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Habitats of the Basileia: Essays in Honour of Elaine M. Wainwright

Published: Jan 2024
£65.00
Habitats of the Basileia brings together some of the current and important work in biblical studies and theology, which takes seriously the demands and possibilities of applying contextual, feminist, decolonial, and ecological approaches to the critical study of the Bible and religion. The volume is inspired by the engaging work of Elaine M. Wainwright RSM; and invites us to imagine what thriving conditions and communities of the human and more-than-human might look like across multiple contexts. - What did it mean for those living in biblical times, or for the early Jesus movement who proclaimed an alternative basileia or kingdom against the backdrop of Roman imperial power? - What does it mean for various communities today, as we seek to understand and re-imagine what thriving conditions might look like in our own complex and often rapidly changing environments? Written by a diverse range of biblical, theological, and religious studies scholars, the chapters in this volume collectively argue for and demonstrate the importance of context and being attuned to social location in the production of biblical and theological scholarship. The essays are divided into three categories: the first seven chapters deal with the Gospel of Matthew, given the importance of this book to Elaine’s work. The next nine chapters explore biblical texts beyond Matthew through various lenses including those of gender, colonialism, the environment, animal studies, contextual hermeneutics, and class. The final three chapters are concerned with the legacies of both Elaine’s lifework and the broader avenues in current biblical research that have been nurtured and influenced through her efforts.

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Habitats of the Basileia: Essays in Honour of Elaine M. Wainwright

£65.00
Habitats of the Basileia brings together some of the current and important work in biblical studies and theology, which takes seriously the demands and possibilities of applying contextual, feminist, decolonial, and ecological approaches to the critical study of the Bible and religion. The volume is inspired by the engaging work of Elaine M. Wainwright RSM; and invites us to imagine what thriving conditions and communities of the human and more-than-human might look like across multiple contexts. - What did it mean for those living in biblical times, or for the early Jesus movement who proclaimed an alternative basileia or kingdom against the backdrop of Roman imperial power? - What does it mean for various communities today, as we seek to understand and re-imagine what thriving conditions might look like in our own complex and often rapidly changing environments? Written by a diverse range of biblical, theological, and religious studies scholars, the chapters in this volume collectively argue for and demonstrate the importance of context and being attuned to social location in the production of biblical and theological scholarship. The essays are divided into three categories: the first seven chapters deal with the Gospel of Matthew, given the importance of this book to Elaine’s work. The next nine chapters explore biblical texts beyond Matthew through various lenses including those of gender, colonialism, the environment, animal studies, contextual hermeneutics, and class. The final three chapters are concerned with the legacies of both Elaine’s lifework and the broader avenues in current biblical research that have been nurtured and influenced through her efforts.

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The Spirit of Prophecy and Reconciliation. A Festschrift for Rickie Moore.

Published: Nov 2023
£65.00
This volume focuses on the relationship of prophecy and reconciliation, within the frame of Pentecostal hermeneutics. These themes have been prominent throughout Rickie D. Moore’s work and this collection celebrates his life and academic career—as a professor of Old Testament, a specialist in the prophetic literature, a leading voice in the development of Pentecostal hermeneutics, and an influential figure of the Cleveland School of Pentecostal theology. The editors and contributors of this volume represent a small selection of Moore’s mentors (Walter Brueggemann and James Crenshaw), his colleagues (Lee Roy Martin, John Christopher Thomas, Blaine Charette, Amos Yong, Kimberly Alexander, and Chris Green), and former students (Caroline Reddick, Robby Waddell, Jesse Stone, David Johnson, Daniela Augustine, and Casey Cole). Their words testify to the deep, far-reaching effects of his teaching and his presence. The essays are gathered into three main sections: the first two deal explicitly with a close reading of biblical texts from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, and the last deals with the theological issues that emerge in consideration of prophetic awareness and action and the hope of intergenerational reconciliation. Moore pioneered an integrative approach to reading and teaching the Scriptures, keenly aware of his own theological and spiritual inheritance as a Pentecostal and deeply committed to the life-altering power of sacred study, skillfully blending critical self-reflection and testimony with rigorous scholarship.
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The Spirit of Prophecy and Reconciliation. A Festschrift for Rickie Moore.

£65.00
This volume focuses on the relationship of prophecy and reconciliation, within the frame of Pentecostal hermeneutics. These themes have been prominent throughout Rickie D. Moore’s work and this collection celebrates his life and academic career—as a professor of Old Testament, a specialist in the prophetic literature, a leading voice in the development of Pentecostal hermeneutics, and an influential figure of the Cleveland School of Pentecostal theology. The editors and contributors of this volume represent a small selection of Moore’s mentors (Walter Brueggemann and James Crenshaw), his colleagues (Lee Roy Martin, John Christopher Thomas, Blaine Charette, Amos Yong, Kimberly Alexander, and Chris Green), and former students (Caroline Reddick, Robby Waddell, Jesse Stone, David Johnson, Daniela Augustine, and Casey Cole). Their words testify to the deep, far-reaching effects of his teaching and his presence. The essays are gathered into three main sections: the first two deal explicitly with a close reading of biblical texts from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, and the last deals with the theological issues that emerge in consideration of prophetic awareness and action and the hope of intergenerational reconciliation. Moore pioneered an integrative approach to reading and teaching the Scriptures, keenly aware of his own theological and spiritual inheritance as a Pentecostal and deeply committed to the life-altering power of sacred study, skillfully blending critical self-reflection and testimony with rigorous scholarship.
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First and Second Peter: An Oral and Performance Commentary

Published: Oct 2023
£23.00
David Seal’s reading of 1 and 2 Peter in this commentary, in addition to explaining the text as written, also highlights the stylistics of oral literature employed by the author. The first-century Mediterranean world was a blend of an oral and a scribal culture; many commentaries overlook the oral nature of the New Testament letters. In oral societies, most people experienced written texts by hearing them read aloud. These two letters would have been experienced primarily through the listener’s ears rather than by reading with their eyes. 1 Peter encourages its recipients, in their present sufferings, by reminding them of their future inheritance. One oral stylistic that Peter uses to highlight this reward and make a memorable impression on his audience is through both the cadence and the alliteration of the description of their inheritance. These oral features are captured in the English translation where Peter describes the nature of the reward as ‘untouched by the ravages death, unstained by evil, and unhindered by the passing of time’. When spoken, these oral features, help to underscore the value and durability of the Christian’s future reward. Peter’s knowledge that the church was experiencing challenges from false teachers is one reason he writes 2 Peter. To facilitate a negative view of these teachers, Peter compares their behavior to that of pigs and dogs. Manipulation of emotions was also a characteristic of oral performance. Portraying the teachers in an emotionally disturbing manner may have helped motivate the church to remove the false teachers from their community.Some of the other oral stylistics discussed in this commentary include the author’s manners of expression in terms of word choices, sentence patterns, sound patterns, and gestures that may have accompanied the recitation. By highlighting the patterns and poetic delivery of Peter’s letters, which may be missed by modern readers, this commentary seeks to foster a deeper and clearer understanding of 1 and 2 Peter.
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First and Second Peter: An Oral and Performance Commentary

£23.00
David Seal’s reading of 1 and 2 Peter in this commentary, in addition to explaining the text as written, also highlights the stylistics of oral literature employed by the author. The first-century Mediterranean world was a blend of an oral and a scribal culture; many commentaries overlook the oral nature of the New Testament letters. In oral societies, most people experienced written texts by hearing them read aloud. These two letters would have been experienced primarily through the listener’s ears rather than by reading with their eyes. 1 Peter encourages its recipients, in their present sufferings, by reminding them of their future inheritance. One oral stylistic that Peter uses to highlight this reward and make a memorable impression on his audience is through both the cadence and the alliteration of the description of their inheritance. These oral features are captured in the English translation where Peter describes the nature of the reward as ‘untouched by the ravages death, unstained by evil, and unhindered by the passing of time’. When spoken, these oral features, help to underscore the value and durability of the Christian’s future reward. Peter’s knowledge that the church was experiencing challenges from false teachers is one reason he writes 2 Peter. To facilitate a negative view of these teachers, Peter compares their behavior to that of pigs and dogs. Manipulation of emotions was also a characteristic of oral performance. Portraying the teachers in an emotionally disturbing manner may have helped motivate the church to remove the false teachers from their community.Some of the other oral stylistics discussed in this commentary include the author’s manners of expression in terms of word choices, sentence patterns, sound patterns, and gestures that may have accompanied the recitation. By highlighting the patterns and poetic delivery of Peter’s letters, which may be missed by modern readers, this commentary seeks to foster a deeper and clearer understanding of 1 and 2 Peter.
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When Psychology Meets the Bible

Published: Jun 2023
£85.00
This much-needed biblical studies encounter with the physiological and social sciences demonstrates ways these disciplines relate closely. A group of 17 scholars from across the world and from various psychological persuasions have considered texts—from many parts of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. The essays recognise the human emotional need of the embodied mind in both literary characters and readers, and respond to it with empathic understanding. The newness of interpretative approach in this collection anchors its understanding of the texts within recognised, scientific, psychological theories. Refreshing, even exciting, readings are discerned by focusing understanding of the human mind on those writing, and existing in, the biblical texts. This initiative is in significant contrast to a long history of implied psychological exegesis. Where else, but in the Bible, can such a wide range of human actions, interactions, motivations and tragedies be studied in a variety of social situations? Showcasing the psychological implications of these texts serves as an invitation to continue this new momentum in research. At the same time, the freedom to explore the Bible psychologically has brought the most urgent and pressing psychological struggles to the surface, proving the relevance of all these biblical texts in our present world.
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When Psychology Meets the Bible

£85.00
This much-needed biblical studies encounter with the physiological and social sciences demonstrates ways these disciplines relate closely. A group of 17 scholars from across the world and from various psychological persuasions have considered texts—from many parts of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. The essays recognise the human emotional need of the embodied mind in both literary characters and readers, and respond to it with empathic understanding. The newness of interpretative approach in this collection anchors its understanding of the texts within recognised, scientific, psychological theories. Refreshing, even exciting, readings are discerned by focusing understanding of the human mind on those writing, and existing in, the biblical texts. This initiative is in significant contrast to a long history of implied psychological exegesis. Where else, but in the Bible, can such a wide range of human actions, interactions, motivations and tragedies be studied in a variety of social situations? Showcasing the psychological implications of these texts serves as an invitation to continue this new momentum in research. At the same time, the freedom to explore the Bible psychologically has brought the most urgent and pressing psychological struggles to the surface, proving the relevance of all these biblical texts in our present world.
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The Great Lady: Restoring Her Story

Published: Apr 2023
£85.00
In this, the eighteenth of Margaret Barker’s sequence of works on Temple Theology, she returns to give further and fuller attention to the figure of the Great Lady. Barker surveys the Hebrew Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls, New Testament and non- canonical texts from both Jewish and Christian traditions—and undertakes a re-telling of the story of the Great Lady’s shadowy but enduring presence in community memory and later writings. This extensive volume has three parts: The Great Lady in the first temple, revered as the heavenly Mother of the Davidic kings until King Josiah’s purge in 623BCE. The Great Lady in the Book of Revelation, present in her ancient symbols and the hopes of her prophets, which Jesus knew. The Great Lady hidden in the teaching of Jesus and stories about him, explaining why she was so important in the world of the early Church. This close study of the Great Lady shows new significance in the words of the Hebrew prophets and the Qumran texts, and offers a new context for early Christian writings and so-called Gnostic texts. Barker shows how the first Christians brought the Great Lady back to their Temple Theology. She proposes that in this community Jesus her Son was the expected MelchiZedek and great high priest, and Mary of Nazareth was honoured as the Mother of God.  
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The Great Lady: Restoring Her Story

£85.00
In this, the eighteenth of Margaret Barker’s sequence of works on Temple Theology, she returns to give further and fuller attention to the figure of the Great Lady. Barker surveys the Hebrew Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls, New Testament and non- canonical texts from both Jewish and Christian traditions—and undertakes a re-telling of the story of the Great Lady’s shadowy but enduring presence in community memory and later writings. This extensive volume has three parts: The Great Lady in the first temple, revered as the heavenly Mother of the Davidic kings until King Josiah’s purge in 623BCE. The Great Lady in the Book of Revelation, present in her ancient symbols and the hopes of her prophets, which Jesus knew. The Great Lady hidden in the teaching of Jesus and stories about him, explaining why she was so important in the world of the early Church. This close study of the Great Lady shows new significance in the words of the Hebrew prophets and the Qumran texts, and offers a new context for early Christian writings and so-called Gnostic texts. Barker shows how the first Christians brought the Great Lady back to their Temple Theology. She proposes that in this community Jesus her Son was the expected MelchiZedek and great high priest, and Mary of Nazareth was honoured as the Mother of God.  
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Eschatological Approval: The Structure and Unifying Motif of James

