Paul The Passionate Scholar

This book is God's Word, prayerfully unfolding glimpses into the clarifying elements of the Greek text, augmented by historical images of his times. Designed to arouse believers and further deepen their Christian commitment, it can change lives and augment Christian growth of lay readers. The language of the NT Greek holds many keys for unlocking the riches of God's ?palace.? In a special tour of each chapter, one can marvel over stories of valor and tender moments of love, lavishly displayed in rich flavors and stirring narratives that invigorate the soul.

"Besides Jesus, no one has kept me from despair, or taken me deeper into the mysteries of the gospel, than the apostle Paul." —John Piper No one has had a greater impact on the world for eternal good than the apostle Paul—except Jesus himself. For John Piper, this impact is very personal. He does not just admire and trust Paul. He loves him. Piper gives us thirty glimpses into why his heart and mind respond this way. Can a Christian-killer really endure 195 lashes from a heart of love? Can a mystic who thinks he was caught up into heaven be a model of lucid rationality? Can an ethnocentric Jew write the most beautiful call to reconciliation? Can a person who lives with the unceasing anguish of empathy be always rejoicing? Can a man's description of the horrors of human sin be exceeded by his delight in human splendor? Can a man with a backbone of steel be as tender as a nursing mother? If we know this man—if we see what Piper sees—we too will love him. Paul's testimony is a matter of life and death. Piper invites you into his relationship with Paul in the hope that you will know life, forever.

'Scholarly Milton [...] is admirably clear and informative. It lays out the basics of Milton’s education and intellectual life and the evolution of his thinking in relation to the political concerns of his time in ways that should orient a person new to this material at the same time as it provides a focused refreshment for someone more expert. The articles themselves offer engaging and thoughtful explorations of Milton’s work by grounding their analysis in specific seventeenth-century intellectual concerns. [...] It should be clear that the essays in this volume speak to one another in fruitful ways; they foreground Milton the educator as much as Milton the scholar. Both educators and scholars will find it equally useful.' Margaret Thickstun, MLA

A groundbreaking new portrait of the apostle Paul, from one of today’s leading historians of antiquity Often seen as the author of timeless Christian theology, Paul himself heatedly maintained that he lived and worked in history’s closing hours. His letters propel his readers into two ancient worlds, one Jewish, one pagan. The first was incandescent with apocalyptic hopes, expecting God through his messiah to fulfill his ancient promises of redemption to Israel. The second teemed with ancient actors, not only human but also divine: angry superhuman forces, jealous demons, and hostile cosmic gods. Both worlds are Paul’s, and his convictions about the first shaped his actions in the second. Only by situating Paul within this charged social context of gods and humans, pagans and Jews, cities, synagogues, and competing Christ-following assemblies can we begin to understand his mission and message. This original and provocative book offers a dramatically new perspective on one of history’s seminal figures.

As the first major encyclopedia of its kind, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Gender Studies (OEBGS) is the go-to source for scholars and students undertaking original research in the field. Extending the work of nineteenth and twentieth century feminist scholarship and more recent queer studies, the Encyclopedia seeks to advance the scholarly conversation by systematically exploring the ways in which gender is constructed in the diverse texts, cultures, and readers that constitute the world of the Bible. With contributions from leading scholars in gender and biblical studies as well as contemporary gender theorists, classicists, archaeologists, and ancient historians, this comprehensive reference work reflects the diverse and interdisciplinary nature of the field and traces both historical and modern conceptions of gender and sexuality in the Bible. The two-volume Encyclopedia contains more than 160 entries ranging in length from 1,000 to 10,000 words. Each entry includes bibliographic references and suggestions for further reading, as well as a topical outline and index to aid in research. The OEBGS builds upon the pioneering work of biblically focused gender theorists to help guide and encourage further gendered discussions of the Bible.

The relationship of a scholar's identity to the scholarship he or she produces is a central concern in the academy and this volume is the first attempt to approach the special problems it presents for religious studies.

Invites Readers of Romans to Expand Their View of God and the Gospel When reading the book of Romans, we often focus on the quotable passages, making brief stopovers and not staying long enough to grasp some of the big ideas it contains. Instead of raiding Paul's most famous letter for a passage here or a theme there, leading New Testament scholar Beverly Roberts Gaventa invites us to linger in Romans. She asks that we stay with the letter long enough to see how Romans reframes our tidy categories and dramatically enlarges our sense of the gospel. Containing profound insights written in accessible prose and illuminating references to contemporary culture, this engaging book explores the cosmic dimensions of the gospel that we read about in Paul's letter. Gaventa focuses on four key issues in Romans--salvation, identity, ethics, and community--that are crucial both for the first century and for our own. As she helps us navigate the book of Romans, she shows that the gospel is far larger, wilder, and more unsettling than we generally imagine it to be.

The 'Dictionary of Paul and his letters' is a one-of-a-kind reference work. Following the format of its highly successful companion volume, the 'Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels', this Dictionary is designed to bring students, teachers, ministers and laypeople abreast of the established conclusions and significant recent developments in Pauline scholarship. No other single reference work presents as much information focused exclusively on Pauline theology, literature, background and scholarship. In a field that recently has undergone significant shifts in perspective, the 'Dictionary of Paul and His Letters' offers a summa of Paul and Pauline studies. In-depth articles focus on individual theological themes (such as law, resurrection and Son of God), broad theological topics (such as Christology, eschatology and the death of Christ), methods of interpretation (such as rhetorical criticism and social-scientific approaches), background topics (such as apocalypticism, Hellenism and Qumran) and various other subjects specifically related to the scholarly study of Pauline theology and literature (such as early catholicism, the centre of Paul's theology, and Paul and his interpreters since F. C. Baur). Separate articles are also devoted to each of the Pauline letters, to hermeneutics and to preaching Paul today. The 'Dictionary of Paul and His Letters' takes its place alongside the 'Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels' in presenting the fruit of evangelical New Testament scholarship at the end of the twentieth century - committed to the authority of Scripture, utilising the best of critical methods, and maintaining dialogue with contemporary scholarship and challenges facing the church.