Biblical History
Showing 101–200 of 366 resultsSorted by latest
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Archaeology And The New Testament (Reprinted)
$48.00Add to cartCan a new understanding of Scripture be wrung from ancient stones and papyri? Systematically exploring sites and finds from NT times through the first years of the early church, McRay discusses excavation methodology, first-century social structure, and archaeology’s contribution to textual criticism. Includes dozens of maps, diagrams, and charts; over 150 photos; glossary; and extensive notes.
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Partakers Of The Divine Nature
$37.00Add to cartThis critical volume focuses on the concept of deification in Christian intellectual history. It draws together Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant scholars to introduce and explain the theory of deification as a biblically rooted, central theme in the Christian doctrine of salvation in diverse eras and traditions. The book addresses the origin, development, and function of deification from its precursors in ancient Greek philosophy to its nuanced use in contemporary theological thought. The revival of interest in deification, which has often been seen as heresy in the Protestant West, heralds a return to foundational understandings of salvation in the Christian church before divisions of East and West, Catholic and Protestant. Originally published in hardcover, this book is now available in paperback to a wider readership.
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Last 12 Verses Of Mark
$30.00Add to cartBurgon demonstrates that the methodology of modern textual criticism fails to hold up when examined against the last 12 verses of Mark. His work is a fatal blow to the manuscripts “B” and “Aleph,” which are the favorite manuscripts of the modern textual critics. (Christian)
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Historical Reliability Of The Gospels (Reprinted)
$38.99Add to cartAre the Gospels trustworthy as history? Dr. Blomberg describes this century’s ”search for the historical Jesus” and the faulty presuppositions that led to mistaken conclusions about Him. He discusses problems in the miracle stories and alleged inconsistencies. And he provides scholarly criteria for evaluating the Gospels.
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Dead Sea Scrolls
$34.99Add to cartAn essential guide to the most significant discovery in the history of biblical studies — the Dead Sea Scrolls.
In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd literally stumbled upon a cave near the Dead Sea, a settlement now called Qumran, to the east of Jerusalem. This cave, along with the others located nearby, contained jars holding hundreds of scrolls and fragments of scrolls of texts both biblical and nonbiblical-in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The biblical scrolls would be the earliest evidence of the Hebrew Scriptures, or Old Testament, by hundreds of years; and the nonbiblical texts would shed dramatic light on one of the least-known periods of Jewish history-the Second Temple period. This find is, quite simply, the most important archaeological event in two thousand years of biblical studies. The scrolls provide information on nearly every aspect of biblical studies, including the Old Testament, text criticism, Second Temple Judaism, the New Testament, and Christian origins.
It took more than 50 years for the scrolls to be completely and officially published, and there is no comparable brief, introductory resource that brings this astounding body of information up to date.
Peter Flint, world-renowned scholar, will address all areas of the Dead Sea Scrolls: the many texts involved; the context of Jewish history; impact on the canon, text, and modern translations of the Old Testament; theological significance; connections between Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls; and the Scrolls and other New Testament writings
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In The Name Of Jesus
$36.00Add to cartPart 1: Jesus And The Problem Of Exorcism
1. The Problem Of Exorcism
2. Jesus And Other Exorcists
Part 2: The First Century
3. Paul
4. Q
5. Mark
6. Luke-Acts
7. Matthew
8. 1 Peter, Hebrews, And James
9. Johannine Christianity
Part 3: The Second Century
10. Fathers, Apologists, And The Early Second Century
11. Mark’s Longer Ending And The Later Second Century
12. Critics Of Christianity
Part 4: Exorcism Among Early Christians
13. Conclusions And Contemporary CodaAdditional Info
The author thoroughly examines New Testament and early Christian teaching on exorcism and suggests some contemporary applications of his findings. -
Scribes Visionaries And The Politics Of Second Temple Judea
$40.00Add to cartJudaism and Christianity both arose in times of empire, with roots in Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman periods. In order to understand these religious movements, we must first understand the history and society of these imperial cultures. In these formative years, wisdom and apocalyptic traditions flourished as two significant religious forms. In Scribes, Visionaries, and the Politics of Second Temple Judea, distinguished New Testament scholar Richard A. Horsley analyzes the function and meaning of these religious movements within their social context, providing essential background for the development of early Judaism and early Christianity. It is an ideal textbook for classes on the rise of Judaism or the Second Temple period, as well as Dead Sea Scrolls and Apocrypha.
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What Are The Dead Sea Scrolls And Why Do They Matter
$31.99Add to cartThe Dead Sea Scrolls are on exhibit; thousands will journey to see them. But will they understand what they see? Certainly, scholarly volumes on the Dead Sea Scrolls abound, full of indices, footnotes, and jargon for those in the know. What about the majority of the population non-specialists who just want a basic understanding of what the Dead Sea Scrolls are, what they mean, and why they’re so important? Finally, here is a book for the rest of us! David Noel Freedman and Pam Fox Kuhlken offer a slim but thorough volume for a down-and-dirty understanding of these important texts. Designed to equip students in religion, history, archaeology, and any who have an interest in the scrolls, Freedman and Kuhlken have provided a fascinating and accessible guidebook. Full of humor and behind-the-scenes glimpses into research on the Scrolls, So What’s Up with the Dead Sea Scrolls? is the perfect book for readers who want a quick understanding of an otherwise untouchable subject.
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Gods Judgments : Interpreting History And The Christian Faith
$32.99Add to cartInterVarsity Press Publication
Steven J. Keillor pursues the thesis that divine judgment can be a fruitful category for historical investigation. In fact, he argues that Christianity is an interpretation of history more than a worldview or philosophy. Grounding his thesis on a study of God’s judgments in both the Old and New Testaments, Keillor then takes up two events in U.S. history, the burning of Washington in 1814 and the Civil War, to explore and make his case. He concludes by suggesting the relevance his thesis has to some contemporary concerns, including the attacks of September 11.
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2000 Years Of Amazing Grace
$26.95Add to cart2000 Years of Amazing Grace is an accessible and easy-reading history of Christianity that focuses on the essentials of the Christian message, centrally, salvation by grace. It presents a luminous and enthusiastic digest of vital Christian beliefs and an account of how Christianity evolved from Jesus to the present. It also features biographical sketches of key figures, extensive citation from founding documents, and discusses Christianity’s relationship to other world religions today.
What distinguishes this book from other overviews of Christianity is Paul Zahl’s lively and accessible style of writing and his vigorous advocacy of orthodox Christian faith. His own personal commitment to Christianity is a guiding force in the book. He also readily acknowledges the ways in which Christians and Christian institutions have failed to live up to the founder’s teachings and have distorted his message. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand Christianity’s long history, and how that history has led to a thriving faith today.
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Christian History : An Introduction
$35.00Add to cartFirst published in 1987, this book has been a primer for theological college students, undergraduates, lay readers and all interested in the history and development of Christianity. Now published in a new and attractive edition with an updated bibliography, Diarmaid MacCulloch still manages to argue his case convincingly that history need not be boring. He takes his readers from the earliest days of the fledgling Christian Church to the end of the twentieth century and enables readers to put characters, movements and places in their wider context and make connections between them.
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Why Christianity Happened
$46.00Add to cartLooking beyond theological narratives and offering a sociological, economic, and historical examination of the spread of earliest Christianity, James Crossley presents a thoroughly secular and causal explanation for why the once law-observant movement within Judaism became the beginnings of a new religion. First analyzing the historiography of the New Testament and stressing the problematic omission of a social scientific account, Crossley applies a socioeconomic lens to the rise of the Jesus movement and the centrality of sinners to his mission. Using macrosociological approaches, he explains how Jesus’ Jewish teachings sparked the shift toward a gentile religion and an international monotheistic trend. Finally, using approaches from conversion studies, he provides a sociohistorical explanation for the rise of the Pauline mission.