Published: Oct 2022
£65.00
The letter of James is not a haphazard collection of wisdom sayings, but a carefully assembled document with a unifying motif, according to Daniel K. Eng. By examining the structure and content of the epistle, he shows that James contains a coherent and consistent message of eschatological approval, that is, a favourable verdict at end-time judgment. Eng establishes that James begins with a prologue (1:1-27), indicating the author’s concern for the hearers to receive eschatological approval. After that, Eng studies the document’s structure indicated by cohesive ties and bracketing, offering an informed outline for James 2–5. With the outline in view, Eng shows how the content of each subsection refers to a favourable eschatological outcome. Discourse analysis plays a crucial role here, because the epistle’s author indicates the prominence of certain concepts through word order and dependent clauses. Finally, Eng argues that James 1:12 serves as a thesis statement for the whole epistle, pointing the hearers to their route to a favourable end-time judgment. His resulting outline of James resembles a fish skeleton, with the unifying motif serving as a spine. Ultimately, this volume shows how the epistle’s structure and content alike point to its unifying theme: eschatological approval.
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Eschatological Approval: The Structure and Unifying Motif of James

£65.00
The letter of James is not a haphazard collection of wisdom sayings, but a carefully assembled document with a unifying motif, according to Daniel K. Eng. By examining the structure and content of the epistle, he shows that James contains a coherent and consistent message of eschatological approval, that is, a favourable verdict at end-time judgment. Eng establishes that James begins with a prologue (1:1-27), indicating the author’s concern for the hearers to receive eschatological approval. After that, Eng studies the document’s structure indicated by cohesive ties and bracketing, offering an informed outline for James 2–5. With the outline in view, Eng shows how the content of each subsection refers to a favourable eschatological outcome. Discourse analysis plays a crucial role here, because the epistle’s author indicates the prominence of certain concepts through word order and dependent clauses. Finally, Eng argues that James 1:12 serves as a thesis statement for the whole epistle, pointing the hearers to their route to a favourable end-time judgment. His resulting outline of James resembles a fish skeleton, with the unifying motif serving as a spine. Ultimately, this volume shows how the epistle’s structure and content alike point to its unifying theme: eschatological approval.
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Bodies without Organs in the Gospel of Mark

Published: Aug 2022
£50.00
In this stimulating monograph, Villalobos Mendoza leads the diligent reader to a re-appreciation of Mark’s Jesus as an enabler of human freedom. The freedom that ought to be every human’s birthright is, we know, everywhere constrained by custom, regulation and law. But for the Jesus of Mark, order itself is disruptive, boundaries are transgressed, hierarchies are dismantled, and the bodies of humans, animals and trees are interconnected. Villalobos Mendoza—taking his theoretical inspiration from the philosopher Gilles Deleuze—proposes Mark’s Jesus as the first figure to accomplish the ‘Body without Organs’ (BwO), the one who frees us from the oppression of the priest / institution / power / hierarchy. According to Deleuze, ‘the body is the body / it is all by itself / and has no need of organs / the body is never an organism / organisms are the enemies of the body’. This notion is helpful for understanding Jesus as the BwO, how Jesus’ body affects other bodies, and how those bodies function (or assemble) as an interkingdom of no-bodies. The analysis of several Markan texts (Mk. 3.20- 35; 6.1-6; 1.12-13; 13.32-35; 14.27; 11.12-14; 14.51-52; 15.42-47; 16.1-8), is done through the interpretative lens of Deleuze and Félix Guattari whose co-authored works deliberately self-create new philosophical constructs, alongside BwO, such as: ‘any-space-whatever’, ‘de-re-territorialization’, ‘assemblage’, ‘rhizome’, ‘threes’, ‘Becoming(s)’, ‘interkingdoms’, ‘affects’, ‘people-yet-to-come’, ‘nomadism’, ‘eternal return’, ‘repetition’. By putting into dialogue insights from Deleuze and the Markan Jesus’ understanding of the kingdom of God, Villalobos Mendoza suggests the character of Jesus as the exemplary opponent of the apparatus of state which: organized, signified, subdued and subjected the human as well as the nonhuman ‘body’. This representation of Jesus creates a new interplay with the riddle of Deleuzean thought that argues that God and the judgement of God are the eternal enemy of the BwO!
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Bodies without Organs in the Gospel of Mark

£50.00
In this stimulating monograph, Villalobos Mendoza leads the diligent reader to a re-appreciation of Mark’s Jesus as an enabler of human freedom. The freedom that ought to be every human’s birthright is, we know, everywhere constrained by custom, regulation and law. But for the Jesus of Mark, order itself is disruptive, boundaries are transgressed, hierarchies are dismantled, and the bodies of humans, animals and trees are interconnected. Villalobos Mendoza—taking his theoretical inspiration from the philosopher Gilles Deleuze—proposes Mark’s Jesus as the first figure to accomplish the ‘Body without Organs’ (BwO), the one who frees us from the oppression of the priest / institution / power / hierarchy. According to Deleuze, ‘the body is the body / it is all by itself / and has no need of organs / the body is never an organism / organisms are the enemies of the body’. This notion is helpful for understanding Jesus as the BwO, how Jesus’ body affects other bodies, and how those bodies function (or assemble) as an interkingdom of no-bodies. The analysis of several Markan texts (Mk. 3.20- 35; 6.1-6; 1.12-13; 13.32-35; 14.27; 11.12-14; 14.51-52; 15.42-47; 16.1-8), is done through the interpretative lens of Deleuze and Félix Guattari whose co-authored works deliberately self-create new philosophical constructs, alongside BwO, such as: ‘any-space-whatever’, ‘de-re-territorialization’, ‘assemblage’, ‘rhizome’, ‘threes’, ‘Becoming(s)’, ‘interkingdoms’, ‘affects’, ‘people-yet-to-come’, ‘nomadism’, ‘eternal return’, ‘repetition’. By putting into dialogue insights from Deleuze and the Markan Jesus’ understanding of the kingdom of God, Villalobos Mendoza suggests the character of Jesus as the exemplary opponent of the apparatus of state which: organized, signified, subdued and subjected the human as well as the nonhuman ‘body’. This representation of Jesus creates a new interplay with the riddle of Deleuzean thought that argues that God and the judgement of God are the eternal enemy of the BwO!
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Vision and Voice: Revelatory Experience in the Formation of Christian Identity

Published: Oct 2021
£60.00
Vision and Voice explores the impact of revelatory events (such as visions and voices) upon early Christian self-identity. In the Gospels, revelatory events, like the transfiguration, the voice from heaven in John 12, and Jesus' baptism, burst into the narrative almost gratuitously, without leaving a tangible, lasting impression on those who witness them. Yet from these revelatory experiences there emerged a story of how early Christians came to think of themselves as a community of Jesus followers. The revelatory events of the Gospels became an invitation to their readers to enter into the experience of Jesus' disciples, to see what they saw, to hear what they heard, reliving the visions and voices remembered by these first witnesses.
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Vision and Voice: Revelatory Experience in the Formation of Christian Identity

£60.00
Vision and Voice explores the impact of revelatory events (such as visions and voices) upon early Christian self-identity. In the Gospels, revelatory events, like the transfiguration, the voice from heaven in John 12, and Jesus' baptism, burst into the narrative almost gratuitously, without leaving a tangible, lasting impression on those who witness them. Yet from these revelatory experiences there emerged a story of how early Christians came to think of themselves as a community of Jesus followers. The revelatory events of the Gospels became an invitation to their readers to enter into the experience of Jesus' disciples, to see what they saw, to hear what they heard, reliving the visions and voices remembered by these first witnesses.
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Jesus the Dayspring: The Sunrise and the Visitation of Israel’s Messiah

Published: May 2021
£65.00
Messianic expectations in the first century ce were varied, but rarely did they include a figure associated with the sunrise or the direction of the east. However, in Luke's gospel the prophetic song (the 'Benedictus') of the priest Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, includes a title for Jesus that means the 'dayspring', 'dawn', or 'rising sun'. Where did this title arise? In Jesus the Dayspring, Wenkel suggests that the connection between Jesus and the sunrise may have come from any number of texts and traditions contributing to the expectation of God's divine presence visiting his people from the sunrise. The idea of the Lord who comes from the east also plays an important role in Luke's narrative of Jesus arriving in Jerusalem from the eastern side of the city as he enters from the Mount of Olives. Such details are often underappreciated but contribute to our understanding of Jesus as a messianic figure who would come like the sunrise. Wenkel's search for other potential influences leading to this type of messianic language takes him into Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Hosea and Malachi. By casting his net to include allusions to looking eastward for redemptive hope, Wenkel suggests how Luke's portrait of Jesus as the 'dayspring' or 'sunrise' fits into a larger pattern of resonance across Israel's scriptures.
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Jesus the Dayspring: The Sunrise and the Visitation of Israel’s Messiah

£65.00
Messianic expectations in the first century ce were varied, but rarely did they include a figure associated with the sunrise or the direction of the east. However, in Luke's gospel the prophetic song (the 'Benedictus') of the priest Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, includes a title for Jesus that means the 'dayspring', 'dawn', or 'rising sun'. Where did this title arise? In Jesus the Dayspring, Wenkel suggests that the connection between Jesus and the sunrise may have come from any number of texts and traditions contributing to the expectation of God's divine presence visiting his people from the sunrise. The idea of the Lord who comes from the east also plays an important role in Luke's narrative of Jesus arriving in Jerusalem from the eastern side of the city as he enters from the Mount of Olives. Such details are often underappreciated but contribute to our understanding of Jesus as a messianic figure who would come like the sunrise. Wenkel's search for other potential influences leading to this type of messianic language takes him into Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Hosea and Malachi. By casting his net to include allusions to looking eastward for redemptive hope, Wenkel suggests how Luke's portrait of Jesus as the 'dayspring' or 'sunrise' fits into a larger pattern of resonance across Israel's scriptures.
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Lukan Parables of Reckless Liberality

Published: Apr 2021
£60.00
From among the many parables in Luke, Amanda Brobst-Renaud chooses three, which she names 'parables of reckless liberality': the Prodigal Son, the Shrewd Steward, and the Rich Man and Lazarus. Picking up on the supposed slur that Jesus 'welcomes sinners and dines with them', Luke encourages his audience in these parables from chaps. 15 —16 in a practice of giving excessively to the wrong people at inappropriate times (flouting Aristotle's advice on liberality in the Nicomachean Ethics). Each parable in this volume presents at least one of its characters in crisis; these situations demand a decisive response. We all know the crises faced by the younger son, the steward, and the rich man, but the crises confronting the elder son and the rich man's brothers are equally dire, starkly sketched by the open questions left hanging at the end of each parable. Will the elder son join the party, celebrating his once-dead younger brother? Will the steward secure an eternal welcome? Will the rich man's brothers heed Moses and the prophets, or will they meet the same fate as the rich man? In each case, reckless liberality answers the characters' quandaries and demands of Luke's auditors that they choose between emulating or avoiding the behaviors of the characters. The elder son should join the party and imitate his father's reckless liberality: giving to someone undeserving, at an inappropriate time, and to an excessive amount. The steward's highly questionable profligacy plus his debt-reduction schemes nevertheless earn his master's praise and secure his welcome (Lk. 16.9). The rich man's brothers should listen to the call of the law and the prophets to care for the poor and disenfranchised, and show reckless liberality to any Lazarus on their thresholds. Showing reckless liberality gives entrance into the eschatological party (Lk. 16.16).
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Lukan Parables of Reckless Liberality

£60.00
From among the many parables in Luke, Amanda Brobst-Renaud chooses three, which she names 'parables of reckless liberality': the Prodigal Son, the Shrewd Steward, and the Rich Man and Lazarus. Picking up on the supposed slur that Jesus 'welcomes sinners and dines with them', Luke encourages his audience in these parables from chaps. 15 —16 in a practice of giving excessively to the wrong people at inappropriate times (flouting Aristotle's advice on liberality in the Nicomachean Ethics). Each parable in this volume presents at least one of its characters in crisis; these situations demand a decisive response. We all know the crises faced by the younger son, the steward, and the rich man, but the crises confronting the elder son and the rich man's brothers are equally dire, starkly sketched by the open questions left hanging at the end of each parable. Will the elder son join the party, celebrating his once-dead younger brother? Will the steward secure an eternal welcome? Will the rich man's brothers heed Moses and the prophets, or will they meet the same fate as the rich man? In each case, reckless liberality answers the characters' quandaries and demands of Luke's auditors that they choose between emulating or avoiding the behaviors of the characters. The elder son should join the party and imitate his father's reckless liberality: giving to someone undeserving, at an inappropriate time, and to an excessive amount. The steward's highly questionable profligacy plus his debt-reduction schemes nevertheless earn his master's praise and secure his welcome (Lk. 16.9). The rich man's brothers should listen to the call of the law and the prophets to care for the poor and disenfranchised, and show reckless liberality to any Lazarus on their thresholds. Showing reckless liberality gives entrance into the eschatological party (Lk. 16.16).
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Spirit and Story: Essays in Honour of John Christopher Thomas

Published: Nov 2020
£70.00
This collection of essays brings together an international group of biblical scholars, theologians, and historians who are committed to readings of biblical texts that are sensitive to the work of the Spirit. Perhaps no one has contributed more in recent decades to the description and promotion of Pentecostal Theology than Chris Thomas, and this volume serves as a loving and respectful tribute to his commitment and achievement. Thomas's own work on the story told in the Gospel and Letters of John as well as his explorations into the narrative structure of the Apocalypse are models not only of exegetical proficiency but also of the careful elucidation of the text for the general reader as well as the expert. Moreover, his work is distinguished by a prayerful pastoral commitment as his ear is consistently attentive to what the Spirit is saying to the church. The influence of Chris Thomas has been very considerable. The essays presented here capture the scope of his interests and of his important contribution to both the church and the academy.  
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Spirit and Story: Essays in Honour of John Christopher Thomas

£70.00
This collection of essays brings together an international group of biblical scholars, theologians, and historians who are committed to readings of biblical texts that are sensitive to the work of the Spirit. Perhaps no one has contributed more in recent decades to the description and promotion of Pentecostal Theology than Chris Thomas, and this volume serves as a loving and respectful tribute to his commitment and achievement. Thomas's own work on the story told in the Gospel and Letters of John as well as his explorations into the narrative structure of the Apocalypse are models not only of exegetical proficiency but also of the careful elucidation of the text for the general reader as well as the expert. Moreover, his work is distinguished by a prayerful pastoral commitment as his ear is consistently attentive to what the Spirit is saying to the church. The influence of Chris Thomas has been very considerable. The essays presented here capture the scope of his interests and of his important contribution to both the church and the academy.  
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The Bible on Violence: A Thick Description.

