From Synagogue To Ecclesia

Charles E. Carlston and Craig A. Evans show how the Evangelist took over a variety of traditions from Judaism and early Christianity and worked them into a theological portrait that would be accessible to both Jews and Gentiles as they became followers of Jesus--Back cover.

This edition of Ecclesia: The Long Journey to Tomorrow by Justin Campbell and Deslee Campbelll is the full-colour edition of Volume 2 in their mini-series Synagogue and Church. It is a sequel to Volume 1, Synagoga's Heritage: Tabernacle, Temple, Synagogue and Church. Both books are also available in a smaller, black- and-white edition, at a lower cost. The authors trust that they will be valued assets for Ecclesia in the developing nations of the world. This easy-to-read volume is particularly designed for students and is ideal for college, seminary and high school students; as well as pastors. Although it is a sequel to Synagoga's Heritage: Tabernacle, Temple, Synagogue and Church there is some overlap in the 1st century AD (the period of Jesus and St Paul). Starting from the beginning of the Church means that this book can stand alone. It tells the story of the Church right through to the present day which makes it a useful asset in every Christian's library. Uniquely for a basic church history, it includes how Ecclesia has related to and interacted with the Jewish people over the centuries.

By the late Middle Ages, manifestations of Marian devotion had become multifaceted and covered all aspects of religious, private and personal life. Mary becomes a universal presence that accompanies the faithful on pilgrimage, in dreams, as holy visions, and as pictorial representations in church space and domestic interiors. The first part of the volume traces the development of Marian iconography in sculpture, panel paintings, and objects, such as seals, with particular emphasis on Italy, Slovenia and the Hungarian Kingdom. The second section traces the use of Marian devotion in relation to space, be that a country or territory, a monastery or church or personal space, and explores the use of space in shaping new liturgical practices, new Marian feasts and performances, and the bodily performance of ritual objects.

This important work challenges an entrenched scholarly consensus, that at the beginning it was inspired leaders - not ordained officers - who dominated the church. James Burtchaell illustrates that the traditional argument on behalf of clerical authority had read history backwards, and found the apostles to be the first bishops. In this study, Burtchaell reads history forwards, and demonstrates that first century Jews knew only one form of community organization, that of the synagogue. The three-level structure of offices in the synagogue - president, elders, and assistant - emerges, in the author's estimation, as the most plausible antecedent for the Christian offices which stand forth clearly in the second century. Burtchaell's conclusion is that ordained office is a foundational element in Christianity, but that, while the officers presided from the first, they rarely led. Thus, while Jesus' brother James presided as the ordained chief of the mother church in Jerusalem, it was Peter - Jesus' inspired veteran disciple - whose voice carried most authority. This revisionist historical account of Christian origins creatively subverts the established positions on church order, and thus opens up the arguments to new and larger conclusions.

Pro Ecclesia is a quarterly journal of theology published by the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology.

This book examines the Synagoga-Ecclesia motif in the thirteenth century and argues that the figures conveyed a political message of Christian ascendancy and Jewish submission.

This thorough commentary on a key New Testament book has been called by Cyril J. Barber (in 'The Minister's Library') "a brilliantly perceptive study of the text"; by Wilbur M. Smith (in 'Profitable Bible Study') "the greatest of all" commentaries on Acts; and by S. Lewis Johnson (in 'Bibliography for New Testament Exegesis and Exposition') "a classic." This primarily expository commentary, though first published in 1901, remains highly useful and understandable. Preachers of the Bible and students of theology will welcome the appearance of this volume in a paperback binding.

Over 15 years in the making, an unprecedented one-volume reference work. Many of today's students and teachers of literature, lacking a familiarity with the Bible, are largely ignorant of how Biblical tradition has influenced and infused English literature through the centuries. An invaluable research tool. Contains nearly 800 encyclopedic articles written by a distinguished international roster of 190 contributors. Three detailed annotated bibliographies. Cross-references throughout.