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When Christians Were Jews That Is Now
$16.95Add to cartWhen Christians Were Jews tells the story of identity rediscovered. Narrating recent biblical scholarship as a story of family strife, Berard recounts how early Christians dissociated from their Jewish origins and reflects on the spiritual loss suffered by Christianity because of this division. He calls Christians to explore with open mind and heart . . . the Jewishness not only of Jesus but of themselves.
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Creation And Chaos In The Primeval Era And The Eschaton
$63.99Add to cartForeword by Peter Machinist
Hermann Gunkel’s groundbreaking Schopfung und Chaos, originally published in German in 1895, is here translated in its entirety into English for the first time. Even though available only in German, this work by Gunkel has had a profound influence on modern biblical scholarship.
Discovering a number of parallels between the biblical creation accounts and a Babylonian creation account, the Enuma Elish, Gunkel argues that ancient Babylonian traditions shaped the Hebrew people’s perceptions both of God’s creative activity at the beginning of time and of God’s re-creative activity at the end of time.
Including illuminating introductory pieces by eminent scholar Peter Machinist and by translator K. William Whitney, Gunkel’s Creation and Chaos will appeal to serious students and scholars in the area of biblical studies.
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Unfolding Drama Of The Bible
$22.00Add to cartIn this concise and accessible volume, newly revised, one of the most revered contemporary biblical theologians introduces the first-time reader to the dramatic sweep of the Bible in eight carefully crafted study sessions, reminding even veteran readers of the Bible’s central messages. Study resources and discussion questions, now carefully updated, make this book the ideal resource for introductory Bible courses and adult inquirer classes.
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History Of Ancient Israel And Judah (Revised)
$55.00Add to cartThis classic textbook, widely used for over two decades, constructs a history of ancient Israel and Judah through a thorough investigation of epigraphical, archaeological, and biblical sources. Approaching biblical history as history, Miller and Hayes examine the political and economic factors that give context to the Israelite monarchy’s actions and the biblical writers’ accounts. Now updated with the latest research and critical discoveries, including the Tell Dan Inscription, and considering the lively debate surrounding the reliability of biblical accounts, Miller and Hayes’s judicious and evenhanded portrayal gives detailed attention to the nature, strengths, and limitations of various forms of evidence for understanding Israel’s origins and early history. The new edition also includes thirty-four new maps, helpful notes, and numerous charts and photographs.
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From The Maccabees To The Mishnah (Revised)
$40.00Add to cartIn this new edition of a best-selling classic, Shaye Cohen offers a thorough analysis of Judaism’s development from the early years of the Roman Empire to the formative period of rabbinic Judaism. Cohen’s synthesis of religion, literature, and history offers deep insight into the nature of Judaism at this key period, including the relationship between Jews and Gentiles, the function of Jewish religion in the larger community, and the development of normative Judaism and other Jewish sects. In addition, Cohen provides clear explanations concerning the formation of the biblical canon and the roots of rabbinic Judaism. Now completely updated and revised, this book remains the clearest introduction to the era that shaped Judaism and provided the context for early Christianity.
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Biblical Law And Its Relevance
$70.99Add to cartPreface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
1. The Mosaic Law And The Christian
2. Is There Truth In The Law (John 1:17)? On The Gospel Of John’s View Of The Mosaic Revelation
3. Near Eastern And Biblical Laws Compared
4. Law And Narrative In Exodus 19-24
5. Exodus 21:22-25 (Lex Talionis) And Abortion
6. “Do Not Steal”: Biblical Laws About Theft
7. Understanding Laws Of Clean And Unclean
8. The Red Heifer
9. Old Testament Perspectives On Divorce
10. The Law’s Theology Of Sex
11. “Just War” In Deuteronomy 20 And 2 Kings 3
12. Law And Justice In The Historical Books
13. Conclusion: Is The Law Relevant For Today?
Bibliography
Indexes
Additional Info
This book approaches the laws of the Pentateuch from theological, historical, moral, and spiritual perspectives. Theologically, this book raises a question of hermeneutics: What are Christians to make of the law? Biblical Law and Its Relevance, while taking into consideration the approaches of Reformed, Dispensationalist, Lutheran, and Theonomist scholars, proposes a distinctive hermeneutic of seeking to find the abiding moral and religious principles inherent in the laws. In pursuing this goal, this book employs a comparative-legal methodology that examines biblical laws in their ancient Near Eastern historical setting and in comparison with rabbinic, modern, and especially cuneiform laws. It seeks to determine the original significance of the lex talionis formula (“eye for an eye”) and the rules of clean / unclean. It also surveys how the laws were administered from the time of Joshua to the end of the Old Testament period.From an ethical-spiritual viewpoint, this book shows how the laws were meant to foster a relationship with God and identifies the ethical relevance of the laws to today’s issues of abortion, rights of the underclass, theft, divorce, sexuality, and the conduct of war.
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Whose Bible Is It
$24.00Add to cartPreface
Introduction: The Bible, The While Bible, And Nothing But The Bible?
1: The God Who Speaks
2: The Truth In Hebrew
3: Moses Speaking Greek
4: Beyond Written Torah: Talmud And Continuing Revelation
5: The LAw And The Prophets Fulfilled
6: Formation Of A Second Testament
7: The Peoples Of The Book
8: Back To The Sources
9: The Bible Only
10: The Canon And The Critics
11: A Message For The While Human Race
12: The Strange Ne World Within The Bible
Afterword
Appendix I: Alternative Canons Of The Tanakh/Old Testament
Appendix II: New Testament
Notes And Further ReadingAdditional Info
Jaroslav Pelikan, widely regarded as one of the most distinguished historians of our day, now provides a clear and engaging account of the Bible’s journey from oral narrative to Hebrew and Greek text to today’s countless editions. Pelikan explores the evolution of the Jewish, Protestant, and Catholic versions and the development of the printing press and its effect on the Reformation, the translation into modern languages, and varying schools of critical scholarship. Whose Bible Is It? is a triumph of scholarship that is also a pleasure to read. -
Bible After Babel
$26.99Add to cartBiblical scholars today often sound as if they are caught in the aftermath of Babel – a clamor of voices unable to reach common agreement. Yet is this confusion necessarily a bad thing? Many postmodern critics see the recent profusion of critical approaches as a welcome opportunity for the emergence of diverse new techniques. In The Bible after Babel noted biblical scholar John J. Collins considers the effect of the postmodern situation on biblical, primarily Old Testament, criticism over the last three decades. Engaging and even-handed, Collins examines the quest of historical criticism to objectively establish a text’s basic meaning. Accepting that the Bible may no longer provide secure “foundations” for faith, Collins still highlights its ethical challenge to be concerned for “the other” – a challenge central both to Old Testament ethics and to the teaching of Jesus.
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In Search Of Paul
$20.99Add to cartJohn Dominic Crossan, the eminent historical Jesus scholar, and Jonathan L. Reed, an expert in biblical archaeology, reveal through archaeology and textual scholarship that Paul, like Jesus, focused on championing the Kingdom of God–a realm of justice and equality–against the dominant, worldly powers of the Roman empire.