Published: July 2020
£70.00
In June 2019 the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence (CSBV) held its inaugural academic conference, and we are delighted to present this collection of papers drawn from those presented at the event. The centre is a postgraduate research and study centre dedicated to working in the area of the interpretation of biblical texts of violence. This wide-ranging collection reflects the centre's core values of generous collaboration, irenic listening, and multidisciplinary scholarship. Biblical violence presents a complex challenge to the biblical interpreter, the cultural commentator and to belief communities. In the pluriformity of interpretative approaches, the violent texts of the Bible have been taken up in ways that sometimes advance and sometimes challenge violence. Thus, biblical violence cannot be 'solved' by the application of a single hermeneutical lens: this is a multidisciplinary and intercommunal problem requiring a range of approaches. With contributions from both emerging and established academics, and scholars from several different belief traditions, and none, this volume both offers and models a 'thick description' of biblical violence. Two papers, including our keynote address from James Crossley, critically consider the use of biblical texts for the promotion of violence. A cluster of papers offer novel interpretive approaches to a wide range of texts of biblical violence, from both testaments and a range of genres. A further section brings the Bible into conversation with diverse elements of modern violence, from Grenfell Tower to suicide bombing. In the final part, the focus is on sexual violence, including a critical discourse analysis of divorce sermons and an exploration of the value to modern abuse survivors of naming Jesus as the victim of sexual abuse.
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The Bible on Violence: A Thick Description.

£70.00
In June 2019 the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence (CSBV) held its inaugural academic conference, and we are delighted to present this collection of papers drawn from those presented at the event. The centre is a postgraduate research and study centre dedicated to working in the area of the interpretation of biblical texts of violence. This wide-ranging collection reflects the centre's core values of generous collaboration, irenic listening, and multidisciplinary scholarship. Biblical violence presents a complex challenge to the biblical interpreter, the cultural commentator and to belief communities. In the pluriformity of interpretative approaches, the violent texts of the Bible have been taken up in ways that sometimes advance and sometimes challenge violence. Thus, biblical violence cannot be 'solved' by the application of a single hermeneutical lens: this is a multidisciplinary and intercommunal problem requiring a range of approaches. With contributions from both emerging and established academics, and scholars from several different belief traditions, and none, this volume both offers and models a 'thick description' of biblical violence. Two papers, including our keynote address from James Crossley, critically consider the use of biblical texts for the promotion of violence. A cluster of papers offer novel interpretive approaches to a wide range of texts of biblical violence, from both testaments and a range of genres. A further section brings the Bible into conversation with diverse elements of modern violence, from Grenfell Tower to suicide bombing. In the final part, the focus is on sexual violence, including a critical discourse analysis of divorce sermons and an exploration of the value to modern abuse survivors of naming Jesus as the victim of sexual abuse.
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Biblical Masculinities Foregrounded

Published: Oct 2017
£25.00£65.00
Biblical Masculinities Foregrounded brings together ten innovative studies on varieties of masculinity evidenced in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and other early Christian writings. A sequel to the 2010 collection, Men and Masculinity in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond, this new volume raises important questions about why the study of biblical masculinities matters, what it contributes to our knowledge of the ancient writers' world as well as to our contemporary world, and which methods adequately attend to that study. The volume is designed as a resource for scholars of both Testaments working from a variety of biblical traditions and ideological perspectives on masculinity. The following studies are offered as companions in the conversation: Yahweh's masculinity in appearances in glory in Exodus and Ezekiel (Alan Hooker); Proverbs' (de)construction of masculinity (Hilary Lipka); Saul's troubled masculinity in 1 —2 Samuel (Marcel M€Äcelaru); weeping men in the Torah and the Deuteronomistic history (Milena Kirova); Athaliah's manly rule (Stuart Macwilliam); Joseph of Nazareth as an everyday man (Justin Glessner); being a male disciple in Matthew's 'antitheses' (Hans-Ulrich Weidemann); eunuch masculinity in Matthew's Gospel (Susanna Asikainen); masculinity and circumcision in the first century (Karin Neutel and Matthew Anderson); and Thecla's masculinity in the Acts of Thecla (Peter-Ben Smit). Ovidiu Creangă opens the volume with a critical appraisal of the current state of play in the field, while Martti Nissinen and Bjorn Krondorfer offer closing critical reflections that situate the book's topics within broader debates regarding masculinities in religious studies.
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Biblical Masculinities Foregrounded

£25.00£65.00
Biblical Masculinities Foregrounded brings together ten innovative studies on varieties of masculinity evidenced in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and other early Christian writings. A sequel to the 2010 collection, Men and Masculinity in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond, this new volume raises important questions about why the study of biblical masculinities matters, what it contributes to our knowledge of the ancient writers' world as well as to our contemporary world, and which methods adequately attend to that study. The volume is designed as a resource for scholars of both Testaments working from a variety of biblical traditions and ideological perspectives on masculinity. The following studies are offered as companions in the conversation: Yahweh's masculinity in appearances in glory in Exodus and Ezekiel (Alan Hooker); Proverbs' (de)construction of masculinity (Hilary Lipka); Saul's troubled masculinity in 1 —2 Samuel (Marcel M€Äcelaru); weeping men in the Torah and the Deuteronomistic history (Milena Kirova); Athaliah's manly rule (Stuart Macwilliam); Joseph of Nazareth as an everyday man (Justin Glessner); being a male disciple in Matthew's 'antitheses' (Hans-Ulrich Weidemann); eunuch masculinity in Matthew's Gospel (Susanna Asikainen); masculinity and circumcision in the first century (Karin Neutel and Matthew Anderson); and Thecla's masculinity in the Acts of Thecla (Peter-Ben Smit). Ovidiu Creangă opens the volume with a critical appraisal of the current state of play in the field, while Martti Nissinen and Bjorn Krondorfer offer closing critical reflections that situate the book's topics within broader debates regarding masculinities in religious studies.
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Habitat, Human, and Holy: An Eco-Rhetorical Reading of the Gospel of Matthew

Published: Sep 2017
£20.00£50.00
Texts are rhetorical; they have an effect; they shape the mind and emotions of the readers who engage the text. Readers, in their turn, attend to the rhetoric of a text through the interpretative lens they bring to their reading of the text at the same time as they are being shaped by its rhetoric. Elaine Wainwright's eco-rhetorical reading of the Gospel of Matthew explores this interplay of rhetoric and perspective. An ecological perspective or hermeneutic is relatively new within biblical studies. It continues to be shaped and formed. Lorraine Code's call to 'ecological thinking' as a new 'social imaginary' informs the ecological perspective that Wainwright brings to this particular reading of the Gospel of Matthew. It is attentive to the interrelationships of all Earth constituents, and functions as a lens through which one can read the entire Gospel of Matthew. Such a perspective functions well with the particular rhetorical approach that guides this ecological reading. This approach is attentive to a complex weaving of material and 'other-than-human' as well as human features into the fabric of the text: hence the title Habitat, Human and Holy. It is their interaction in the text that constructs its rhetoric and it is this that engages the ecological reader. The story of Jesus, Emmanu-el, as it unfolds in the carefully structured Gospel of Matthew, is here read using an ecological hermeneutic and a rhetorical way of reading. Significant new insights emerge at each step of the way.
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Habitat, Human, and Holy: An Eco-Rhetorical Reading of the Gospel of Matthew

£20.00£50.00
Texts are rhetorical; they have an effect; they shape the mind and emotions of the readers who engage the text. Readers, in their turn, attend to the rhetoric of a text through the interpretative lens they bring to their reading of the text at the same time as they are being shaped by its rhetoric. Elaine Wainwright's eco-rhetorical reading of the Gospel of Matthew explores this interplay of rhetoric and perspective. An ecological perspective or hermeneutic is relatively new within biblical studies. It continues to be shaped and formed. Lorraine Code's call to 'ecological thinking' as a new 'social imaginary' informs the ecological perspective that Wainwright brings to this particular reading of the Gospel of Matthew. It is attentive to the interrelationships of all Earth constituents, and functions as a lens through which one can read the entire Gospel of Matthew. Such a perspective functions well with the particular rhetorical approach that guides this ecological reading. This approach is attentive to a complex weaving of material and 'other-than-human' as well as human features into the fabric of the text: hence the title Habitat, Human and Holy. It is their interaction in the text that constructs its rhetoric and it is this that engages the ecological reader. The story of Jesus, Emmanu-el, as it unfolds in the carefully structured Gospel of Matthew, is here read using an ecological hermeneutic and a rhetorical way of reading. Significant new insights emerge at each step of the way.
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The Letter to the Romans: Paul among the Ecologists

Published: Sep 2017
£23.00£60.00
'What God has joined together, let no one put asunder' is a motto for this commentary. Against a prevailing theological tradition that God's compassion is for human beings only and not also for non-human creation and the earth, Tonstad raises his voice in protest. The 'sundering' omissions are so monumental that only a renewed reading of Romans from the ground up can hope to undo them. If we read Romans through the eyes of Tonstad, Paul will be found to be speaking about the faithfulness of Christ and not only about faith in Christ; he will describe sin in societal terms and not only as a problem of individuals; his enigmatic 'I' in Romans 7 will tell the story of Eve and not only rehash his own biography; and Paul will give voice to non-human creation and the earth to a degree that is elsewhere heard in the Bible only in the Old Testament and, of course, hardly ever in the pulpit or the seminary. The theology of Romans will turn out to be an inclusive theology of divine compassion rather than a theology of divine sovereignty, arbitrarily exercised. On the theological foundation of compassion, Paul outlines an ethical vision of compassion in human community, with regard to citizenship and government, and in the mixed fellowship of Jews and Gentiles in the house churches in Rome. Paul's ecological bona fides are inseparable from his theological vision and not an imposition from without; his call to mercy blends with the best and most urgent sentiments of contemporary ecologists. In the striking reciprocity between theology and ecology in Romans, Paul puts on display what God has joined together, and, better still, what God has done to join together all that is asunder.
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The Letter to the Romans: Paul among the Ecologists

£23.00£60.00
'What God has joined together, let no one put asunder' is a motto for this commentary. Against a prevailing theological tradition that God's compassion is for human beings only and not also for non-human creation and the earth, Tonstad raises his voice in protest. The 'sundering' omissions are so monumental that only a renewed reading of Romans from the ground up can hope to undo them. If we read Romans through the eyes of Tonstad, Paul will be found to be speaking about the faithfulness of Christ and not only about faith in Christ; he will describe sin in societal terms and not only as a problem of individuals; his enigmatic 'I' in Romans 7 will tell the story of Eve and not only rehash his own biography; and Paul will give voice to non-human creation and the earth to a degree that is elsewhere heard in the Bible only in the Old Testament and, of course, hardly ever in the pulpit or the seminary. The theology of Romans will turn out to be an inclusive theology of divine compassion rather than a theology of divine sovereignty, arbitrarily exercised. On the theological foundation of compassion, Paul outlines an ethical vision of compassion in human community, with regard to citizenship and government, and in the mixed fellowship of Jews and Gentiles in the house churches in Rome. Paul's ecological bona fides are inseparable from his theological vision and not an imposition from without; his call to mercy blends with the best and most urgent sentiments of contemporary ecologists. In the striking reciprocity between theology and ecology in Romans, Paul puts on display what God has joined together, and, better still, what God has done to join together all that is asunder.
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2 Timothy

