Download or read book Conceptions of Gospel and Legitimacy in Early Christianity written by James A. Kelhoffer and published by Mohr Siebeck. This book was released on 2014-05-14 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether he is asking about the role of New Testament exegesis among other academic disciplines, the suppression of anger in Pauline writings, or at what point came to designate a written "Gospel," James A. Kelhoffer's patient and careful exegesis provides an intriguing lens through which to view early Christianity. Many struggles of early Christ believers, he finds, reflect intra-ecclesial struggles to establish the legitimacy of a view or a religious leader vis-a-vis competing ideologies or leaders. Those already familiar with Kelhoffer's Miracle and Mission (2000), The Diet of John the Baptist (2005) and Persecution, Persuasion and Power (2010) will find in this volume refreshing insights suggested but not developed in his other books.

Download or read book Theology and Practice in Early Christianity written by Troy W. Martin and published by Mohr Siebeck. This book was released on 2020-08-12 with total page 553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Early Christianity did not originate in a vacuum but in a world of linguistic, social, religious, and cultural richness and diversity. The twenty-two seminal essays in this volume - some previously published, some newly written - represent almost three decades of research by Troy W. Martin to understand how early Christianity developed in the ancient world. The broad-ranging investigations in these essays give attention not only to the linguistic and rhetorical features of early Christian texts, but also to the social, philosophical, physiological, and medical contexts in which these texts were written. The essays provide new understandings of early Christian conceptions of salvation and of the virtues of faith, hope and love that characterized early Christian communities. They include new medical and physiological explanations of early Christian sacraments, pneumatology, and eschatology and furthermore investigate early Christian communal life and practice, including the veiling of women, male/female relationships, and time-keeping. The essays include reception histories that describe their influence on subsequent research and place them within the context of contemporary research and scholarship. Those familiar with the well-trodden ground of New Testament studies will find in these essays new insights and previously unexplored comparative material for understanding early Christianity and the world in which it originated.

Download or read book Second Clement written by William Varner and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2022-01-01 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The document now called the Second Letter of Clement was not originally a letter; nor was it written by Clement. Rather, it originated as an address to a congregation, and was subsequently preserved among the group of non-canonical writings known as the Apostolic Fathers. Unlike the much-studied First Clement, it is one of the least known of these writings, yet it preserves a fascinating window into the life of early believers. In his new study, William Varner combines a step-by-step commentary with a detailed theological introduction. Drawing on the text’s structure and likely context, he shows that its overall message is that Christians should render a payback to God for his grace shown to them in Christ. The implications of this for the early church community at which it was directed, and for believers today, are momentous.

Download or read book Second Clement written by James Clarke & Co and published by James Clarke & Company. This book was released on 2022-09-29 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The document now called the Second Letter of Clement was not originally a letter; nor was it written by Clement. Rather, it originated as an address to a congregation, and was subsequently preserved among the group of non-canonical writings known as the Apostolic Fathers. Unlike the much-studied First Clement, it is one of the least known of these writings, yet it preserves a fascinating window into the life of early believers. In his new study, William Varner combines a step-by-step commentary with a detailed theological introduction. Drawing on the text's structure and likely context, he shows that its overall message is that Christians should render a payback to God for his grace shown to them in Christ. The implications of this for the early church community at which it was directed, and for believers today, are momentous.

Download or read book The Gospel as Manuscript written by Chris Keith and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The written accounts of the Jesus tradition in the Gospels have taken a far superior position in the Christian faith to any oral tradition. In The Gospel as Manuscript, Chris Keith offers a new material history of the Jesus tradition's journey from voice to page, showing that the introduction of manuscripts played an underappreciated, but crucial, role in the reception history of the Gospel. Revealing a vibrant period of competitive development of the Jesus tradition, wherein the material status of the tradition frequently played as important a role as the ideas that it contained, Keith offers one of the most thorough considerations of the competitive textualization and public reading of the Gospels.

Download or read book Destroyer of the Gods written by Larry W. Hurtado and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Silly," "stupid," "irrational," "simple." "Wicked," "hateful," "obstinate," "anti-social." "Extravagant," "perverse." The Roman world rendered harsh judgments upon early Christianity--including branding Christianity "new." Novelty was no Roman religious virtue. Nevertheless, as Larry W. Hurtado shows in Destroyer of the gods, Christianity thrived despite its new and distinctive features and opposition to them. Unlike nearly all other religious groups, Christianity utterly rejected the traditional gods of the Roman world. Christianity also offered a new and different kind of religious identity, one not based on ethnicity. Christianity was distinctively a "bookish" religion, with the production, copying, distribution, and reading of texts as central to its faith, even preferring a distinctive book-form, the codex. Christianity insisted that its adherents behave differently: unlike the simple ritual observances characteristic of the pagan religious environment, embracing Christian faith meant a behavioral transformation, with particular and novel ethical demands for men. Unquestionably, to the Roman world, Christianity was both new and different, and, to a good many, it threatened social and religious conventions of the day. In the rejection of the gods and in the centrality of texts, early Christianity obviously reflected commitments inherited from its Jewish origins. But these particular features were no longer identified with Jewish ethnicity and early Christianity quickly became aggressively trans-ethnic--a novel kind of religious movement. Its ethical teaching, too, bore some resemblance to the philosophers of the day, yet in contrast with these great teachers and their small circles of dedicated students, early Christianity laid its hard demands upon all adherents from the moment of conversion, producing a novel social project. Christianity's novelty was no badge of honor. Called atheists and suspected of political subversion, Christians earned Roman disdain and suspicion in equal amounts. Yet, as Destroyer of the gods demonstrates, in an irony of history the very features of early Christianity that rendered it distinctive and objectionable in Roman eyes have now become so commonplace in Western culture as to go unnoticed. Christianity helped destroy one world and create another.