Many theories exist about who Paul was, what he believed, and what role he played in the origins of Christianity. Using archaeological and textual evidence and taking advantage of recent major discoveries, eminent New Testament scholar John Dominic Crossan and biblical archaeologist Jonathan L. Reed discover the real Paul as a dedicated successor of Jesus, carrying on Jesus’s mission of inaugurating the Kingdom of God on earth against the reign of Rome.
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Rethinking The Pentateuch
$40.00Add to cartScholars have long attempted to explain how the Pentateuch was put together. According to the predominant theory–the documentary hypothesis–the material in these books, which varies in historical and theological points of view, came from four hypothetical sources designated as J, E, D, and P. Answering the increasing scholarly call to rethink this theory, Antony Campbell and Mark O’Brien offer a revolutionary explanation for the development of plurality and multiplicity within the text.
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Cave Of John The Baptist
$23.00Add to cartThe first archaeological evidence of the historical reality of the Gospel story.
From a historical point of view, the uniqueness of this cave is that it contains archaeological evidence that comes to us from the very time of the personalities and events described in the Gospels. For here is the largest ritual bathing pool ever found in the Jerusalem area, and found in the village where John the Baptist was born, showing unmistakable signs of ritual use in the first century AD. Also in the cave is the earliest ever Christian art, depicting John the Baptist as well as the three crosses of the crucifixion.
By using the forensic techniques available to the modern archaeologist, Gibson and his international team have been able to draw information from the drawings, pottery, coins, bones, remains of ritual fire and pieces of cloth found in the cave and match these up with the contemporary literary sources. This is a unique opportunity to build up a picture of the very first Christians, how they lived and even what they believed.
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How The Bible Was Built
$31.99Add to cartThe Bible continues to be the world’s runaway best-seller. But very few people could say just how its seemingly disparate jumble of writings – stories, letters, poems, collections of laws, religious visions – got there. Filling this knowledge gap, How the Bible Was Built clearly tells the story of how the Bible came to be.
Penned by Charles Merrill Smith in response to his teenage granddaughter’s questions, the manuscript was discovered after Smith’s death and has been reworked by his friend James Bennett for a wider audience. Free of theological or sectarian slant, this little volume provides a concise, factual overview of the Bible’s construction throughout history, outlining how its various books were written and collected and later canonized and translated.
Written in an easy conversational style and enhanced by two helpful appendixes (of biblical terms and dates), How the Bible Was Built will give a more informed understanding of the Bible to people of virtually any reading level and any religious persuasion.
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Lord Jesus Christ
$70.99Add to cartThis outstanding book provides an in-depth historical study of the place of Jesus in the religious life, beliefs, and worship of Christians from the beginnings of the Christian movement down to the late second century.
Lord Jesus Christ is a monumental work on earliest Christian devotion to Jesus, sure to replace Wilhelm Bousset’s Kyrios Christos (1913) as the standard work on the subject. Larry Hurtado, widely respected for his previous contributions to the study of the New Testament and Christian origins, offers the best view to date of how the first Christians saw and reverenced Jesus as divine. In assembling this compelling picture, Hurtado draws on a wide body of ancient sources, from Scripture and the writings of such figures as Ignatius of Antioch and Justin to apocryphal texts such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Truth.
Hurtado considers such themes as early beliefs about Jesus’ divine status and significance, but he also explores telling devotional practices of the time, including prayer and worship, the use of Jesus’ name in exorcism, baptism and healing, ritual invocation of Jesus as “Lord,” martyrdom, and lesser-known phenomena such as prayer postures and the curious scribal practice known today as the nomina sacra.
The revealing portrait that emerges from Hurtado’s comprehensive study yields definitive answers to questions like these: How important was this formative period to later Christian tradition? When did the divinization of Jesus first occur? Was early Christianity influenced by neighboring religions? How did the idea of Jesus’ divinity change old views of God? And why did the powerful dynamics of early beliefs and practices encourage people to make the costly move of becoming a Christian?
Boasting an unprecedented breadth and depth of coverage – the book speaks authoritatively on everything from early Christian history to themes in biblical studies to New Testament Christology – Hurtado’s Lord Jesus Christ is at once significant enough that a wide range of scholars will want to read it and accessible enough that general readers interested at all in Christian origins will also profit greatly from it.
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Walking The Bible
$14.99Add to cartBoth a heart-racing adventure and an uplifting quest, Walking the Bible describes one man’s epic odyssey-by foot, jeep, rowboat, and camel-through the greatest stories every told. From crossing the Red Sea to climbing Mount Sinai to touching the burning bush, Bruce Feiler’s inspiring journey will forever change your view of some of history’s most storied events.
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Enoch And Qumran Origins
$52.99Add to cartThe rediscovery of Enochic Judaism as an ancient movement of dissent within Second Temple Judaism, a movement centered on neither temple nor torah, is a major achievement of contemporary research. After being marginalized, ancient Enoch texts have reemerged as a significant component of the Dead Sea Scrolls library unearthed at Qumran.
Enoch and Qumran Origins is the first comprehensive treatment of the complex and forgotten relations between the Qumran community and the Jewish group behind the pseudepigraphal literature of Enoch. The contributors demonstrate that the roots of the Qumran community are to be found in the tradition of the Enoch group rather than that of the Jerusalem priesthood.
Framed by Gabriele Boccaccini’s introduction and James Charlesworth’s conclusion, this book examines the hypotheses of five particularly eminent scholars, resulting in an engaging and substantive discussion among forty-seven specialists from nine countries. The exceptional array of essays from leading international scholars in Second Temple Judaism and Christian origins makes Enoch and Qumran Origins a sine qua non for serious students of this period.
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Remembering Abraham : Culture Memory And History In The Hebrew Bible
$97.00Add to cartDescription
According to an old tradition preserved in the Palestinian Targums, the Hebrew Bible is “the Book of Memories.” The sacred past recalled in the Bible serves as a model and wellspring for the present. The remembered past, says Ronald Hendel, is the material with which biblical Israel constructed its identity as a people, a religion, and a culture. It is a mixture of history, collective memory, folklore, and literary brilliance, and is often colored by political and religious interests. In Israel’s formative years, these memories circulated orally in the context of family and tribe. Over time they came to be crystallized in various written texts. The Hebrew Bible is a vast compendium of writings, spanning a thousand-year period from roughly the twelfth to the second century BCE, and representing perhaps a small slice of the writings of that period. The texts are often overwritten by later texts, creating a complex pastiche of text, reinterpretation, and commentary. The religion and culture of ancient Israel are expressed by these texts, and in no small part also created by them, as they formulate new or altered conceptions of the sacred past. Remembering Abraham explores the interplay of culture, history, and memory in the Hebrew Bible. Hendel examines the Hebrew Bible’s portrayal of Israel and its history, and correlates the biblical past with our own sense of the past. He addresses the ways that culture, memory, and history interweave in the self-fashioning of Israel’s identity, and in the biblical portrayals of the patriarchs, the Exodus, and King Solomon. A concluding chapter explores the broad horizons of the biblical sense of the past. This accessibly written book represents the mature thought of one of our leading scholars of the Hebrew Bible. -
Presumed Guilty : How The Jews Were Blamed For The Death Of Jesus
$17.00Add to cartA premier New Testament scholar explores how Jesus’ trial and execution are portrayed in the New Testament and how that portrayal has affected biblical studies, Christian theology, and Jewish-Christian relations through history. Tomson has written an accessible, responsible analysis of the biblical accounts of Jesus’ death, demonstrating how, through compounded misunderstandings, they contributed to anti-Jewish sentiment in the early church and later history. Tomson’s question of how Jesus is to be understood in his first-century Judean context is a critical one not only for biblical scholars, but for anyone concerned about human rights and interreligious dialogue today.