Published: Jan 2016
£15.00£35.00
In the last 150 years 2 Timothy has been the object of much scholarly scrutiny, especially over the questions of its authorship and the historical situation it presupposes. Though a few scholars today accept Pauline authorship, most have supported the view that 2 Timothy is pseudonymous, written sometime after the death of Paul. In this commentary, Smith straddles the fine line between Pauline authorship and pseudonymity, proposing that Paul is the author but that Luke is a significant contributing amanuensis. The most significant difference between this commentary and others is Smith's rejection of the common supposition that 2 Timothy is Paul's Farewell Speech or Last Testament. On the basis of his earlier work, Timothy's Task, Paul's Prospect, Smith understands 2 Timothy as a paraenetic letter written to Timothy encouraging him in his Ephesian ministry and asking him to join Paul in Rome. Paul's perspective in this letter is thus not one of resignation to death, nor does it express Paul's sense of passing on the baton to his younger colleague; rather it envisages his expectation of release from prison and his hope of new opportunities for ministry with Timothy, Luke and Mark. Smith understands the problem of false teaching in Ephesus to be a real problem that Timothy is facing and not a fictional situation of a subsequent time. Smith carefully elucidates the difficult situation in the church at Ephesus and its effect on Timothy, together with Paul's kindly and thoughtful admonition given as a father to a son.
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2 Timothy

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In the last 150 years 2 Timothy has been the object of much scholarly scrutiny, especially over the questions of its authorship and the historical situation it presupposes. Though a few scholars today accept Pauline authorship, most have supported the view that 2 Timothy is pseudonymous, written sometime after the death of Paul. In this commentary, Smith straddles the fine line between Pauline authorship and pseudonymity, proposing that Paul is the author but that Luke is a significant contributing amanuensis. The most significant difference between this commentary and others is Smith's rejection of the common supposition that 2 Timothy is Paul's Farewell Speech or Last Testament. On the basis of his earlier work, Timothy's Task, Paul's Prospect, Smith understands 2 Timothy as a paraenetic letter written to Timothy encouraging him in his Ephesian ministry and asking him to join Paul in Rome. Paul's perspective in this letter is thus not one of resignation to death, nor does it express Paul's sense of passing on the baton to his younger colleague; rather it envisages his expectation of release from prison and his hope of new opportunities for ministry with Timothy, Luke and Mark. Smith understands the problem of false teaching in Ephesus to be a real problem that Timothy is facing and not a fictional situation of a subsequent time. Smith carefully elucidates the difficult situation in the church at Ephesus and its effect on Timothy, together with Paul's kindly and thoughtful admonition given as a father to a son.
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The Integrity of 2 Corinthians and Paul’s Aggravating Absence

Published: Sep 2015
£60.00
Is 2 Corinthians a single letter, or a composite of fragments? Does it have a single setting, or do its parts address successive stages in a developing crisis? This is perennial set of questions about this Pauline letter. In this provocative study, Christopher D. Land steps back from the details that dominate most discussions of integrity. He analyses 2 Corinthians using a theoretically motivated procedure, avoiding the cherry-picking that plagues so many language-related arguments. Then, drawing upon this analysis, he segments 2 Corinthians into five parts. Examining the sorts of meanings employed in each segment, Land asks what is being talked about, what is being done, and who is taking part. He distinguishes between the settings in which texts are produced and the situations construed by their language, and he affirms both the conventional nature of intra-textual variation and the principle that coherent texts construe coherent situations. In the end, Land argues that 2 Corinthians has the general appearance of being a single text, and that its specifics ought to be re-examined accordingly. Irrespective of linguistics and literary integrity, scholars of all persuasions will be interested in the specifics. Among other things, Land argues that there is no single 'offender' underlying Paul's remarks in chaps. 2 and 7, but a plurality of misbehaving church members. Paul has been accused of holding the church responsible for problems caused by his prolonged absence; and other Christian missionaries are stoking the church's discontent, criticizing Paul's ineffectual leadership and advancing their own as superior. To confront this crisis, Paul must simultaneously placate his readers, reiterate his demand that they care for themselves in his absence, and persuade them not to abandon him for 'stronger' leadership.
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The Integrity of 2 Corinthians and Paul’s Aggravating Absence

£60.00
Is 2 Corinthians a single letter, or a composite of fragments? Does it have a single setting, or do its parts address successive stages in a developing crisis? This is perennial set of questions about this Pauline letter. In this provocative study, Christopher D. Land steps back from the details that dominate most discussions of integrity. He analyses 2 Corinthians using a theoretically motivated procedure, avoiding the cherry-picking that plagues so many language-related arguments. Then, drawing upon this analysis, he segments 2 Corinthians into five parts. Examining the sorts of meanings employed in each segment, Land asks what is being talked about, what is being done, and who is taking part. He distinguishes between the settings in which texts are produced and the situations construed by their language, and he affirms both the conventional nature of intra-textual variation and the principle that coherent texts construe coherent situations. In the end, Land argues that 2 Corinthians has the general appearance of being a single text, and that its specifics ought to be re-examined accordingly. Irrespective of linguistics and literary integrity, scholars of all persuasions will be interested in the specifics. Among other things, Land argues that there is no single 'offender' underlying Paul's remarks in chaps. 2 and 7, but a plurality of misbehaving church members. Paul has been accused of holding the church responsible for problems caused by his prolonged absence; and other Christian missionaries are stoking the church's discontent, criticizing Paul's ineffectual leadership and advancing their own as superior. To confront this crisis, Paul must simultaneously placate his readers, reiterate his demand that they care for themselves in his absence, and persuade them not to abandon him for 'stronger' leadership.
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Sexuality, Ideology and the Bible: Antipodean Engagements

Published: Sep 2015
£60.00
What happens when explorations of sexuality, gender and the Bible go down under? This fascinating collection of essays, written by scholars located in the Antipodes, traverses the highly contested landscapes of sexuality, gender and biblical studies, revealing a myriad of sexual discourses voiced within both the biblical texts and their interpretative traditions. Recognizing that textual meaning is always shaped by the cultural and contextual baggage the reader brings to the interpretative task, contributors raise provocative questions about the meanings, identities and ideologies that surround biblical discourses of sexuality and gender, exploring how these have been and can be reshaped and reconceived. Deane Galbraith examines the theological reflections of Augustine and Paul on Adam's 'perfect penis' in Eden while Roland Boer explores the earthy biblical vocabulary used to depict female genitalia. Christina Petterson, meanwhile, examines the Moravian Brethren's celebration of a Christ who bore on his body male and female genitalia. Travelling beyond the sexualized human body, Emily Colgan considers the problematic language of gender violence against the land that is voiced in Jeremiah. Elaine Wainwright blurs and queers the binary categories of human and non-human in the Sermon on the Mount. Yael Klangwisan continues this blurring of boundaries through her creative reading of Song of Songs. Moving from the gendered body to the gendered voice, Alan Cadwallader probes Paul's rhetorical gender-bending in his 'masculinized' oral culture. Caroline Blyth and Teguh Wijaya Mulya empower Delilah to vocalize her queer potential in both the biblical narrative and popular culture. Gillian Townsley adds her own Kiwi voice to explore queer possibilities in Philippians 4.2-3 in the light of New Zealand's same-sex marriage legislation. The volume concludes with a queer reconsideration of the Antipodes themselves from the perspective of a northern-hemisphere biblical scholar, Hugh Pyper. This compelling collection will make a substantive contribution to the bookshelves of scholars and interested readers in such areas as biblical studies, religion and gender-queer studies.
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Sexuality, Ideology and the Bible: Antipodean Engagements

£60.00
What happens when explorations of sexuality, gender and the Bible go down under? This fascinating collection of essays, written by scholars located in the Antipodes, traverses the highly contested landscapes of sexuality, gender and biblical studies, revealing a myriad of sexual discourses voiced within both the biblical texts and their interpretative traditions. Recognizing that textual meaning is always shaped by the cultural and contextual baggage the reader brings to the interpretative task, contributors raise provocative questions about the meanings, identities and ideologies that surround biblical discourses of sexuality and gender, exploring how these have been and can be reshaped and reconceived. Deane Galbraith examines the theological reflections of Augustine and Paul on Adam's 'perfect penis' in Eden while Roland Boer explores the earthy biblical vocabulary used to depict female genitalia. Christina Petterson, meanwhile, examines the Moravian Brethren's celebration of a Christ who bore on his body male and female genitalia. Travelling beyond the sexualized human body, Emily Colgan considers the problematic language of gender violence against the land that is voiced in Jeremiah. Elaine Wainwright blurs and queers the binary categories of human and non-human in the Sermon on the Mount. Yael Klangwisan continues this blurring of boundaries through her creative reading of Song of Songs. Moving from the gendered body to the gendered voice, Alan Cadwallader probes Paul's rhetorical gender-bending in his 'masculinized' oral culture. Caroline Blyth and Teguh Wijaya Mulya empower Delilah to vocalize her queer potential in both the biblical narrative and popular culture. Gillian Townsley adds her own Kiwi voice to explore queer possibilities in Philippians 4.2-3 in the light of New Zealand's same-sex marriage legislation. The volume concludes with a queer reconsideration of the Antipodes themselves from the perspective of a northern-hemisphere biblical scholar, Hugh Pyper. This compelling collection will make a substantive contribution to the bookshelves of scholars and interested readers in such areas as biblical studies, religion and gender-queer studies.
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Religion and Violence: The Biblical Heritage

Published: Jun 2015
£14.50£35.00
Violence that is motivated by--and justified by--religious ideas, authorities and texts is everywhere around us. Some say that the origins of religion and human violence are inherently connected, and that the explanation for religious violence lies at the heart of the religious imagination itself, others that human violence was there long before religion ever came about, being no more than an unfortunate by-product of human evolution. Reconsidering the question of religion and violence in the biblical heritage is a narrower--but nonetheless essential--endeavour, to which the present volume addresses itself. After an introductory chapter by the editors on religion, violence and the Bible, Ziony Zevit writes on violence in Israelite culture and in the Bible, Tamar Kamionkowski on violence in prophetic literature, Stephen Geller on the prophetic roots of religious violence, David Wright on homicide, talion and vengeance in the Covenant Code, Lawrence Wills on the death of the hero and the violent death of Jesus, Jennifer Wright Knust on sacrifice and sacred text in Justin, and David Frankfurter on vengeance fantasies in the New Testament. Stephen Marini offers concluding reflections on religion and violence under the rubric of conflict, subversion and sacrifice.
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Religion and Violence: The Biblical Heritage

£14.50£35.00
Violence that is motivated by--and justified by--religious ideas, authorities and texts is everywhere around us. Some say that the origins of religion and human violence are inherently connected, and that the explanation for religious violence lies at the heart of the religious imagination itself, others that human violence was there long before religion ever came about, being no more than an unfortunate by-product of human evolution. Reconsidering the question of religion and violence in the biblical heritage is a narrower--but nonetheless essential--endeavour, to which the present volume addresses itself. After an introductory chapter by the editors on religion, violence and the Bible, Ziony Zevit writes on violence in Israelite culture and in the Bible, Tamar Kamionkowski on violence in prophetic literature, Stephen Geller on the prophetic roots of religious violence, David Wright on homicide, talion and vengeance in the Covenant Code, Lawrence Wills on the death of the hero and the violent death of Jesus, Jennifer Wright Knust on sacrifice and sacred text in Justin, and David Frankfurter on vengeance fantasies in the New Testament. Stephen Marini offers concluding reflections on religion and violence under the rubric of conflict, subversion and sacrifice.
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Borges and the Bible

Published: May 2015
£50.00
Jorge Luis Borges is the darling of authors and critics who were once described as postmodern. Borges's fictions assail the boundaries between text, world and self. In one sense, the fictions are mere rhetorical games, puzzles, or 'tricks', which disrupt communication (and interpretation), but they also suggest —at least to some —metaphysical uncertainties. To read them is as if one read the fictions of Hume or the Buddha. Most of the literary and biblical scholars in this volume pair the Bible and its scholarship with one or more of Borges's short fictions (particularly those first collected in English in Ficciones ), but some venture into Borges's essays, poetry, and his life story (as he and others have told it). As to Bibles, some essayists focus on particular texts from the Hebrew Bible (like Genesis, Samuel, Kings or Job) or the Christian New Testament (like Mark, 2 Corinthians, or Revelation), while others engage traditions of interpretation like Gnosticism, the Kabbalah or academic biblical scholarship. Several focus on canon, translation, the craft of fiction, religion or hermeneutics as a way of thinking about Borges and the Bible. With Borges, interpretation is ubiquitous. Whether consciously fictionalizing or not, all (biblical) interpretation transforms its precursor. All (biblical) interpretation becomes a play with secrecy and revelation. Borgesian Bibles and scholarship are labyrinths, gardens of forking paths, unsettling and distorting mirrors. With Borges, biblical scholars come face to face with their finitude, obsession, fascination, ambivalence, and inevitable heresy vis-à-vis ta biblia.
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Borges and the Bible

£50.00
Jorge Luis Borges is the darling of authors and critics who were once described as postmodern. Borges's fictions assail the boundaries between text, world and self. In one sense, the fictions are mere rhetorical games, puzzles, or 'tricks', which disrupt communication (and interpretation), but they also suggest —at least to some —metaphysical uncertainties. To read them is as if one read the fictions of Hume or the Buddha. Most of the literary and biblical scholars in this volume pair the Bible and its scholarship with one or more of Borges's short fictions (particularly those first collected in English in Ficciones ), but some venture into Borges's essays, poetry, and his life story (as he and others have told it). As to Bibles, some essayists focus on particular texts from the Hebrew Bible (like Genesis, Samuel, Kings or Job) or the Christian New Testament (like Mark, 2 Corinthians, or Revelation), while others engage traditions of interpretation like Gnosticism, the Kabbalah or academic biblical scholarship. Several focus on canon, translation, the craft of fiction, religion or hermeneutics as a way of thinking about Borges and the Bible. With Borges, interpretation is ubiquitous. Whether consciously fictionalizing or not, all (biblical) interpretation transforms its precursor. All (biblical) interpretation becomes a play with secrecy and revelation. Borgesian Bibles and scholarship are labyrinths, gardens of forking paths, unsettling and distorting mirrors. With Borges, biblical scholars come face to face with their finitude, obsession, fascination, ambivalence, and inevitable heresy vis-à-vis ta biblia.
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The Bad Jesus: The Ethics of New Testament Ethics

