Outline: The author arrived in Guatemala in 1964 as a Presbyterian missionary assigned to the faculty of the Presbyterian Seminary of Guatemala. The extenson program of that institution, now known throughout the world, was then in its second year and still struggling to survive. One of the most urgent needs was to develop self-study textbooks, and the author's first attempt was an Inductive …
Outline: This book presents a re-reading of the stories of Old Testament women, highlighting their spirituality and exploring their experiences in the light of third-world women today. In Part One, the author discusses the stories of eight Old Testament women: Hagar, Rahab, Jephthah's daughter, Ruth and Naomi, Abigail, and the two unnamed women of 2 Kings. In her meditations of these images o…
Outline: Rebelling against a century of Old Testament scholarship, the authors persuasively argue that the first eleven chapters of Genesis are not a literary patchwork by different editors as widely supposed, but are the work of one author of extraordinary subtlety and skill. Comparing Genesis 1-11 with primeval histories from the Ancient Near East, the authors urge their readers to apprecia…
Outline: In this latest additional to the popular handbook series, the author gives teachers and students a comprehensive guide to the grammar and vocabulary of both 2 Peter and Jude. Within the text of these intertwined Catholic Epistles, the author finds rhetorical features and stylistic elements often overlooked. Used in combination with traditional commentaries, students will be guided to…
Outline: The pas fifty years have seen powerful shifts in the methods and objectives of Biblical Studies. The study of Johannine Literature, in particular, has seen a proliferation of new approaches, as well as innovative exegetical and theological conclusions. This volume surveys the emerging landscape from the perspective of scholars who have shaped the field. Written in a conversational a…
Outline: In this refreshing and thoughtful interpretation of the biblical book of Jonah, the author seeks to recover the book's prophetic thrust : how Jonah is cast out from the divine Presence and works his way back - line Elijah - in a love story of rejection and reconciliation. This book explores the role reversal of Eternity and Jonah and suggests the possibility that God can not only chan…
Outline: The history of Israel of the Bible remains one of the most holy contested issues in scholarship of the Hebrew Bible today. One of the clearest voices in the debate is that of the author. In the pages of this volume the author distills years of writing on the history of Israel from its beginnings up to the destruction of the First Temple of Jerusalem (586 B.C.E.). The author divides …
Outline: This book introduces the books of the New Testament, their authors and their contexts along with key areas of critical scholarship. Questions and exercises are also included to encourage direct engagement with the biblical text. This helpful book will give students beginning their studies the confidence and skills to start analysing New Testament texts for themselves.
Outline: Among the smiling faces in church on Sunday mornings are those who long for deeper, more genuine relationships within their local congregations - active, intentional relationships that nurture the soul, and foster spiritual growth. Drawing on decades of experience in spiritual direction, congregational ministry, and seminary teaching, this book offers a clear and rich introduction to …
Outline: Isaiah 40 - 66 is not only a well-known and much loved part of Christian Scripture, but essential background for understanding the New Testament. It is also important because it grew out of the deepest crisis in Israel's history. Christians today too live in a time of crisis, of deep social and political unrest. Like the Israelites in Babylon, we need to reconstruct our tradition fa…
Outline: In a world where people still oppress and enslave one another, and rulers are still afraid or unwilling to give freedom and equality to those they rule, the Book of Exodus has a message that many need to hear. Following the series pattern, detailed interpretation and commentary on the Bible narrative are supported by special notes on the historical and literary background, and on the …
Outline: This book has become a classic textbook that has rapidly established itself as the standard introduction to the subject for student and general reader alike. This new edition includes minor corrections and clarifications: the Further Reading section has been revised and the discussion of a number of topics has been brought up to date. House churches now appear in descriptions of ear…
Outline: How did early Christians remember Jesus - and how did they develop their own Christian identities and communities? In this revelatory book, the author explores how transgression contributed to early Christian identity in the Gospels, Acts, Letters of Paul, and Revelation. Examining Jesus as a friend of sinners, challenger of purity laws, transgressor of conventional masculine values…
Outline: Reconciliation is high on many agendas today. The author argues convincingly that reconciliation between God and humanity is at the heart of the Christian faith. It must also be sought in the political, social and personal arenas, in the field of ecology and, perhaps most difficult of all, within ourselves. All these areas are interrelated. The Christian understanding of reconcili…
Outline: This classic reprint of the author's book provides a new generation of students and scholars with the opportunity to benefit from his excellent examination of the figure of Paul in the light of his Greco-Roman origins.