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Black And Tan
$15.00Add to cartForeword
Introduction
Regenerate But Unreconstructed
Black And Tan
Scripture And Slavery
Southern Slavery And Our Culture Wars
Plowing The Same Ground
Black Confederates
Dabney In Full
Fragments From The Controversy
Epilogue
AppendixAdditional Info
If we want to understand culture wars on the contemporary American scene, we must first come to grips with the American culture wars of the nineteenth century. That our nation did not remove slavery in a biblical way helps explain many of our contemporary social evils. But who is qualified to talk about such things? What is a biblical view of racism? Why do the biblical answers to such questions so infuriate the radical left and the radical right? This collection of essays lays out some of the answers from a view unashamed of historic biblical absolutism. -
Love Supreme : A History Of The Johannine Tradition
$20.00Add to cartPrologue
1.Root Conflict
2.Disciples Of The Beloved Community
3.The Spiritual Gospel
4.In Those Parts
5.Love In Extremis
6.A King Of Shreds And Patches
7.EpiloguesAbbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Index Of Ancient SourcesAdditional Info
Callahan suggests that scholars have wrongly placed the sequence and therefore the importance of the works collectively known as the Johannine tradition – the Gospel of John and the Johannine Epistles. His proposal includes literary, theological, and historical analysis as he argues for the reevaluation of a significant part of the biblical canon. -
Biblical Interpretation At Qumran
$29.99Add to cartThe Dead Sea Scrolls are an invaluable source of information about Jewish biblical interpretation in antiquity. This volume by preeminent scholars in the field examines central aspects of scriptural interpretation as it was practiced at Qumran and discusses their implications for understanding the biblical tradition.
While many of the forms of biblical interpretation found in the Scrolls have parallels elsewhere in Jewish literature, other kinds are original to the Scrolls and were unknown prior to the discovery of the caves. These chapters explore examples of biblical interpretation unique to Qumran, including legal exegesis and the Pesher. Readers will also find discussion of such fascinating subjects as the “rewritten Bible,” views on the creation of humanity, the “Pseudo-Ezekiel” texts, the pesharim, and the prophet David.
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Related Strangers : Jews And Christians 70-170 CE
$26.00Add to cartTHE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT
The Jewish Revolts And Their Consequences
Jews, Christians, And Roman Politics
The Jews In Roman Society
The Christians In Roman Society
ConclusionJEWS AND JUDAISM IN THE CANONICAL NARRATIVES
Mark: The Shadow Of War – Apocalypse And Crisis
Matthew: The Shadow Of Yavneh – Authority And Praxis
Luke-Acts: The Shadow Of Rome – Synagogue And State
John: The Shadow Of Orthodoxy – From Messianism To Ditheism
ConclusionAPOCRYPHA
Christian Apocrypha
Christian Adaptations Of Jewish Apocrypha
ConclusionSUPERSESSION: HEBREWS AND BARNABAS
The Epistle To The Hebrews
The Epistle Of Barnabas
SummaryJEWISH CHRISTIANS AND GENTILE JUDAIZERS
Jewish Christians
Gentile Judaizers
ConclusionJEWISH REACTIONS TO CHRISTIANITY
Jewish Persecution Of Christians
The Yavnean Sagas
Jewish Allusions To Jesus And Christians
ConclusionGNOSTICS AND MARCIONITES
Gnosticism
Marcion
ConclusionPATTERNS OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP
Dependence And Independence In Early Christian Worship
From Sabbath To Sunday
From Passover To Easter
Melito’s Paschal Homily
SummaryDIALOGUE AND DISPUTE: JUSTIN
Address
Main Themes
Background And Sources
Justin’s Trypho And Celsus’ Jew
SummaryAN OVERVIEW
Notes
Modern Author Index
Subject Index
Ancient Sources IndexAdditional Info
This book examines Jewish-Christian relations during one of the most formative but also most obscure centuries, when many of the features that have characterized the interaction of Jews and Christians down to this day were first formulated. Starting from incisive description of canonical and noncanonical literature of this period, Wilson clarifies perceptions of the different groups that were in dialogue and dispute. -
Augustus To Constantine
$52.00Add to cartThis masterful study of the early centuries of Christianity vividly brings to life the religious, political, and cultural developments through which the faith that began as a sect within Judaism became finally the religion of the Roman empire. First published in 1970, Grant’s classic is enhanced with a new foreward by Margaret M. Mitchell, which assesses its importance and puts the reader in touch with the advances of current research.
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Memoirs Of God
$29.00Add to cartThis insightful work examines the variety of ways that collective memory, oral tradition, history, and history writing intersect. Integral to all this are the ways in which ancient Israel was shaped by the monarchy, the Babylonian exile, and the dispersions of Judeans and the ways in which Israel conceptualized and interacted with the divine–Yahweh as well as other deities.
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Paul And First Century Letter Writing
$28.99Add to cartE. Randolph Richards has extensively studied ancient letter writing and secretaries. Informed by the historical evidence and with a sharp eye for telltale clues in Paul’s letters, he takes us into this world and places us on the scene with Paul the letter writer. What first appears to be just a study of secretaries and stationery turns out to be an intriguing glimpse of Paul the letter writer that overthrows our preconceptions and offers a new perspective on how this important portion of Christian Scripture came to be.
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Future Of Biblical Archaelogy
$39.99Add to cartBiblical archaeology has long been a discipline in crisis. “Biblical minimalists,” who believe that the Bible contains little of actual historical fact, today are challenging those who accept the historicity of Scripture. In this volume Jewish and evangelical Christian archaeologists, historians, and biblical scholars confront the minimalist critique and offer positive alternatives.
Bringing a needed scientific approach to biblical archaeology, the contributors construct a new paradigm that reads the Bible critically but sympathetically. Their work covers the full range of subjects relevant to understanding the context of the Bible, including proper approaches to scriptural interpretation, recent archaeological evidence, and new studies of Near Eastern texts and inscriptions.
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From Joshua To Caiaphas
$35.00Add to cart“The primary purpose of this history of the high priests in the Second Temple age has been to gather and assess all of the available information about each one of them, from Joshua in the late sixth century bce to Phannias during the Jewish revolt against Rome (66-70 ce). A secondary aim has been to investigate the status of these high-ranking officials specifically whether they also wielded civic authority. . . .It is worth emphasizing what this book is and is not. It is a history of the Second Temple high priests; it is not a history of the priesthood. . . . The book is not primarily a history of the Second Temple period, although the history regularly impinges on the narrative and provides the organizing principle of the presentation.”
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Christianity At Corinth
$60.00Add to cartFirst Corinthians provides a unique glimpse info the life of a young Christian community in a Greco-Roman environment during the early decades of emerging Christianity. It supplies a range and richness of information about the early church that is unparalleled by any other New Testament document. Much effort has gone into reconstructing Christianity at Corinth; more recently, attention has focused on the Corinthian community itself. The scholarly picture of the Corinthian Christians throughout the period of modern interpretation has been far from constant, and their profile has altered as interpretive fashions have shifted. This collection of classic and new essays charts the history of the scholarly quest for the Corinthian church from F. C. Baur to the present day, and offers the reflections of leading scholars on where the quest has taken us and its future direction.