Published: Apr 2015
£25.00£60.00
Did Jesus ever do anything wrong? Judging by the vast majority of books on New Testament ethics, the answer is a resounding No. Writers on New Testament ethics generally view Jesus as the paradigm of human standards and behaviour. But since the historical Jesus was a human being, must he not have had flaws, like everyone else? The notion of a flawless human Jesus is a paradoxical oddity in New Testament ethics. According to Avalos, it shows that New Testament ethics is still primarily an apologetic enterprise despite its claim to rest on critical and historical scholarship. The Bad Jesus is a powerful and challenging study, presenting detailed case studies of fundamental ethical principles enunciated or practised by Jesus but antithetical to what would be widely deemed 'acceptable' or 'good' today. Such topics include Jesus' supposedly innovative teachings on love, along with his views on hate, violence, imperialism, animal rights, environmental ethics, Judaism, women, disabled persons and biblical hermeneutics. After closely examining arguments offered by those unwilling to find any fault with the Jesus depicted in the Gospels, Avalos concludes that current treatments of New Testament ethics are permeated by a religiocentric, ethnocentric and imperialistic orientation. But if it is to be a credible historical and critical discipline in modern academia, New Testament ethics needs to discover both a Good and a Bad Jesus.
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The Bad Jesus: The Ethics of New Testament Ethics

£25.00£60.00
Did Jesus ever do anything wrong? Judging by the vast majority of books on New Testament ethics, the answer is a resounding No. Writers on New Testament ethics generally view Jesus as the paradigm of human standards and behaviour. But since the historical Jesus was a human being, must he not have had flaws, like everyone else? The notion of a flawless human Jesus is a paradoxical oddity in New Testament ethics. According to Avalos, it shows that New Testament ethics is still primarily an apologetic enterprise despite its claim to rest on critical and historical scholarship. The Bad Jesus is a powerful and challenging study, presenting detailed case studies of fundamental ethical principles enunciated or practised by Jesus but antithetical to what would be widely deemed 'acceptable' or 'good' today. Such topics include Jesus' supposedly innovative teachings on love, along with his views on hate, violence, imperialism, animal rights, environmental ethics, Judaism, women, disabled persons and biblical hermeneutics. After closely examining arguments offered by those unwilling to find any fault with the Jesus depicted in the Gospels, Avalos concludes that current treatments of New Testament ethics are permeated by a religiocentric, ethnocentric and imperialistic orientation. But if it is to be a credible historical and critical discipline in modern academia, New Testament ethics needs to discover both a Good and a Bad Jesus.
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Recent Research on Revelation

Published: Sep 2014
£60.00
Perhaps no other biblical book has been the source of as much consternation to its readers as the Revelation of John of Patmos. Their distress has been accentuated by popular approaches, which often advance sensationalist visions of the future. But did John's vision focus on the distant future, or was it directed to concerns of his own day? If it was directed to his own situation in Roman Asia Minor, what lasting significance, if any, does it have for people two thousand years after the composition of the work? Recent Research on Revelation is an ambitious attempt to comprehend the great range of scholarly views on the Apocalypse. Avoiding popular and sensational readings of Revelation, this book outlines how scholars of various stripes grapple with John's dramatic and often disturbing book. Beginning with a historical survey of scholarly opinion, the book examines the question of what form of literature Revelation is. It then offers an overview of various methods used to interpret the Apocalypse, ranging from traditional historical-critical analysis to feminist and postcolonial criticisms. The Apocalypse continues to evoke strong reactions in its readers, both positive and negative, from comfort to perplexity to revulsion. At the very least, it stimulates readers' interest to an extent not surpassed by any other New Testament book. We cannot shut our eyes to John's vision, for it has had too much impact on who we are, whether Christian or not.
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Recent Research on Revelation

£60.00
Perhaps no other biblical book has been the source of as much consternation to its readers as the Revelation of John of Patmos. Their distress has been accentuated by popular approaches, which often advance sensationalist visions of the future. But did John's vision focus on the distant future, or was it directed to concerns of his own day? If it was directed to his own situation in Roman Asia Minor, what lasting significance, if any, does it have for people two thousand years after the composition of the work? Recent Research on Revelation is an ambitious attempt to comprehend the great range of scholarly views on the Apocalypse. Avoiding popular and sensational readings of Revelation, this book outlines how scholars of various stripes grapple with John's dramatic and often disturbing book. Beginning with a historical survey of scholarly opinion, the book examines the question of what form of literature Revelation is. It then offers an overview of various methods used to interpret the Apocalypse, ranging from traditional historical-critical analysis to feminist and postcolonial criticisms. The Apocalypse continues to evoke strong reactions in its readers, both positive and negative, from comfort to perplexity to revulsion. At the very least, it stimulates readers' interest to an extent not surpassed by any other New Testament book. We cannot shut our eyes to John's vision, for it has had too much impact on who we are, whether Christian or not.
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On the Historicity of Jesus: Why We Might Have Reason for Doubt

Published: Jun 2014
£25.00£60.00
The assumption that Jesus existed as a historical person has occasionally been questioned in the course of the last hundred years or so, but any doubts that have been raised have usually been put to rest in favor of imagining a blend of the historical, the mythical and the theological in the surviving records of Jesus. Carrier re-examines the whole question and finds compelling reasons to suspect the more daring assumption is correct. He lays out extensive research on the evidence for Jesus and the origins of Christianity and poses the key questions that must now be answered if the historicity of Jesus is to survive as a dominant paradigm. Carrier contrasts the most credible reconstruction of a historical Jesus with the most credible theory of Christian origins if a historical Jesus did not exist. Such a theory would posit that the Jesus figure was originally conceived of as a celestial being known only through private revelations and hidden messages in scripture; then stories placing this being in earth history were crafted to communicate the claims of the gospel allegorically; such stories eventually came to be believed or promoted in the struggle for control of the Christian churches that survived the tribulations of the first century. Carrier finds the latter theory more credible than has been previously imagined. He explains why it offers a better explanation for all the disparate evidence surviving from the first two centuries of the Christian era. He argues that we need a more careful and robust theory of cultural syncretism between Jewish theology and politics of the second-temple period and the most popular features of pagan religion and philosophy of the time. For anyone intent on defending a historical Jesus, this is the book to challenge.
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On the Historicity of Jesus: Why We Might Have Reason for Doubt

£25.00£60.00
The assumption that Jesus existed as a historical person has occasionally been questioned in the course of the last hundred years or so, but any doubts that have been raised have usually been put to rest in favor of imagining a blend of the historical, the mythical and the theological in the surviving records of Jesus. Carrier re-examines the whole question and finds compelling reasons to suspect the more daring assumption is correct. He lays out extensive research on the evidence for Jesus and the origins of Christianity and poses the key questions that must now be answered if the historicity of Jesus is to survive as a dominant paradigm. Carrier contrasts the most credible reconstruction of a historical Jesus with the most credible theory of Christian origins if a historical Jesus did not exist. Such a theory would posit that the Jesus figure was originally conceived of as a celestial being known only through private revelations and hidden messages in scripture; then stories placing this being in earth history were crafted to communicate the claims of the gospel allegorically; such stories eventually came to be believed or promoted in the struggle for control of the Christian churches that survived the tribulations of the first century. Carrier finds the latter theory more credible than has been previously imagined. He explains why it offers a better explanation for all the disparate evidence surviving from the first two centuries of the Christian era. He argues that we need a more careful and robust theory of cultural syncretism between Jewish theology and politics of the second-temple period and the most popular features of pagan religion and philosophy of the time. For anyone intent on defending a historical Jesus, this is the book to challenge.
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The Homeless Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew

Published: Jun 2014
£60.00
If homelessness typically entails a loss of social power and agency, then why do New Testament scholars so often envisage Jesus' itinerancy as a chosen lifestyle devoid of hardship? In this provocative new reading of the Gospel of Matthew, Robert J. Myles explores the disjuncture between Jesus and homelessness by exposing the political biases of modern Western readers. Drawing on the ideological politics of homelessness in contemporary society, Myles develops an interpretative lens informed by the Marxist critique of neoliberalism and, in particular, by the critical theory of Slavoj Žižek. Homelessness, from this perspective, is viewed not as an individual choice but rather as the by-product of wider economic, political and social forces. Myles argues that Jesus' homelessness has become largely romanticized in recent biblical scholarship. Is the flight to Egypt, for instance, important primarily for its recasting of Jesus as the new Moses, or should the basic narrative of forced displacement take centre stage? The remedy, Myles contends, is to read directly against the grain of contemporary scholarship by interpreting Jesus' homelessness through his wider economic, political and social context, as it is encoded in the biblical text. To demonstrate how ideology is complicit in shaping the interpretation of a homeless Jesus, a selection of texts from the Gospel of Matthew is re-read to amplify the destitution, desperation and constraints on agency that are integral to a critical understanding of homelessness. What emerges is a refreshed appreciation for the deviancy of Matthew's Jesus, in which his status as a displaced and expendable outsider is identified as contributing to the conflict and violence of the narrative, leading ultimately to his execution on the cross.
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The Homeless Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew

£60.00
If homelessness typically entails a loss of social power and agency, then why do New Testament scholars so often envisage Jesus' itinerancy as a chosen lifestyle devoid of hardship? In this provocative new reading of the Gospel of Matthew, Robert J. Myles explores the disjuncture between Jesus and homelessness by exposing the political biases of modern Western readers. Drawing on the ideological politics of homelessness in contemporary society, Myles develops an interpretative lens informed by the Marxist critique of neoliberalism and, in particular, by the critical theory of Slavoj Žižek. Homelessness, from this perspective, is viewed not as an individual choice but rather as the by-product of wider economic, political and social forces. Myles argues that Jesus' homelessness has become largely romanticized in recent biblical scholarship. Is the flight to Egypt, for instance, important primarily for its recasting of Jesus as the new Moses, or should the basic narrative of forced displacement take centre stage? The remedy, Myles contends, is to read directly against the grain of contemporary scholarship by interpreting Jesus' homelessness through his wider economic, political and social context, as it is encoded in the biblical text. To demonstrate how ideology is complicit in shaping the interpretation of a homeless Jesus, a selection of texts from the Gospel of Matthew is re-read to amplify the destitution, desperation and constraints on agency that are integral to a critical understanding of homelessness. What emerges is a refreshed appreciation for the deviancy of Matthew's Jesus, in which his status as a displaced and expendable outsider is identified as contributing to the conflict and violence of the narrative, leading ultimately to his execution on the cross.
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The Bible, Justice and Public Theology

Published: May 2014
£60.00
Public theology is a developing field of discourse concerned to address matters of pressing public concern in theological perspective for the common good. Themes of ecology, poverty, human rights and especially justice feature prominently in its discourse. Although justice is also a prominent theme in the Bible, there is no single perspective on what constitutes justice in the Bible and no single view on how biblical perspectives on justice should contribute to contemporary discussion regarding the meaning and implementation of justice. Informed and inspired by Christopher Marshall's landmark work on Compassionate Justice (Cascade Books, 2012) in dialogue with Jesus' parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, this collection of studies addresses various interrelations between the Bible, justice and public theology. Marshall himself proposes that certain parables of Jesus are paradigmatic for public theology, and some contributors respond to different dimensions of his treatment of the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son in terms of restorative justice. Other contributors, by contrast, examine broader related concerns such as justice in biblical, theological and philosophical perspective, the hermeneutics of engagement for justice, the relation between feminist theology and restorative justice, biblical resources for public theology, and popular culture as both a conversation partner with and a medium for public theology.
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The Bible, Justice and Public Theology

£60.00
Public theology is a developing field of discourse concerned to address matters of pressing public concern in theological perspective for the common good. Themes of ecology, poverty, human rights and especially justice feature prominently in its discourse. Although justice is also a prominent theme in the Bible, there is no single perspective on what constitutes justice in the Bible and no single view on how biblical perspectives on justice should contribute to contemporary discussion regarding the meaning and implementation of justice. Informed and inspired by Christopher Marshall's landmark work on Compassionate Justice (Cascade Books, 2012) in dialogue with Jesus' parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, this collection of studies addresses various interrelations between the Bible, justice and public theology. Marshall himself proposes that certain parables of Jesus are paradigmatic for public theology, and some contributors respond to different dimensions of his treatment of the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son in terms of restorative justice. Other contributors, by contrast, examine broader related concerns such as justice in biblical, theological and philosophical perspective, the hermeneutics of engagement for justice, the relation between feminist theology and restorative justice, biblical resources for public theology, and popular culture as both a conversation partner with and a medium for public theology.
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Poverty, Wealth, and Empire: Jesus and Postcolonial Criticism