Outline: This book explores the historical reasons for the creation of the book of James and the implications for the creation of the Christian canon. The author makes a compelling case that James was written in the mid-second century and is, like 2 Peter, an attempt to provide a distinctive shape to the emerging New Testament. This book bolsters the claim that the Catholic Epistles not only …
Outline: The author is an outstanding expert in the interreligious field and has, throughout his career and ministry, built up a high reputation for understanding and dialogue between faith communities. Here, the author deals with the use of Scripture, inclusivism and exclusivism, pluralism and particularism, mission and dialogue. The text phase of Christian thought, he argues, will be shaped…
Outline: The author's latest book meets the need for an accessible introduction to the various ways in which Jesus used Scripture, both in teaching and in his understanding of his ministry. After analysing, the scriptural quotations and allusions in the four canonical Gospels, the author examines the work of a range of key scholars (Borg, Crossan, Dun, France, Kimball, Vermes and Wright), and…
Outline: This book is a tried-and-tested, straightforward, readable introduction to worship in the first four centuries of the Church's existence. It describes what Christians actually did, but also explains why they acted as they did. Why did they choose some patterns instead of others? How did they see and understand their worship? What effect did all this have on developing Christian id…
Outline: Accessibly surveying the approaches to hermeneutics from the patristic period to the present day, the author's book provides and introduction to the philosophical issues underlying the development of hermeneutics as well as a theoritical basis for understanding hermeneutics in different faith traditions. Questions for reflection and discussion are included.
Outline: In this book, the author asks what the Old Testament says about the global dilemmas that we face today and considers how the Bible can help us to engage with them. The Old Testament, he argues, is a witness to faith that can encourage us to be better people and to create a better world.
Outline: In this dymanic and encouraging book, the author argues that the test of faith is not so much "What do you believe?" but "How has faith transformed your life and the world around you?" It is through the practice of Christianity that we come to understand its central doctrines, and are drawn into Christian community. In community, we can become not merely a body of like-minded people,…
Outline: The twenty statements by churches and church bodies - in particular the World Council of Churches - that comprise the first part of the book, and the commentary that follows, are designed to offer some answers to those questions. This book is offered in the hope that the churches throughout the world will continue to reflect on the significance of the Jewish people for their own faith…
Outline: The authors identify the opportunities available to exegete for making Pauline/Paulinist theology intelligible as a coherent understanding of the Christian faith. In doing so, they offer constructive ways for determining the meaning of Paul's letters in the first century, in order to move toward their meaning for today. Comparing representative passages from the letters traditionally…
Outline: In this book, the author provides a Hebrew Bible textbook admirably suited to college and university courses in religious studies. At one accessible and comprehensive, this book approaches the Bible through the categories of comparative religion, carefully distinguishing the religion of ancient Israel from the religion represented in the Bible and discussing such dimensions of religio…
Outline: The reform of the Catholic Church in the sixeenth century was historically as important as the contemporary Protestant Reformation. Though never committed solely to fighting Protestantism, it inevitably also became a Couner Reformation, since it soon faced the threat created by Luther and his successors. The century between the career of Ignatius Loyola and that of Vincent de Paul be…
Outline: The author examines the key events that will bring greater understanding of this fascinating period, in addition to sharpening the reader's perspective on today's church. The author explores the implications of - the Thirty Years' War - the rise of Pietism and the Enlightenment - colonization and revolution in America - the French Revolution - other critical events His examinat…