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Sons Of Issachar For The 21st Century
$16.49Add to cart“What is happening to the world?” The astounding events we witness in our nation and around the world are part of a much larger picture with momentous implications. Discover the historical themes and spiritual threads behind today’s current events, which point to the agenda on God’s heart for our generation: Does God have a unique purpose for America? Could President George W. Bush have a divine calling for this hour? Why should I care about Israel and the Jewish people? What is the goal of resurgent, militant Islam? Do Muslims worship the same God we do? Does it matter? What can history tell us about the clash of civilizations and worldviews looming before us? Can our prayers really make a difference? Take an eye-opening walk through the pages of history and the Bible with Bill Lewis, a passionate and articulate prayer warrior. You’ll gain surprising and powerful insights into the events of our generation. Sons of Issachar for the 21st Century is a stirring call to faith and an illuminating journey that you’ll never forget. For more information, please visit www.SonsofIssachar.org
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Render To God
$26.00Add to cartNeyrey here interprets eight key New Testament books, providing a fresh look at theologies in the early church and introducing readers to the diverse ways in which the New Testament writers ”render to God the things that are God’s.” He begins with two Gospels, Mark and Matthew, and moves on to the Acts of the Apostles and three of Paul’s letters (Romans, 1 Corinthians, and Galatians). He then examines the formal and precise ways in which Jesus is called God in the Gospel of John and concludes with a discussion of how Hebrews uses ”eternity” as a fundamental concept for understanding God. Using a social-science methodology, he offers a unique perspective on the biblical text.
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Then And Now Bible Maps
$19.99Add to cartTrying to connect the “Middle East” of the six o’clock news with the Holy Land of the Bible? Here’s a resource that fills in the blanks! Transparent maps of modern-day Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries lie flat over Bible maps showing the lands and cities where the patriarchs, Jesus, and the apostle Paul traveled. Tremendously helpful!
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Homoeroticism In The Biblical World
$29.00Add to cartNissinen’s award-winning book surveys attitudes in the ancient world toward homoeroticism, that is, erotic same-sex relations. Focusing on the Bible and its cultural environment-Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, Israel-Nissinen concisely and readably introduces the relevant sources and their historical contexts in a readable way.
Homoeroticism is examined as a part of gender identity, i.e., the interplay of sexual orientation, gender identification, gender roles, and sexual practice. In the patriarchal cultures of the biblical world, Nissinen shows, homoerotic practices were regarded as a role construction between the active and passive partners rather than as expressions of an orientation moderns call “homosexuality.” Nissinen shows how this applies to the limited acceptance of homoerotic relationships in Greek and Roman culture, as well as to Israel’s and the early church’s condemnation of any same-sex erotic activity.For readers interested in the ancient world or contemporary debates, Nissinen’s fascinating study shows why the ancient texts-both biblical and nonbiblical-are not appropriate for use as sources of direct analogy or argument in today’s discussion.
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Brother Of Jesus (Revised)
$15.99Add to cartThe first definitive account of what scholars and the media are calling ‘the most important archaeological discovery’ about Jesus and his family.
This is the definitive story of the recent discovery of the first-century ossuary (limestone bone box) with the legend ‘James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus’, and its implications for understanding Jesus, his family (mother, father, brothers), his followers, the first Christians and the Jewish Christian movement in Jerusalem that James led. This ossuary is the first ever archaeological discovery directly confirming the existence of Jesus, and his relationship to his father, Joseph, and brother, James, who became the leader of the important Jewish Christian community in Jerusalem. No one is as qualified and well connected to recount the discovery and its authentication as Hershel Shanks, whose magazine first broke the story.
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Joshua And The Flow Of Biblical History
$22.99Add to cartThe book of Joshua brings to life real history during the crucial period of transition for the Israelites as they settle in the promised land and follow God’s direction to found a nation. Modern readers will understand the need for discipline in the face of their new found freedom, the responsibilities of living as a covenant people, and the necessity of continuity while adapting to change.
Frances Schaeffer’s series of sermons about Joshua and the flow of biblical history stretch readers’ minds to understand the historic, spiritual, and intellectual nourishment available for the Christian life through the examples of Joshua and his fellow Israelites. They will also inspire readers to see the hand of God present in all of history, including today. -
Story Of Israel
$37.99Add to cart304 Pages
Additional Info
Like a divine allegory, the history of Israel’s election, sin, exile, and restoration reflects the universal plight of humanity. An intriguing and compelling theological perspective unfolds as the authors probe this unitive theme in each section of Scripture, from the Pentateuch, Psalms, and Prophets to the Gospels, Epistles, and Apocalypse. Includes reading recommendations and study questions. -
Reading Womens Stories
$29.00Add to cartLiterary criticism has developed as one of the most important and evocative methods for interpreting biblical narratives. John Petersen delves deeply into three stories of women in the Hebrew Bible (Hannah, Deborah, and Tamar) and explores issues of reading character, plot, and point of view.
By addressing these concepts in depth and with subtlety, he is able to show how human experience is depicted using a variety of structuring, focusing, and interpretive devices. Beyond analyzing these narratives, he teaches readers how to get more out of every biblical story they read. -
Conflict And Identity In Romans
$49.00Add to cartWhat was Paul’s purpose in writing to the Romans? Utilizing archaeology, epigraphy, and social-scientific methods, Esler concludes that the apostle was attempting to facilitate conflict resolution among the believers in Rome—especially between Judeans and non-Judeans. In the process, Paul hoped to establish an identity for them that would incorporate various groups into a unified entity.
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Putting Jesus In His Place
$43.00Add to cartThis is a study of the Historical Jesus that pays close attention to the role of space and place, from house to kingdom, for understanding Jesus’ identity. Halvor Moxnes employs a sociological and anthropological approach that promises to give greater depth to our perceptions of Jesus.
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Jesus And THe Ossuaries
$29.99Add to cartIn Jesus and the Ossuaries, Craig A. Evans helps all readers, expert and layperson alike, understand the importance this recent find might have for the quest for the historical Jesus and any historical reconstruction of early Christianity. Evans does this by providing an overview of the most important archaeological discoveries, before examining nine other inscriptions (six on ossuaries, three on stone slabs) that pertain in one way or another to the historical Jesus. He then surveys the arguments for and against the authenticity and identification of the recently discovered James Ossuary. Evans concludes his volume with a measured consideration of the historical value of the archaeological data afforded by the several inscriptions.
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Marriage And Family In The Biblical World
$35.99Add to cartSix experts working in their respective fields trace out the dynamic contours of marriage and family as understood and practiced in Ancient Israel and the Near East, in Greek and Roman society, in second temple Judaism, and finally, in the New Testament.
The result is a well-informed and documented map that traces out the similarity and diversity of concepts and customs, including marriage, divorce, sexual ethics, gender roles, children, celibacy, adoption, abortion, contraception, and family life, which surrounded and intersected Ancient Israel and the church in New Testament times. -
Fiery Throne : The Prophets And Old Testament Theology
$18.00Add to cartZimmerli was one of the leading experts on Ezekiel and Jeremiah of his generation. Hanson has done us all a great service by collecting in one place some of his most important pieces on questions like the visionary experience, the prophetic word, and later reinterpretations.
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From Paul To Valentinus
$49.00Add to cartNow translated into English! “So masterful in its grasp of a vast array of evidence, so solid and innovative in its methodology, and so audacious in conception that it is bound to become a classic. It is the most important historical and sociological study ever written on Roman Christianity,”—Interpretation.
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Poor Banished Children Of Eve
$32.00Add to cartThis is an investigation of the problem of the symbolization of woman as the incarnation of moral evil, sin, devastation, and death in the Hebrew Bible, and how this symbolization of a particular gender interconnects with the issues of race/ethnicity, class, and colonialism during the times of its production.