Published: Mar 2014
£45.00
Poverty, Wealth, and Empire presents an antidote to the liberal Jesuses that are constantly being constructed by theologians and historians in universities and seminaries in the West. Sandford's programme is to pay attention to those texts where Jesus appears hostile to his audiences, or even invokes the idea of divine judgment and violence against certain groups. Drawing on a variety of texts in the synoptic gospels, Sandford finds violent denouncements of the rich and those who neglect the needy to be a consistent theme in Jesus' teaching. Rather than deploying biblical texts to support an anti-imperial or liberationist agenda, Sandford foregrounds troubling and problematic texts. Among them are wisdom sayings that justify poverty, texts that denigrate particular ethnic groups, and the ideology inherent in Jesus' teachings about the 'the Kingdom of God'. On such a basis Sandford is able to call into question the effectiveness of mainline Christian scholarly interpretations of Jesus in dealing with the most profound ethical problems of our time: poverty, domination and violence. Always alert to the assumptions and prejudices of much Western New Testament scholarship, Sandford draws attention to its intellectual contradictions, and, furthermore, to the way in which this scholarship has sometimes served to undergird and justify systems of oppression —in particular by its demonstrable dodging of the issue of material poverty and its causes. Building on recent debates in postcolonial biblical criticism, Sandford offers a decidedly 'illiberal' reading of Jesus' sayings on divine judgment, focusing on the paradoxical idea of a 'nonviolent' Jesus who nevertheless pronounces divine violence upon the rich.
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Poverty, Wealth, and Empire: Jesus and Postcolonial Criticism

£45.00
Poverty, Wealth, and Empire presents an antidote to the liberal Jesuses that are constantly being constructed by theologians and historians in universities and seminaries in the West. Sandford's programme is to pay attention to those texts where Jesus appears hostile to his audiences, or even invokes the idea of divine judgment and violence against certain groups. Drawing on a variety of texts in the synoptic gospels, Sandford finds violent denouncements of the rich and those who neglect the needy to be a consistent theme in Jesus' teaching. Rather than deploying biblical texts to support an anti-imperial or liberationist agenda, Sandford foregrounds troubling and problematic texts. Among them are wisdom sayings that justify poverty, texts that denigrate particular ethnic groups, and the ideology inherent in Jesus' teachings about the 'the Kingdom of God'. On such a basis Sandford is able to call into question the effectiveness of mainline Christian scholarly interpretations of Jesus in dealing with the most profound ethical problems of our time: poverty, domination and violence. Always alert to the assumptions and prejudices of much Western New Testament scholarship, Sandford draws attention to its intellectual contradictions, and, furthermore, to the way in which this scholarship has sometimes served to undergird and justify systems of oppression —in particular by its demonstrable dodging of the issue of material poverty and its causes. Building on recent debates in postcolonial biblical criticism, Sandford offers a decidedly 'illiberal' reading of Jesus' sayings on divine judgment, focusing on the paradoxical idea of a 'nonviolent' Jesus who nevertheless pronounces divine violence upon the rich.
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Encountering Violence in the Bible

Published: Oct 2013
£60.00
Our world is full of violence, with repeated acts of terrorism and generally rising rates of violent criminal acts as the most obvious forms of the phenomenon in the Western world. It even reached the peaceful shores of Norway in the summer of 2011. This was one of the reasons why the first international meeting of the Norwegian Summer Academy for Biblical Studies was devoted to the topic 'Violence as an Ethical Challenge in the Bible'. Eighteen biblical scholars from nine different countries (Joshua Berman, Lennart Bostršm, Friedmann Eissler, Torleif Elgvin, LarsOlov Eriksson, Karin Finsterbusch, Georg Fischer, Terence E. Fretheim, Hallvard Hagelia, Dana M. Harris, Robert L. Hubbard, Jr, ÌÉrstein Justnes, Gordon McConville, Kirsten Nielsen, Tommy Wasserman, Karl William Weyde, Peter Wick and Markus Zehnder) met on the beautiful premises of Ansgar Theological Seminary to discuss some of the most fundamental aspects of the topic. The papers presented at the conference are collected in the present volume, dealing mostly with the Hebrew Bible, but covering also the New Testament, Jewish literature from the Second Temple period and the Qur'an. The contributions reflect a refreshing variety of scholarly and theological approaches. One of the fundamental questions addressed in several studies is how biblical texts justifying violence can be properly understood and used today. Other questions raised are how violent some of the often-criticized biblical passages really are and how violence can be overcome.
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Encountering Violence in the Bible

£60.00
Our world is full of violence, with repeated acts of terrorism and generally rising rates of violent criminal acts as the most obvious forms of the phenomenon in the Western world. It even reached the peaceful shores of Norway in the summer of 2011. This was one of the reasons why the first international meeting of the Norwegian Summer Academy for Biblical Studies was devoted to the topic 'Violence as an Ethical Challenge in the Bible'. Eighteen biblical scholars from nine different countries (Joshua Berman, Lennart Bostršm, Friedmann Eissler, Torleif Elgvin, LarsOlov Eriksson, Karin Finsterbusch, Georg Fischer, Terence E. Fretheim, Hallvard Hagelia, Dana M. Harris, Robert L. Hubbard, Jr, ÌÉrstein Justnes, Gordon McConville, Kirsten Nielsen, Tommy Wasserman, Karl William Weyde, Peter Wick and Markus Zehnder) met on the beautiful premises of Ansgar Theological Seminary to discuss some of the most fundamental aspects of the topic. The papers presented at the conference are collected in the present volume, dealing mostly with the Hebrew Bible, but covering also the New Testament, Jewish literature from the Second Temple period and the Qur'an. The contributions reflect a refreshing variety of scholarly and theological approaches. One of the fundamental questions addressed in several studies is how biblical texts justifying violence can be properly understood and used today. Other questions raised are how violent some of the often-criticized biblical passages really are and how violence can be overcome.
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Making a Difference: Essays on the Bible and Judaism in Honor of Tamara Cohn Eskenazi

Published: Oct 2012
£75.00
Tamara Cohn Eskenazi has a special place in contemporary biblical scholarship. Among the first to bring a focus of scholarly attention to the period of ancient Israel's creativity after the Exile, she has also been a leader in foregrounding the Jewish tradition within the interpretative discourse of biblical scholars. And as a woman scholar, she has advanced the study of issues in the Hebrew Bible that impinge on the concerns of women ancient and modern. Tamara Eskenazi was awarded the 2008 National Jewish Book Award for her volume The Torah: A Women's Commentary and the 2011 National Jewish Book Award in Women's Studies for her commentary on Ruth in the Jewish Publication Society Bible Commentary series. The 26 articles offered to Tamara Eskenazi by her friends in this volume represent the range of her interests in all things biblical and Jewish. From the Book of Genesis to the New Testament to modern Hebrew fiction, from technical studies on the prophets or Qumran to penetrating insights on her beloved philosopher Levinas, this volume beautifully represents the range and depth of Jewish culture.
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Making a Difference: Essays on the Bible and Judaism in Honor of Tamara Cohn Eskenazi

£75.00
Tamara Cohn Eskenazi has a special place in contemporary biblical scholarship. Among the first to bring a focus of scholarly attention to the period of ancient Israel's creativity after the Exile, she has also been a leader in foregrounding the Jewish tradition within the interpretative discourse of biblical scholars. And as a woman scholar, she has advanced the study of issues in the Hebrew Bible that impinge on the concerns of women ancient and modern. Tamara Eskenazi was awarded the 2008 National Jewish Book Award for her volume The Torah: A Women's Commentary and the 2011 National Jewish Book Award in Women's Studies for her commentary on Ruth in the Jewish Publication Society Bible Commentary series. The 26 articles offered to Tamara Eskenazi by her friends in this volume represent the range of her interests in all things biblical and Jewish. From the Book of Genesis to the New Testament to modern Hebrew fiction, from technical studies on the prophets or Qumran to penetrating insights on her beloved philosopher Levinas, this volume beautifully represents the range and depth of Jewish culture.
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The Death of Judas: The Characterization of Judas Iscariot in Three Early Christian Accounts of His Death

Published: Oct 2012
£60.00
Images of Judas across the centuries of Christian interpretation predominantly depict him as an object of horror and condemnation. Some modern interpreters have argued, however, that details about Judas in the canonical Gospels, such as his remorse and suicide, are tragic elements that vindicate Judas, to some extent at least. In addition, the recent discovery of the Gospel of Judas has provided further evidence that even in antiquity there were widely differing views of Judas. The question of the characterization of Judas in early Christianity remains open. Ancient rhetorical handbooks and countless examples from the literature of the Greco-Roman period reveal that death-accounts were regarded as fertile opportunities for shaping the characterization of a figure. Authors and audiences shared the expectation that the manner of a person's death revealed character. This insight provides a new window into the interpretation of Judas in the early Christian era, since three accounts of the death of Judas have survived from before 150 CE through the Gospel of Matthew, the Acts of the Apostles, and the fragments of Papias. Strategies for encomium and invective, and other elements of Greco-Roman and Jewish literary portraiture, vividly reveal the character-shaping significance of the details in the accounts of Judas's death. His final words, final actions, and the mode of his death —whether suicide by hanging, falling headlong and bursting, or swelling to the size of a wagon —all would have been understood to signify Judas's inner qualities and indicate his moral worth. To ancient auditors, the characterization of Judas in these texts could lead only to the assessment of Jesus, 'Woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born' (Matt. 26.24).
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The Death of Judas: The Characterization of Judas Iscariot in Three Early Christian Accounts of His Death

£60.00
Images of Judas across the centuries of Christian interpretation predominantly depict him as an object of horror and condemnation. Some modern interpreters have argued, however, that details about Judas in the canonical Gospels, such as his remorse and suicide, are tragic elements that vindicate Judas, to some extent at least. In addition, the recent discovery of the Gospel of Judas has provided further evidence that even in antiquity there were widely differing views of Judas. The question of the characterization of Judas in early Christianity remains open. Ancient rhetorical handbooks and countless examples from the literature of the Greco-Roman period reveal that death-accounts were regarded as fertile opportunities for shaping the characterization of a figure. Authors and audiences shared the expectation that the manner of a person's death revealed character. This insight provides a new window into the interpretation of Judas in the early Christian era, since three accounts of the death of Judas have survived from before 150 CE through the Gospel of Matthew, the Acts of the Apostles, and the fragments of Papias. Strategies for encomium and invective, and other elements of Greco-Roman and Jewish literary portraiture, vividly reveal the character-shaping significance of the details in the accounts of Judas's death. His final words, final actions, and the mode of his death —whether suicide by hanging, falling headlong and bursting, or swelling to the size of a wagon —all would have been understood to signify Judas's inner qualities and indicate his moral worth. To ancient auditors, the characterization of Judas in these texts could lead only to the assessment of Jesus, 'Woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born' (Matt. 26.24).
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The Death and Resurrection of the Author and Other Feminist Essays on the Bible

Published: Oct 2012
£45.00
Jane Dewar Schaberg (1938 —2012) is widely recognized as one of the foremothers of feminist biblical studies in North America, best known for her ground-breaking and controversial works, The Illegitimacy of Jesus (1987) and The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene (2002). The present volume brings together fourteen of her essays on feminist approaches to scholarship and teaching, studies on women in the Christian Scriptures, feminist scholarship and modern media, and responses to backlash against feminism. Many of these essays appear here for the first time. Included also are several of Schaberg's important essays on Mary Magdalene as well as new essays in which she explores further her proposal for 'Magdalene Christianity'. These studies will be of interest not only to scholars, but also those teaching courses on women and the Bible, women's studies, religion and media, and the history of early Christianity. A distinctive feature of this volume is the way in which it honors the feminist commitment to acknowledging the voice and presence of the author in the text. Each of the five sections is introduced by a brief autobiographical sketch that invites the reader to hear the essays in dialogue with the context of Schaberg's life. These sketches offer the reader a glimpse of the values, commitments, and struggles that are the substratum out of which the scholarly essays emerge. Also woven throughout the volume are several of Schaberg's poems, providing commentary on the essays and drawing them into conversation with Schaberg's life experiences. Together, the essays, autobiographical sketches and poems speak to the importance of claiming one's own voice and identifying absent voices in the texts. They also speak to the importance of recognizing the context(s) in which one reads and writes, and the need to uncover the hard realities that silence many voices within those contexts. The volume is, in short, a stunning and remarkable representation of a life dedicated to feminist scholarship. For those who read it, it is also a call to action.
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The Death and Resurrection of the Author and Other Feminist Essays on the Bible