Download or read book Why We Sing Music Word and Liturgy in Early Christianity written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2022-11-14 with total page 626 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Open Access for this publication was made possible by a generous donation from Segelbergska stiftelsen för liturgivetenskaplig forskning (The Segelbergska Foundation for Research in Liturgical Studies). In a seminal study, Cur cantatur?, Anders Ekenberg examined Carolingian sources for explanations of why the liturgy was sung, rather than spoken. This multidisciplinary volume takes up Ekenberg’s question anew, investigating the interplay of New Testament writings, sacred spaces, biblical interpretation, and reception history of liturgical practices and traditions. Analyses of Greek, Latin, Coptic, Arabic, and Gǝʿǝz sources, as well as of archaeological and epigraphic evidence, illuminate an array of topics, including recent trends in liturgical studies; manuscript variants and liturgical praxis; Ignatius of Antioch’s choral metaphor; baptism in ancient Christian apocrypha; and the significance of late ancient altar veils.

Download or read book Paul in Athens written by Clare K. Rothschild and published by Mohr Siebeck. This book was released on 2014-11-26 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paul's visit to Athens, in particular the Areopahus speech, is one of the most well known excerpts of early Christian literature. It is the most significant speech by Paul to a Gentile audience in Acts functioning as a literary crest of the overall narrative. Yet critical analysts also describe it as an ad hoc blend of Green and Jewish elements. In this study, Clare K. Rothschild examines how the nexus of popular second-century traditions crystallizing around the Cretan prophet Epimenides explains these seemingly miscellaneous and impromptu aspects of the text. Her investigation exposes correspondences between Epimenidea and the Lukan Paul, not limited to the altar "to an unknown god" and the saying, "In him, we live, and move, and have our being" (17:28a), concluding that in addition to popular philosophical ideals, the episode of Paul in Athens utilizes popular 'religious' topoi to reinforce a central narrative aim.

Download or read book The Didache written by Shawn J. Wilhite and published by James Clarke & Company. This book was released on 2020-03-26 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shawn J. Wilhite's commentary on the Didache complements the study of early Christianity through historical, literary, and theological readings of the Apostolic Fathers, seeking to be mindful of critical scholarship while commenting on a final-form text. The Didache includes a brief introduction to this relevant text, the use of Scripture by the Didachist, and the theology of the Didache. The commentary proceeds section by section with a close ear to the text of the Didache, relevant early Christian literature, and current scholarship.

Download or read book Gospels and Gospel Traditions in the Second Century written by Jens Schröter and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2018-12-03 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second century CE has often been described as a kind of dark period with regard to our knowledge of how the earliest Christian writings (the gospels and Paul’s letters) were transmitted and gradually came to be accepted as authoritative and then, later on, as “canonical”. At the same time a number of other Christian texts, of various genres, saw the light. Some of these seem to be familiar with the gospels, or perhaps rather with gospel traditions identical or similar to those that found their way into the NT gospels. The volume focuses on representative texts and authors of the time in order to see how they have struggled to find a way to work with the NT gospels and/or the traditions behind these, while at the same time giving a place also to other extra-canonical traditions. It studies in a comparative way the reception of identifiably “canonical” and of extra-canonical traditions in the second century. It aims at discovering patterns or strategies of reception within the at first sight often rather chaotic way some of these ancient authors have cited or used these traditions. And it will look for explanations of why it took such a while before authors got used to cite gospel texts (more or less) accurately.

Download or read book A Narrative Theology of the New Testament written by Timo Eskola and published by Mohr Siebeck. This book was released on 2015-07-21 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Focusing on the metanarrative of exile and restoration Timo Eskola claims that a post-liberal, narrative New Testament theology is both consistent and explanative. Combining a post-New Quest perspective on Jesus with an eschatological reading of Paul, the author states that Jesus' temple criticism aims at restoration eschatology. Jesus starts a priestly community that expects God's jubilee to begin with Jesus' work, and proceed with the preaching of the new gospel. The reception of this message in the post-Easter church results in resurrection Christology that proclaims Jesus' Davidic kingship on God's throne of glory. Both Paul and Jewish Christian teachers later present Christ's community as a new temple where believers serve the Lord as priests of the new covenant. Furthermore, restoration eschatology provides a new basis for understanding Paul's contrast with the words of the law, and his teaching of justification.