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Essentials Of Christian Theology
$52.00Add to cartThis splendid introductory textbook for Christian theology presents two essays by leading scholars on each of the major theological questions. William Placher provides an excellent discussion of the history and current state of each doctrine while the essays explore the key elements and contemporary issues relating to these important theological concepts.
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Magic And Paganism In Early Christianity
$16.00Add to cartKlauck describes the religious world into which Christianity was born, by looking at it from the many experiences of the first Christians as recorded in Acts. You will journey with Peter as he encounters Simon the magician, the people of Lystra want to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas, and a soothsaying slave-girl is the occasion for conflict in Philippi. Your travels continue with Paul to Athens and find a city full of idols but also discovers an altar “to an unknown god” where Paul then delivers the famous Areopagus speech. In Ephesus, where some are burning their books of magic formulae, while others are provoking a riot in the name of Artemis.
Hans-Josef Klauck is Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Literature at the University of Chicago. He has published commentaries and monographs on 1 Corinthians, the Johannine epistles, New Testament theology, noncanonical gospels, and the history of religion in the Graeco-Roman world. -
Ancient Judaism And Christian Origins
$32.00Add to cart(PUBFortress)Since the Holocaust, Christians and Jews have re-examined their roots and the reasons for the rift between the church and the synagogue. Nickelsburg has methodically sifted through recent findings to discover what’s of merit concerning script and tradition, Torah and the righteous life, eschatology, and more.
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Fortress Introduction To The New Testament
$24.00Add to cartOne of the world’s foremost biblical scholars outlines what we know about the history, literature, and religion of the 27 books of the New Testament, condensing years of research and reflection, while taking full advantage of modern European monographs. Dense and stimulating.
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Readers Companion To Augustines Confessions
$45.00Add to cartThis book is a tool for teaching and studying the great Christian classic, Augustine’s Confessions. It is a unique venture in which thirteen different scholars look at each of the thirteen books in the Confessions and interpret their chapters in light of that book and in light of the rest of Augustine’s work. The result is that the richness and ambiguity of Augustine’s work shines through as well as the richness and ambiguity of different readings of the Confessions.
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Jesus In His Jewish Context (Revised)
$29.00Add to cart“Vermes’s vast knowledge of first-century Judaism ensures his works will become some of the most important in historical Jesus studies. His readable style makes them useful for both public and academic library patrons. Recommended,”—Library Journal. Careful, nuanced, and stimulating.
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Medicine In The Bible
$16.49Add to cartWhat was the possible cause of Jesus’ death? Were the Ten Plagues related to microorganism infection? Did Adam have one rib less than Eve? Why did King David need a young girl to treat his coldness when he was old? Did Jesus have anxiety? Why were the hairs of Absalom so heavy? What was the purpose of sour wine in crucifixion? How could Jesus become bright during the transfiguration? How did circumcision reveal the intelligence of God? Can we “hear” the end of age?
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History And Theology In The Fourth Gospel (Revised)
$50.00Add to cart1. A Blind Beggar Receives His Sight
2. He Is Excluded From The Synagogue And Enters The Church
3. The Jewish-Christian Beguiler Must Be Identified
4. He Must Be Arrested And Tried By The Court
5. Yet The Conversation Continues
6. From The Expectation Of The Prophet-Messiah Like Moses
7. To The Presence Of The Son Of ManAdditional Info
In his comprehensive survey, Understanding The Fourth Gospel John Ashton divides the history of modern Johannine scholarship into three epochs: Before Bultmann, Bultmann, and After Bultmann. The reference is, of course, to the towering commentary on John by Rudolf Bultmann. In Ashton’s view, which many would share, J. Louis Martyn’s History and Theology in the Fourth Gospel “for all its brevity is probably the most important single work on the Gospel since Bultmann’s commentary”. -
Prophecy That Is Shaping History
$15.99Add to cartMillions of Jews, Christians, and Muslims believe that a 2,500-year-old prophecy is about to be fulfilled: a global, apocalyptic jihad of many nations against the tiny state of Israel, whose recent re-emergence in its traditional land has sparked unrelenting rage and attack. Repeated resolutions passed in the United Nations reflect world-wide and nearly unanimous hostility against the so-called “Zionist entity”-even to the point of denying its right to exist. Most news media and political analysts seem unaware of the ancient prophecy that not only predicts this apocalyptic war, but also, amazingly, how this prophecy by Ezekiel (chapters 36-44) provides the scenario for numerous best-selling books in both the English-speaking and Muslim worlds! These best sellers not only describe this great conflagration, but actually also motivate their readers to prepare for it! The Prophecy That Is Shaping History represents a major advance in research and scholarship in examining the historical and contemporary impact of Ezekiel’s prophecy on world events. This academic monograph also offers a wealth of new evidence in tracing the identities, origins, and ultimate destinies of the key nations of Ezekiel’s prophecy who are seen to participate in what millions believe will be the most horrific battle the world will ever witness.
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Paul The Letter Writer Print On Demand Title
$25.99Add to cartThis engaging study shows how Paul’s stylized use of the official Roman letter a form of communication of great social import in his day played a crucial role in his apostolic ministry, conveying both his self-identity and sense of authority.
M. Luther Stirewalt describes the logistics of letter writing in the first-century Mediterranean world and shows how official letters served to substitute for speeches to an audience, to convey executive, official, or bureaucratic matters, or to bring complaints or petitions from citizens to officials. He then shows how Paul structured his apostolic correspondence after these models of writing, drawing evidence directly from seven Pauline epistles: 1 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Philemon, Galatians, and Romans.
Cutting a new angle on Paul’s purposes, his ministry, and his pastoral concerns, Stirewalt’s “Paul, the Letter Writer” will appeal to readers of the Bible and ancient history.
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Identity And Experience In The New Testament
$29.00Add to cartHow do the New Testament documents present issues of passion, will, identity, and perception? How did the earliest followers of Jesus understand their experiences, behaviors, and suffering? These questions and more are addressed in this stimulating work by one of the most productive Continental New Testament scholars. Rather than approaching the New Testament with a Freudian, Jungian, or other modern psychological theory, Berger illuminates historically how peoples of the first century described their human experiences in relation to their encounters with God, Christ, demons, and the power of their own desires and will.
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Actual Proof Of My Existence Signed
$26.99Add to cartThe Actual Proof of My Existence Signed: God of the Bible is a book
showing the proof of God’s existence through undeniable but simple
number patterns in the Bible. Reading the historical and scientifically
correct Psalms will be enough to convince anyone that the Bible is the
inspired Word of God.
More than eighteen Psalms contain information about specific past
events from history (1900 to 2003). In each case, the Psalm number is the
year of the event; even the years of future events (2003 to 2050) are
explored. More than twenty-three Psalms contain scientific “key words”
with power numbers matching the numbers of the Psalms. One example
is Psalm 27:1: “The Lord is my light”; 1027 power is a photon of light in
science. The mathematical odds of these matching Psalms are greater than
1038 power (38 zeroes) to 1 that this would happen by random accident
or chance.
