship by recasting the Bible as not only a human creation but a work of literary art deserving studied criticism. In The Art of Biblical Poetry , his companion to the seminal The Art of Biblical Narrative , Alter takes his analysis beyond narrative craft to investigate the use of Hebrew po…
Genesis begins with the making of heaven and earth and all life, and ends with the image of a mummy - Joseph's - in a coffin. In between come many of the primal stories in Western culture: Adam and Eve's expulsion from the garden of Eden, Cain's murder of Abel, Noah and the Flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham's binding of Isaac, the covenant of God and Abraham, Isaac's blessin…
Richard Bauckham expounds the theology of the Book of its understanding of God, Christ and the Spirit, the role of the Church in the world, and the hope of the coming of God's universal kingdom. Close attention is paid both to the literary form in which the theology is expressed and to the original context to which the book was addressed. Contrary to many misunderstandings of Revelation, it is …
R. C. Sproul helps us dig out the meaning of Scripture for ourselves. He lays the groundwork by discussing why we should study the Bible and how our own personal study relates to interpretation. Then he presents in simple, basic terms the science of interpretation and gives practical guidelines for applying this science. Here is a basic book for both beginning Bible readers and those who have b…
At first blush it might seem perfectly obvious what "New Testament history" is and what the contents of a book about New Testament history would contain. On closer inspection this is not the case. Are we talking about a history of the New Testament documents themselves, or perhaps a history of the times in which the New Testament books were written? Or are we talking about an ordering and chron…
The book of Genesis contains foundational material for Jewish and Christian theology, both historic and contemporary, and is almost certainly the most appealed-to book in the Old Testament in contemporary culture. R. W. L. Moberly’s The Theology of the Book of Genesis examines the actual use made of Genesis in current debates, not only in academic but also in popular contexts. Traditional iss…
The basic premise of the interpretative m ethod followed in this book is that Gods revelation of himself and of his will is progressive. His original purpose for hum ankind is reflected in the institutions of creation as they are described in Genesis 1 and 2. However, the introduction of sin through the fall of Adam and Eve disrupted Gods creation order (Gen. 3-11). Then God established a coven…
The book of Genesis contains some of the most beautiful and well-known stories in the the garden, the flood, the tower of Babel, and the lives of the patriarchs. But these are more than just good stories. They lay the groundwork for God's relationship with humanity and for his plan for our salvation, making Genesis foundational to understanding everything else that happens in the Bible. Genesis…
During Paul's ministry, Corinth was a newly rebuilt, bustling, important city in the Roman Empire. It was a place full of pride, individualism, wealth, and religious pluralism. No wonder its inhabitants held little regard for Paul's message! Sound familiar? Our contemporary culture has much in common with ancient Corinth. The relevance of this book to churches today is astounding. Paul delivers…
Explores the art of storytelling, discussing how to develop the skill of shaping a story so that listeners are able to relate to it on a personal level, looks at the key elements of storytelling, and includes an annotated list of stories, a bibliography of collections, and a brief list of recommendations for online sources.
Apologist Paul Copan takes on some of the most vexing accusations of our time, including that God is arrogant and jealous, punishes people too harshly, is guilty of ethnic cleansing, oppresses women, and endorses slavery. He also challenges the accusation that Christianity causes violence. Copan not only answers God's critics, he also shows how to read both the Old and New Testaments faithfully…