£45.00
Jane Dewar Schaberg (1938 —2012) is widely recognized as one of the foremothers of feminist biblical studies in North America, best known for her ground-breaking and controversial works, The Illegitimacy of Jesus (1987) and The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene (2002). The present volume brings together fourteen of her essays on feminist approaches to scholarship and teaching, studies on women in the Christian Scriptures, feminist scholarship and modern media, and responses to backlash against feminism. Many of these essays appear here for the first time. Included also are several of Schaberg's important essays on Mary Magdalene as well as new essays in which she explores further her proposal for 'Magdalene Christianity'. These studies will be of interest not only to scholars, but also those teaching courses on women and the Bible, women's studies, religion and media, and the history of early Christianity. A distinctive feature of this volume is the way in which it honors the feminist commitment to acknowledging the voice and presence of the author in the text. Each of the five sections is introduced by a brief autobiographical sketch that invites the reader to hear the essays in dialogue with the context of Schaberg's life. These sketches offer the reader a glimpse of the values, commitments, and struggles that are the substratum out of which the scholarly essays emerge. Also woven throughout the volume are several of Schaberg's poems, providing commentary on the essays and drawing them into conversation with Schaberg's life experiences. Together, the essays, autobiographical sketches and poems speak to the importance of claiming one's own voice and identifying absent voices in the texts. They also speak to the importance of recognizing the context(s) in which one reads and writes, and the need to uncover the hard realities that silence many voices within those contexts. The volume is, in short, a stunning and remarkable representation of a life dedicated to feminist scholarship. For those who read it, it is also a call to action.
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Beyond the Quest for the Historical Jesus: Memoir of a Discovery

Published: Sep 2012
£18.95
In the past forty years, while historical-critical studies were seeking with renewed intensity to reconstruct events behind the biblical texts, not least the life of Jesus, two branches of literary studies were finally reaching maturity. First, researchers were recognizing that many biblical texts are rewritings or transformations of older texts that still exist, thus giving a clearer sense of where the biblical texts came from; and second, studies in the ancient art of composition clarified the biblical texts' unity and purpose, that is to say, where biblical texts were headed. The primary literary model behind the gospels, Brodie argues, is the biblical account of Elijah and Elisha, as R.E. Brown already saw in 1971. In this fascinating memoir of his life journey, Tom Brodie, Irishman, Dominican priest, and biblical scholar, recounts the steps he has taken, in an eventful life in many countries, to his conclusion that the New Testament account of Jesus is essentially a rewriting of the Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible, or, in some cases, of earlier New Testament texts. Jesus' challenge to would-be disciples (Luke 9.57-62), for example, is a transformation of the challenge to Elijah at Horeb (1 Kings 19), while his journey from Jerusalem and Judea to Samaria and beyond (John 2.23 —4.54) is deeply indebted to the account of the journey of God's Word in Acts 1 —8. The work of tracing literary indebtedness and art is far from finished but it is already possible and necessary to draw a conclusion: it is that, bluntly, Jesus did not exist as a historical individual. This is not as negative as may at first appear. In a deeply personal coda, Brodie begins to develop a new vision of Jesus as an icon of God's presence in the world and in human history.
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Beyond the Quest for the Historical Jesus: Memoir of a Discovery

£18.95
In the past forty years, while historical-critical studies were seeking with renewed intensity to reconstruct events behind the biblical texts, not least the life of Jesus, two branches of literary studies were finally reaching maturity. First, researchers were recognizing that many biblical texts are rewritings or transformations of older texts that still exist, thus giving a clearer sense of where the biblical texts came from; and second, studies in the ancient art of composition clarified the biblical texts' unity and purpose, that is to say, where biblical texts were headed. The primary literary model behind the gospels, Brodie argues, is the biblical account of Elijah and Elisha, as R.E. Brown already saw in 1971. In this fascinating memoir of his life journey, Tom Brodie, Irishman, Dominican priest, and biblical scholar, recounts the steps he has taken, in an eventful life in many countries, to his conclusion that the New Testament account of Jesus is essentially a rewriting of the Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible, or, in some cases, of earlier New Testament texts. Jesus' challenge to would-be disciples (Luke 9.57-62), for example, is a transformation of the challenge to Elijah at Horeb (1 Kings 19), while his journey from Jerusalem and Judea to Samaria and beyond (John 2.23 —4.54) is deeply indebted to the account of the journey of God's Word in Acts 1 —8. The work of tracing literary indebtedness and art is far from finished but it is already possible and necessary to draw a conclusion: it is that, bluntly, Jesus did not exist as a historical individual. This is not as negative as may at first appear. In a deeply personal coda, Brodie begins to develop a new vision of Jesus as an icon of God's presence in the world and in human history.
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Reading Ideologies: Essays on the Bible and Interpretation in Honor of Mary Ann Tolbert

Published: Sep 2011
£75.00
Mary Ann Tolbert has been a pioneering voice in what we have now come to call 'interdisciplinary reading' of the Bible. In the early stages of her career, Tolbert used New Testament parables to push biblical scholarship beyond the traditional confines of historical-critical methods. Over the past four decades, she has made significant contributions to psychoanalytical, narrative, rhetorical, feminist, and queer readings of the Bible, and has interrogated the social location of biblical interpreters as well as the ideological implications of reading and reading methodologies. Divided into three main sections, this collection of essays from biblical scholars around the world to honor Tolbert engage the very issues that have driven and defined Tolbert's scholarship: reading between the historical and the literary; reading between biblical authority and social location; and reading between gender and sexuality. The title of the collection focuses on an often-used but arguably under-examined term in biblical studies: 'ideology'. Together, essays in this volume not only perform ideological criticism of the Bible but also profess the ideological nature of criticism itself, since —regardless of 'what' and 'how' one is reading —the act of reading is always already infused with ideology. By highlighting the work of ideology in interpretation, this volume ultimately suggests that while ideology impacts interpretation of meaning, the meaning of ideology itself also needs to be interpreted.
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Reading Ideologies: Essays on the Bible and Interpretation in Honor of Mary Ann Tolbert

£75.00
Mary Ann Tolbert has been a pioneering voice in what we have now come to call 'interdisciplinary reading' of the Bible. In the early stages of her career, Tolbert used New Testament parables to push biblical scholarship beyond the traditional confines of historical-critical methods. Over the past four decades, she has made significant contributions to psychoanalytical, narrative, rhetorical, feminist, and queer readings of the Bible, and has interrogated the social location of biblical interpreters as well as the ideological implications of reading and reading methodologies. Divided into three main sections, this collection of essays from biblical scholars around the world to honor Tolbert engage the very issues that have driven and defined Tolbert's scholarship: reading between the historical and the literary; reading between biblical authority and social location; and reading between gender and sexuality. The title of the collection focuses on an often-used but arguably under-examined term in biblical studies: 'ideology'. Together, essays in this volume not only perform ideological criticism of the Bible but also profess the ideological nature of criticism itself, since —regardless of 'what' and 'how' one is reading —the act of reading is always already infused with ideology. By highlighting the work of ideology in interpretation, this volume ultimately suggests that while ideology impacts interpretation of meaning, the meaning of ideology itself also needs to be interpreted.
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The Letter to the Romans: Salvation as Justice and the Deconstruction of Law

Published: Sep 2011
£70.00
Romans, says Waetjen, is the first publication of the Christ movement. To understand it well is therefore a task of monumental importance, and to understand it today requires a postmodern hermeneutics, in which the interpreter's subjective experience of reading the text is correlated with historical-critical knowledge and social-scientific criticism. That hermeneutics has to create a new genre of commentary, making room for readers' prior understandings as well as for a dynamic form of close reading and consistency building. The outcome is a contemporizing of Paul's theology that induces conversation with Derrida, Žižek, Badiou and Agamben and others. The central theme of Romans is, according to Waetjen, the healing of humanity through the realization of 'the justice of God', which is disclosed in the movement 'out of trust into trust', or, more specifically, out of the trust of Abraham into the trust of Jesus Christ. Living on this side of the law of Sinai and therefore being conscious of the condition of sin requires the reconciliation of Christ's death and the justification of Christ's resurrection in order to participate in the New Humanity of life-giving spirits. Consequently Romans is more than a rhetorical effort to mediate conflicts between Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome. Composed prior to his journey to Jerusalem with the possibility of martyrdom before him, the letter is Paul's major theological testament.
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The Letter to the Romans: Salvation as Justice and the Deconstruction of Law

£70.00
Romans, says Waetjen, is the first publication of the Christ movement. To understand it well is therefore a task of monumental importance, and to understand it today requires a postmodern hermeneutics, in which the interpreter's subjective experience of reading the text is correlated with historical-critical knowledge and social-scientific criticism. That hermeneutics has to create a new genre of commentary, making room for readers' prior understandings as well as for a dynamic form of close reading and consistency building. The outcome is a contemporizing of Paul's theology that induces conversation with Derrida, Žižek, Badiou and Agamben and others. The central theme of Romans is, according to Waetjen, the healing of humanity through the realization of 'the justice of God', which is disclosed in the movement 'out of trust into trust', or, more specifically, out of the trust of Abraham into the trust of Jesus Christ. Living on this side of the law of Sinai and therefore being conscious of the condition of sin requires the reconciliation of Christ's death and the justification of Christ's resurrection in order to participate in the New Humanity of life-giving spirits. Consequently Romans is more than a rhetorical effort to mediate conflicts between Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome. Composed prior to his journey to Jerusalem with the possibility of martyrdom before him, the letter is Paul's major theological testament.
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The Lord of the Entire World: Lord Jesus, a Challenge to Lord Caesar?

Published: Aug 2011
£70.00
How would the confession, 'Jesus is Lord', have been understood in the first-century Roman world? Was it more than a statement of one's devotion to Jesus? Was it also an implicit challenge to the living Caesar, the lord of the Roman empire? There were many lords in the first century and the use of the title kyrios was complex. Clearly Paul was influenced by the use of this title for Yahweh in the Greek Old Testament. But he was also part of a culture in which the title was used for many persons, including fathers, slave owners, government officials —and the emperor. However, the title kyrios was used sparingly of emperors in the early and mid-first century. On the basis of the extant evidence, scholars since Deissmann have come to differing conclusions as to whether a challenge to the emperor is contained in the phrase. Fantin proposes a more powerful method of resolving the question, drawing upon the insights of relevance theory. He examines a whole range of persons referred to with this title, and evaluates the potential influence of such contexts on Paul's usage. Only then is it possible to draw compelling conclusions on whether any challenge is likely to be implied. In The Lord of the Entire World, Fantin shows that the living Caesar was indeed acknowledged in Paul's time as the supreme lord of the Roman world. Key New Testament texts such as Romans 10.9, 1 Corinthians 8.6 and Philippians 2.11 show that in all likelihood the Christian confession was in fact a challenge to imperial authority.
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The Lord of the Entire World: Lord Jesus, a Challenge to Lord Caesar?

£70.00
How would the confession, 'Jesus is Lord', have been understood in the first-century Roman world? Was it more than a statement of one's devotion to Jesus? Was it also an implicit challenge to the living Caesar, the lord of the Roman empire? There were many lords in the first century and the use of the title kyrios was complex. Clearly Paul was influenced by the use of this title for Yahweh in the Greek Old Testament. But he was also part of a culture in which the title was used for many persons, including fathers, slave owners, government officials —and the emperor. However, the title kyrios was used sparingly of emperors in the early and mid-first century. On the basis of the extant evidence, scholars since Deissmann have come to differing conclusions as to whether a challenge to the emperor is contained in the phrase. Fantin proposes a more powerful method of resolving the question, drawing upon the insights of relevance theory. He examines a whole range of persons referred to with this title, and evaluates the potential influence of such contexts on Paul's usage. Only then is it possible to draw compelling conclusions on whether any challenge is likely to be implied. In The Lord of the Entire World, Fantin shows that the living Caesar was indeed acknowledged in Paul's time as the supreme lord of the Roman world. Key New Testament texts such as Romans 10.9, 1 Corinthians 8.6 and Philippians 2.11 show that in all likelihood the Christian confession was in fact a challenge to imperial authority.
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The Matter of the Text: Material Engagements Between Luke and the Five Senses

Published: May 2011
£60.00
When the Lukan Jesus stands up to read in the Nazareth synagogue, he unrolls and rolls up a scroll. At this moment —which scholars have read as programmatic for the Gospel of Luke —the material text frames the written and spoken word. Here reading is an engagement with the senses of touch, sight and hearing. The organs of sense —skin, eyes, ears and mouth —function as mediators of the material text. By contrast, our contemporary practices of reading as biblical scholars and critics commonly ignore the underlying materiality that is given to writing. In an ecological context where the mass production of Bibles is part of a consumerist economics that does not walk lightly on the Earth, and in an Australian postcolonial context where Bibles arrived as material artefacts of European colonizers, this book asks what modes of reading might best be suited to the materiality of the text. Engaging with the Gospel of Luke and the five senses, The Matter of the Text enacts a mode of reading that attends to the underlying materiality of the text. Reading with the senses offers a way of imagining the mutual touching of artefact and writing and the absent presence of the material text, where matter is given to the word as a visible voice.
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The Matter of the Text: Material Engagements Between Luke and the Five Senses