The Ark of the Covenant is explored and found to have numbers
matching anti-gravity from the chemical element table. The Tabernacle
of Moses can be proven to be a model of the universe and space-time
dimensions, equaling science numbers just recently discovered. The
book examines about six hundred key Scriptures showing that the verse
numbers equal either the scientific or biblical content of the verses. Many
more subjects are numerically explored in the Bible. The book guarantees
to show in a simple way using “pattern and number matching” that the
Bible is the inspired Word of God beyond any shadow of a doubt! -
From Symposium To Eucharist
$39.00Add to cartTable fellowship in the ancient Mediterranean was more than food consumption. From Plato on down, banquets held an important place in creating community, sharing values, and connecting with the divine. A social history and theology of table fellowship from Plato to the New Testament. Why did people get together to eat and what did they do while they were at the table? A rich exploration of Greco-Roman, Jewish, and early Christian instances, including the relationship between the Eucharist and the agape meal.
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Possessing The Land (Student/Study Guide)
$13.49Add to cartWhat do the names Jericho, Gilgal, Ai, or Gibeon have to do with our lives in this modern age? Wasn’t “crossing the Jordan” just an act of an ancient people who were intent on establishing their God-given claim to the Promised Land? What possible value could come of investigating the treachery of the Gibeonites – and who were they, anyway? These and similar questions are what this book seeks to answer. Possessing the Land is an investigative study of the Old Testament book of Joshua. It began as a simple home Bible study, but as I studied, it became apparent that God was setting out a battle plan not only for His original chosen people, but also for every modern pilgrim and sojourner in Christ. This book examines the experiences of the original people of God as they went about taking possession of the land that God had promised them, and attempts to draw parallels between their journey in a physical sense and ours in the spiritual realm. Numerous references are made to the real-life battles that face every Christian, not only in the variety of circumstances, but also in the strategy needed to be victorious over those circumstances. We desire to be able to join God’s chosen people in their victories, learn from their defeats, and ultimately, like them, to enter into the fullness of all that God has prepared for us.
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7K : The Millennial Week
$19.99Add to cartIs human history simply an open-ended continuum, or does it have some logic, some parameters, some underlying structure? 7K: The Millennial Week tackles this question using an ancient theological construct that is subjected to a fresh and unique analysis. This book explores the 7,000-year theory of history using a three-dimensional system of “stacking” sets of Scripture that, in the layering process, reveal prophetic connections throughout the biblical text. The overall structure of history is seen to rest on the prophetic foundation of the first chapter of Genesis. With the Gregorian year 2000 now behind us, many seem ready to give the 7,000-year theory of history a hasty burial. This book demonstrates that the old theory has never been more viable. Christian thinking understandably focuses on the birth of Christ as History’s pivotal event. 7K: The Millennial Week refocuses on the death and resurrection of Christ, pointing instead at the Cross as the central event of history and projecting the millennial parameters from that event. This book offers a refreshing and challenging look at that possibility. Readers of 7K will take a scenic ride through history as viewed through the prophetic lens of Scripture. The complete trip takes seven millennial days. Trying this vacation from traditional and secular versions of history will surely give readers some fresh conceptions with which to assess the great plan God has for His image.
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World That Shaped The New Testament (Revised)
$36.00Add to cartNew Testament witnesses are explored from a plethora of angles: the social structure of Roman society, political dimensions of Pharisaism, Hellenistic religious expression, the Jewish Diaspora, the influence of the Septuagint on New Testament writers, women in antiquity, and lots more.
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Jesus And Empire
$24.00Add to cartBuilding on his earlier studies of Jesus, Galilee, and the social upheavals in Roman Palestine, Horsley focuses his attention on how Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom of God relates to Roman and Herodian power politics. In addition he examines how modern ideologies relate to Jesus’ proclamation
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History Of New Testament Research Volume Two
$49.00Add to cartContinuing his much-touted survey of major thinkers on the New Testament in the modern era, Baird carefully evaluates the key players, movements, and methodologies from Jonathan Edwards to Rudolf Bultmann. Provides a welcome context for the origins of various forms of criticism. .
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Pesharim And Qumran History
$25.99Add to cartAmong the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran are seventeen of the earliest known biblical commentaries, the “Pesharim.” Since their discovery, researchers have been in intense debate over their true nature. In this fascinating volume James Charlesworth introduces the Pesharim to general readers and makes a signal contribution to our understanding of these invaluable ancient documents.
Ought these Jewish writings be viewed as historiography in the guise of biblical commentary, or are they simply examples of the way the Qumran community read and interpreted the Hebrew scriptures? Charlesworth takes the middle path in this debate, demonstrating that there are indeed important historical allusions in the Pesharim. In the course of the book, he provides a summary of the interpretive methods used in the Pesharim, isolates the historical allusions in them, and relates these allusions to a synopsis of Qumran history.
The volume also includes appendixes by Lidija Novakovic that explain exegetical terminology and cite scriptural quotations.
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Where Is Boasting
$43.99Add to cartThis important work challenges the validity of the “New Perspective” on Paul and Judaism. Working new data from Jewish literature and a fresh reading of Romans 1-5, Simon Gathercole produces a far-reaching criticism of the current approach to Paul and points a new way forward. Building on a detailed examination of the past generation of scholarship on Paul and early Judaism, Gathercole’s work follows two paths. First, he shows that while early Judaism was not truly oriented around legalistic works-righteousness, it did consider obedience to the Law to be an important criterion at the final judgement. On the basis of this reconstruction of Jewish thought and a rereading of Romans 1-5, Gathercole advances his main argument – that Paul did indeed combat a Jewish perspective that saw obedience to the Law is not a criterion for the final judgement because human nature makes obedience to the Law impossible. His doctrine of justification can therefore be properly viewed in its Jewish context, yet anthropological issues also take center stage.
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Social Setting Of Jesus And The Gospels
$39.00Add to cartWhat do the social sciences have to contribute to the study of Jesus and the Gospels? This is the fundamental question that these essays all address-from analyses of ancient economics to altered states of consciouseness, politics, ritual, kinship, and labeling
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Brief History Of Ancient Israel
$35.00Add to cartGrounded in the latest archaelogical developments, Matthews’s superb new reference provides a cogent and condensed discussion of the ancestral, conquest, settlement, monarchy, exilic, and postexilic periods of ancient Israel. His concise narrative encompasses historical geography, ancient Near Eastern cultural data, and up-to-date research. Charts and insets reinforce main points and events.
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Genesis Of Perfection
$45.00Add to cartThe beginning is everything, and the tale of human beginnings is no exception. We cannot understand our destiny until we find our place within the story of our origins. Two great faths, Judaism and Christianity, trace their heritage back to the very same Garden of beginnings. In this book, Gary Anderson explores both Jewish and Christian readings of account of Adam and Eve and charts how human ends are configured by human beginnings.
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Amos : The Prophet And His Oracles
$44.00Add to cartThe book of Amos holds a unique and central place among the canonical prophetic literature and presents a special array of issues for scholarly discussion. This book provides a thorough and balanced overview of the history of scholarship on the book of Amos; two essays that trace the history of scholarship and offers promising lines for further inquiry; a substantial anthology of readings of the multiple ways Amos has been analyzed and appropriated; an extensive and current bibliography; and notes on doctoral dissertations conducted in recent years. The result is a comprehensive compendium or resources for scholarly writing on the book of Amos.
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Land : Place As Gift Promise And Challenge In Biblical Faith – Second Editi (Rep
$29.00Add to cartThe Promised Land has played an important role in Jewish life from the days of Abraham to the rise of modern Zionism. Brueggemann elaborates on major Old Testament themes—land as gift, as temptation, as task, and as threat—plus tackles how to view the Babylonian exile and the Diaspora.