Download or read book The Hermeneutics of Divine Testing written by Nicholas Ellis and published by Mohr Siebeck. This book was released on 2015-06-29 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nicholas Ellis examines the interplay present in early Jewish literature between authors' theological assumptions on divine agency in evil and their readings of biblical testing narratives. Ellis takes as a starting point the Epistle of James , and compares this early Christian work against other examples of ancient Jewish interpretation. Ellis shows how varying perspectives on the divine, satanic, and human roles of testing exercised a direct influence on the interpretation of popular biblical testing narratives such as Abraham and Isaac, Job, and the Trials in the Wilderness. Read in light of the broader Jewish literature, Ellis argues that the theology and hermeneutic found in the Epistle of James as such relate to divine testing are closely paralleled by the so-called 'Rewritten Bible' tradition. Within James' cosmic drama, God stands as righteous judge, with the satanic prosecutor indicting both divine integrity and human religious loyalty.

Download or read book 40 Questions About the Text and Canon of the New Testament written by Charles L. Quarles and published by Kregel Publications. This book was released on 2023-06-20 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did the New Testament come to be? The writings that comprise the New Testament are critical for understanding the life, teachings, and impact of Jesus of Nazareth, all of which are central to Christianity. But how were these texts circulated, collected, and given their canonical status? Is the New Testament a trustworthy source for learning about Jesus and the early church? New Testament scholars L. Scott Kellum and Charles L. Quarles address the most pressing questions regarding the study of New Testament texts, their transmission, and their collection into the canon, such as: • What happened to the original manuscripts of the New Testament? • With all the variants, can we still speak of inspiration and inerrancy? • What are the competing views on canon? • Did the apostles recognize contemporaneous books as Scripture? • Did the early councils decide the canon? 40 Questions About the Text and Canon of the New Testament uses a question-and-answer format so readers can pursue the issues that interest them most with additional resources at 40questions.net.

Download or read book Scriptures and Sectarianism written by John J. Collins and published by Mohr Siebeck. This book was released on 2014-09-18 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Dead Sea Scrolls include many texts that were produced by a sectarian movement (and also many that were not). The movement had its origin in disputes about the interpretation of the Scriptures, especially the Torah, not in disputes about the priesthood as had earlier been assumed. The definitive break with the rest of Judean society should be dated to the first century BCE rather than to the second. While the Scrolls include few texts that are explicitly historical, they remain a valuable resource for historical reconstruction. John J. Collins illustrates how the worldview of the sect invo ...

Download or read book Ancient Apocryphal Gospels written by Markus Bockmuehl and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2017-01-17 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this reader-friendly guide, Markus Bockmuehl offers a sympathetic account of the ancient apocryphal Gospel writings, showing their place within the reception history and formation of what was to become the canonical fourfold Gospel. Bockmuehl begins by helping readers understand the early history behind these noncanonical Gospels before going on to examine dozens of specific apocryphal texts. He explores the complex oral and intertextual relationships between the noncanonical and canonical Gospels, maintaining that it is legitimate and instructive to read the apocryphal writings as an engagement with the person of Jesus that both presupposes and supplements the canonical narrative outline. Appropriate for pastors and nonspecialists, this work offers a fuller understanding of these writings and their significance for biblical interpretation in the church.

Download or read book Becoming John written by Kari Syreeni and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-10-18 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this new analysis of the Gospel of John, Kari Syreeni argues that the gospel is a heavily reworked edition of an earlier Johannine work, and that the original did not include Jesus' passion. Syreeni theorizes that the original gospel ended at Chapter 12, with the notion of Jesus' disappearance from the world, and that the passion narrative was incorporated by a later editor freely using the existing gospels of Mark and Matthew. Syreeni suggests that the letters of John - written after the predecessor gospels but before the final edition - reveal a schism in the Johannine community that was caused by the majority faction's acceptance of Jesus' death and resurrection, as it was then recorded in the new gospel. By exploring the gospel's different means of legitimizing the passion story, such as the creation of the 'Beloved Disciple' to witness Jesus' passion, and the foreshadowing of the resurrection of Jesus in the miracle of Lazarus, Syreeni provides a bold and provocative case for a new understanding of John.

Download or read book Resurrection written by Karl Olav Sandnes and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2020-04-23 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christian faith depends upon the resurrection of Jesus, but the claim about Jesus' resurrection is, nevertheless, disputed. This book, written by a New Testament scholar and a systematic theologian in conjunction, develops the conditions for the claim. It carefully analyzes the relevant texts and their possible interpretations and engages with New Testament scholarship in order to show nuances and different trajectories in the material. The picture emerging is that the New Testament authors themselves tried to come to terms with how to understand the claim that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead. But the book does not stop there: by also asking for the experiential content that gave rise to the belief in the resurrection. Sandnes and Henriksen argue that there is no such thing as an experience of the resurrection reported in the New Testament--only experiences of an empty tomb and appearance of Jesus, interpreted as Jesus resurrected. Hence, resurrection emerges as an interpretative category for post-Easter experiences, and is only understandable in light of the full content of Jesus' ministry and its context.