£60.00
When the Lukan Jesus stands up to read in the Nazareth synagogue, he unrolls and rolls up a scroll. At this moment —which scholars have read as programmatic for the Gospel of Luke —the material text frames the written and spoken word. Here reading is an engagement with the senses of touch, sight and hearing. The organs of sense —skin, eyes, ears and mouth —function as mediators of the material text. By contrast, our contemporary practices of reading as biblical scholars and critics commonly ignore the underlying materiality that is given to writing. In an ecological context where the mass production of Bibles is part of a consumerist economics that does not walk lightly on the Earth, and in an Australian postcolonial context where Bibles arrived as material artefacts of European colonizers, this book asks what modes of reading might best be suited to the materiality of the text. Engaging with the Gospel of Luke and the five senses, The Matter of the Text enacts a mode of reading that attends to the underlying materiality of the text. Reading with the senses offers a way of imagining the mutual touching of artefact and writing and the absent presence of the material text, where matter is given to the word as a visible voice.
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The Flesh Was Made Word: A Metahistorical Critique of the Contemporary Quest of the Historical Jesus

Published: Nov 2010
£50.00
The 'historical Jesus' still remains elusive. Who was Jesus? What really happened? How can we know for sure? The latest quest for the truth about him comes at a time marked by radical uncertainty and postmodern scepticism about master narratives, along with a loss of confidence in the traditional methods of historical analysis. In this context, Susan Lochrie Graham approaches the old debates from an entirely new direction. Armed with a 'metahistorical' approach adapted from the work of Hayden White, the philosopher of history, she reads the work of four representative historical Jesus writers: John P. Meier, N.T. Wright, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza and John Dominic Crossan. The analysis brings to light the deep literary structures of their portraits, showing the differing plots and rhetorical concepts that shape them, and the types of argument that are deployed by each writer. This ground-breaking critical investigation exposes the theological and cultural meanings embedded in all historical Jesus writing, showing how narrative forms function ideologically. It concludes with fresh answers to questions both about the methods we use and about the social implications of the contemporary quest of the historical Jesus, and proposes different directions for future research.
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The Flesh Was Made Word: A Metahistorical Critique of the Contemporary Quest of the Historical Jesus

£50.00
The 'historical Jesus' still remains elusive. Who was Jesus? What really happened? How can we know for sure? The latest quest for the truth about him comes at a time marked by radical uncertainty and postmodern scepticism about master narratives, along with a loss of confidence in the traditional methods of historical analysis. In this context, Susan Lochrie Graham approaches the old debates from an entirely new direction. Armed with a 'metahistorical' approach adapted from the work of Hayden White, the philosopher of history, she reads the work of four representative historical Jesus writers: John P. Meier, N.T. Wright, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza and John Dominic Crossan. The analysis brings to light the deep literary structures of their portraits, showing the differing plots and rhetorical concepts that shape them, and the types of argument that are deployed by each writer. This ground-breaking critical investigation exposes the theological and cultural meanings embedded in all historical Jesus writing, showing how narrative forms function ideologically. It concludes with fresh answers to questions both about the methods we use and about the social implications of the contemporary quest of the historical Jesus, and proposes different directions for future research.
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Echoes of Friendship in the Gospel of John

Published: Oct 2010
£60.00
Friendship in the Graeco-Roman world took a wide variety of forms, with some 'friendships' involving nothing more than a political alliance or patron —client relationship and others involving deep personal intimacy. When Jesus says his disciples are to be called 'friends', what type of friendship does he have in mind? Friendship may seem a relatively insignificant motif in the Gospel of John, since the author does not explicitly set out to provide a philosophical discourse on the nature of friendship, nor does he explicitly state that the narrative is about friendship. In this study, however, Culy, having carefully examined Graeco-Roman literature on friendship, demonstrates that the language of what he calls 'ideal friendship' actually pervades the Fourth Gospel from beginning to end and serves as a primary vehicle for characterizing the relationships that are introduced in the Prologue and fleshed out throughout the course of the narrative. Taking up the friendship motif as a tool of characterization, the Gospel of John points to a striking implication of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus: that followers of Jesus are invited to enjoy a level of intimacy with him that can actually, and perhaps only, be compared to the level of intimacy that he enjoys with the Father. The Johannine Jesus, then, came not just to save the world but also to offer those who would follow him a relationship that Graeco-Roman philosophers only dreamed of, a relationship where all the ingredients of ideal friendship were present.
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Echoes of Friendship in the Gospel of John

£60.00
Friendship in the Graeco-Roman world took a wide variety of forms, with some 'friendships' involving nothing more than a political alliance or patron —client relationship and others involving deep personal intimacy. When Jesus says his disciples are to be called 'friends', what type of friendship does he have in mind? Friendship may seem a relatively insignificant motif in the Gospel of John, since the author does not explicitly set out to provide a philosophical discourse on the nature of friendship, nor does he explicitly state that the narrative is about friendship. In this study, however, Culy, having carefully examined Graeco-Roman literature on friendship, demonstrates that the language of what he calls 'ideal friendship' actually pervades the Fourth Gospel from beginning to end and serves as a primary vehicle for characterizing the relationships that are introduced in the Prologue and fleshed out throughout the course of the narrative. Taking up the friendship motif as a tool of characterization, the Gospel of John points to a striking implication of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus: that followers of Jesus are invited to enjoy a level of intimacy with him that can actually, and perhaps only, be compared to the level of intimacy that he enjoys with the Father. The Johannine Jesus, then, came not just to save the world but also to offer those who would follow him a relationship that Graeco-Roman philosophers only dreamed of, a relationship where all the ingredients of ideal friendship were present.
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Reworking the Bible: The Literary Reception-History of Fourteen Biblical Stories

Published: Jun 2010
£55.00
Reworking the Bible is a substantial account of the reception history of fourteen biblical stories —those of Eden, the Flood, Jacob and Esau, Moses and the Exodus, Joshua and Rahab, Samson, Nebuchadnezzar, Susanna, Esther, Jesus Christ, Salome, Lazarus, the Prodigal Son and the Descent into Hell. Full of fascinating detail of the afterlives of these biblical narratives, the book also offers a sophisticated theoretical analysis of the processes of reworking: major hypertexts from The Dream of the Rood to Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood come under the spotlight of the theories of Genette about rewriting and of Bakhtin about chronotopes and polyphony. In the final chapter, the material is viewed from the point of view of its spatial overtones, highlighting works that use the retelling of biblical stories to transport the reader to somewhere beyond controlling monological cultures. As well as providing close readings of some extraordinary literary reworkings, the book provides a guide to the available critical literature. Both the biblical stories themselves and the works of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Racine, George Eliot, Turgenev, Kafka, Iris Murdoch, Julian Barnes, Ben Okri and many others are cast in a new light, including many plays, novels and poems that have been surprisingly neglected. The works discussed range from the hilarious to the horrific and have the capacity to refresh and even transform our reading of the Bible.
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Reworking the Bible: The Literary Reception-History of Fourteen Biblical Stories

£55.00
Reworking the Bible is a substantial account of the reception history of fourteen biblical stories —those of Eden, the Flood, Jacob and Esau, Moses and the Exodus, Joshua and Rahab, Samson, Nebuchadnezzar, Susanna, Esther, Jesus Christ, Salome, Lazarus, the Prodigal Son and the Descent into Hell. Full of fascinating detail of the afterlives of these biblical narratives, the book also offers a sophisticated theoretical analysis of the processes of reworking: major hypertexts from The Dream of the Rood to Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood come under the spotlight of the theories of Genette about rewriting and of Bakhtin about chronotopes and polyphony. In the final chapter, the material is viewed from the point of view of its spatial overtones, highlighting works that use the retelling of biblical stories to transport the reader to somewhere beyond controlling monological cultures. As well as providing close readings of some extraordinary literary reworkings, the book provides a guide to the available critical literature. Both the biblical stories themselves and the works of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Racine, George Eliot, Turgenev, Kafka, Iris Murdoch, Julian Barnes, Ben Okri and many others are cast in a new light, including many plays, novels and poems that have been surprisingly neglected. The works discussed range from the hilarious to the horrific and have the capacity to refresh and even transform our reading of the Bible.
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The Son of Man in the Gospel of John

Published: May 2010
£50.00
J. Harold Ellens here explores the intriguing question of why, in John's Gospel, Jesus called himself the 'Son of Man', virtually the only title he gave himself in the Fourth Gospel, and a title virtually no one else ever used for him. In Second Temple Judaism there were several traditions about the Son of Man. In Ezekiel the term 'son of man' means 'mere mortal'. In Daniel, on the other hand, the Son of Man is a heavenly figure with authority to destroy evil and establish God's reign on earth. In 1 Enoch, the Son of Man is a human being appointed by God as an eschatological judge. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke the Son of Man is a man who builds the kingdom of God on earth. Jesus also depicts himself as the Suffering Servant, who will die at the hands of the Jerusalem authorities and be exalted by God to heavenly status as the final Judge. In this monograph the focus is on the Son of Man in the Gospel of John. There is nothing of the Ezekiel tradition in John, but Daniel's heavenly Son of Man is evident in the mind of this Gospel's author, who envisages him as divine, of heavenly origin. Indeed, in John the Son of Man is the divine Logos, God's revelation of himself. As against the Enochic and Synoptic Son of Man, the Johannine Son of Man is not a human being who is exalted to heaven and who will come again as the final Judge. He is a divine figure who descends to earth to remove evil now, by forgiving sins and by establishing God's universal reign.
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The Son of Man in the Gospel of John

£50.00
J. Harold Ellens here explores the intriguing question of why, in John's Gospel, Jesus called himself the 'Son of Man', virtually the only title he gave himself in the Fourth Gospel, and a title virtually no one else ever used for him. In Second Temple Judaism there were several traditions about the Son of Man. In Ezekiel the term 'son of man' means 'mere mortal'. In Daniel, on the other hand, the Son of Man is a heavenly figure with authority to destroy evil and establish God's reign on earth. In 1 Enoch, the Son of Man is a human being appointed by God as an eschatological judge. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke the Son of Man is a man who builds the kingdom of God on earth. Jesus also depicts himself as the Suffering Servant, who will die at the hands of the Jerusalem authorities and be exalted by God to heavenly status as the final Judge. In this monograph the focus is on the Son of Man in the Gospel of John. There is nothing of the Ezekiel tradition in John, but Daniel's heavenly Son of Man is evident in the mind of this Gospel's author, who envisages him as divine, of heavenly origin. Indeed, in John the Son of Man is the divine Logos, God's revelation of himself. As against the Enochic and Synoptic Son of Man, the Johannine Son of Man is not a human being who is exalted to heaven and who will come again as the final Judge. He is a divine figure who descends to earth to remove evil now, by forgiving sins and by establishing God's universal reign.
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Images of Zion: Biblical Antecedents for the New Jerusalem

Published: Apr 2010
£60.00
This study, unparalleled in recent scholarly writing, sets out to examine the broad sweep of the biblical theological tradition about Jerusalem/Zion as the antecedent to Revelation's depiction of the New Jerusalem. In the Old Testament, Jerusalem/Zion is depicted in both its ideal form and its actual manifestation. In the Psalms (and seminally in the Pentateuch), Zion is depicted as similar to the holy mountains of the gods in Ugaritic religion. But it is not only a dwelling-place of the deity: it is also an earthly city inhabited by humans, and so it becomes a place of community of the divine and the human. The historical books of course make no secret of the realities of life in the far from holy Jerusalem, and, in the prophets also, the city of Jerusalem is the site of wrongdoing and corruption, a place attracting judgment; but equally it is the focus for eschatological anticipations of a renewed community that does fulfil the ideal. In the New Testament, by its rejection of the Messiah earthly Jerusalem forfeits its role as the true Jerusalem/Zion, which is taken over by Jesus and the church. Occasionally we get glimpses of the belief that the true Jerusalem is in heaven (a development begun in Second Temple literature). The book of Revelation picks up as well from Second Temple literature the theme of the identity of Jerusalem with the Garden of Eden, combining this idea with renewal-of-Zion passages from the prophets to depict the final state of God's people as a place of blessedness, community, life and safety, as well of intimacy with God.
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Images of Zion: Biblical Antecedents for the New Jerusalem

£60.00
This study, unparalleled in recent scholarly writing, sets out to examine the broad sweep of the biblical theological tradition about Jerusalem/Zion as the antecedent to Revelation's depiction of the New Jerusalem. In the Old Testament, Jerusalem/Zion is depicted in both its ideal form and its actual manifestation. In the Psalms (and seminally in the Pentateuch), Zion is depicted as similar to the holy mountains of the gods in Ugaritic religion. But it is not only a dwelling-place of the deity: it is also an earthly city inhabited by humans, and so it becomes a place of community of the divine and the human. The historical books of course make no secret of the realities of life in the far from holy Jerusalem, and, in the prophets also, the city of Jerusalem is the site of wrongdoing and corruption, a place attracting judgment; but equally it is the focus for eschatological anticipations of a renewed community that does fulfil the ideal. In the New Testament, by its rejection of the Messiah earthly Jerusalem forfeits its role as the true Jerusalem/Zion, which is taken over by Jesus and the church. Occasionally we get glimpses of the belief that the true Jerusalem is in heaven (a development begun in Second Temple literature). The book of Revelation picks up as well from Second Temple literature the theme of the identity of Jerusalem with the Garden of Eden, combining this idea with renewal-of-Zion passages from the prophets to depict the final state of God's people as a place of blessedness, community, life and safety, as well of intimacy with God.
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