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Spirit And The Word
$17.00Add to cartThis volume brings together some of Mowinckel’s most important and interesting work on the prophets. He begins by introducing the reader to the method of tradition history and how it is related to form criticism and literary criticism. From this groundwork, he goes on to explore how this method is essential for analyzing the prophetic literature in the Hebrew Bible. In order to make it more helpful for students, each essay has been supplemented with additional notes and bibliography to show where the discussion has continued since Mowinckel. A bibliography of Mowinckel’s work in English and a bibliography of essays evaluating Mowinckel’s contributions are also included. This will provide an excellent supplementary textbook for courses on the prophets.
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Judaism When Christianity Began
$39.00Add to cartA systematic, holistic introduction to rabbinic Judaism. Offering an illuminating look at beliefs, ritual, symbols, and theology, Neusner’s discussion of revelation and Scripture, the doctrine of God, definition of the holy, chain of tradition embodied in the written and oral Torah, sacred space, and other topics makes first-century Judaism accessible to both scholars and general readers.
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Worship
$35.00Add to cartHughes Oliphant Old masterfully summarizes the worship of Israel and the early church and traces the development of worship through the period of the Reformation. He provides a sterling historical study that will be highly useful for pastors and church study groups as well as for scholars and students interested in Reformed worship. Old includes chapters on baptism, the Lord’s Day, the ministry of praise, the ministry of the Word, the ministry of prayer, the Lord’s Supper, daily prayer, and alms. His concluding chapter on “Tradition and Practice” focuses on how the Reformed tradition of worship should shape our current practice and on what the Reformed liturgical heritage has to offer American Protestants today. An extensive bibliography of resources for the study of Reformed worship adds to the value of this book
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Windows Into Old Testament History A Print On Demand Title
$27.99Add to cartIn recent years revisionist scholars have attacked the Bible’s picture of ancient Israel as a fiction. While the majority of scholars reject this claim, a spirit of uneasiness remains among those who affirm the Old Testament’s reliability. This bracing book provides fresh evidence for the historical value of Scripture. Written by an international team of competent scholars, Windows into Old Testament History seeks to rebuild the case for a positive appraisal of biblical Israel.
In the first essay Jens Bruun Kofoed explores the models and methods of study employed by the so- called Copenhagen School. Nicolai Winther-Nielsen then turns to the question of how best to “hear” the verbal testimony of the biblical texts, proposing a pragmatic approach to reading scripture. The next three essays examine ways of testing the truth value of the texts within the ancient Near Eastern context: Richard S. Hess, Alan R. Millard, and Kenneth A. Kitchen each focus on archaeological and comparative literary studies that illustrate how extrabiblical evidence can clarify debated issues and elucidate questions that are raised by the biblical texts themselves. Two case studies of the book of Chronicles by Brian E. Kelly and Peter J. Williams then demonstrate in a practical way how biblical and extrabiblical evidence can be brought together to uncover Israel’s history. The final essay by Iain W. Provan returns to the epistemological and philosophical concerns which began the book, seen anew in light of the contributors’ fruitful work.
Attacking head-on the major issues involved in this fascinating yet conflicted field, Windows into Old Testament History is an excellent resource for anyone interested in the facts surrounding ancient Israel.
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Lost Books Of The Bible And The Forgotten Books Of Eden
$19.99Add to cartSuppressed by the early Church fathers who compiled the Bible, these Apocrypal Books have for centuries been shrouded in silence. Now, for the first time in paperbound book, the reader can discover the hidden beauties of the Lost Books. To be found in this volume are the Apostles’ Creed, the Psalms and Odes of Solomon, and other Apocrypal writings that have become part of our religious heritage. The story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife, of Adam and Eve, of the girlhood and betrothal of Mary, of the childhood of Jesus, are here in all warmth, intimacy, and humanity of their first telling.
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Fair Spoken And Persuading
$17.95Add to cartWithin the last two hundred years, critical scholarship has come to recognize that Chapters 40-55 of the Book of Isaiah are the work, not of the eighth century Isaiah of Jerusalem, but of an anonymous sixth century disciple standing in the Isaiah tradition. This “Second Isaiah” spoke to a community who had once lived in Judah and Jerusalem, but now, a half century later, were settled in Babylon.
Critical scholarship discovered Second Isaiah through its scientific methods. The successive fads and fashions of that scholarship — source criticism, then form criticism — have onesidedly determined interpretation. Fair Spoken and Persuading criticizes previous approaches that took the book to be a series of fragments, outbursts of a great lyrical poet. It argues instead that Isaiah 40-55 is a collection of substantial speeches that reinterpret national traditions to answer a sixth century question: how could the exiles be Israel outside of the sacred land? The prophet’s answer: by making a fresh Exodus and Conquest. The Judahites would become Israel through their brave and trustful journeying to Zion (Second Isaiah’s name for Jerusalem).
Second Isaiah is therefore not just a poet but an orator. His program of action — one becomes Israel through action — is still relevant today for both Jews and Christians who seek authenticity through their actions.
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I Believe Help My Unbelief
$19.95Add to cartHas the Apostles’ Creed become such a routine part of worship that you recite it with all the passion of reading items on a grocery list? If so, this book will help you recapture the heartfelt conviction of a historic article of faith! There is a fire in Ron Lavin’s belly about the time-tested truths of the Apostles’ Creed, which have reassured many Christians in life’s travails. He says we need to study this often misunderstood and generally neglected resource more than ever, because it encapsulates what so many people seem to be searching for. Sprinkled with humor and anecdotes, each chapter analyzes a statement from the creed, and includes discussion questions, ideas for digging deeper into the biblical and historical background, and possibilities for further application. And there’s a special bonus – in a fascinating appendix, former missionary Mel Kieschnick shares the remarkable story of how the Apostles’ Creed sustained him when he found himself in the midst of the 1989 massacre at Beijing’s Tienanmen Square.
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People Called : The Growth Of Community In The Bible
$65.00Add to cartThis study focuses on a very basic theme, the tender art of living together in community. T.S. Elliot posed the question succinctly: “What life have you if you have not life together?” He thereby pointed to a truth verified both by social scientists and by our own practical experience: we receive life, we foster life, and we pass life on within the context of fellow humans. But how varied is the quality of life experienced by different humans, or even by the individual at different stages of life! Any thoughtful sensitive person is deeply aware of the fragile treasure that life is, with remarkable potential for warmth, friendship, joy, creativity, and generosity, yet so frequently threatened or destroyed by anxiety, bitterness, greed, anger, and hostility. The Bible presents a rich pageant of life in community. Its stories, hymns, and proverbs cover the whole range of human feelings and experiences, It gives the story of a people who puzzled through the riddle of life from the midst of life, and came to a conclusion strikingly similar ro Eliot’s: “There is no life that is not community. And no community not lived in praise of God.”
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Life In Biblical Israel
$70.00Add to cartStunning color photographs, graphic illustrations, and lively text offer a vivid description of everyday life in ancient Israel. Based on the most up-to-date research, this magnificent volume covers such topics as domestic and work life, cultural expression, and religious practice. An ideal resource for students, scholars, and interested laypeople.
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Early Judaism : The Exile To The Time Of Christ
$52.00Add to cartThis textbook provides an introduction to the Second Temple period (520 BCE-70 CE), the formative era of early Judaism and the milieu of Jesus and of the earliest Christians. By paying close attention to original sources–especially the Bible, the Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Josephus–Frederick J. Murphy introduces students to the world of ancient Jews and Christians. Early Judaism: The Exile to the Time of Christ, designed to serve students and teachers in the classroom, will also be of great interest to anyone looking for an entrance into this pivotal period. It contains suggestions for primary readings, bibliographies, maps, illustrations, glossaries, and indexes.