Writings Related To The Apostles Apocalypses And Related Subjects

Translation of: Neutestamentliche Apokryphen.

This English translation of the new and thoroughly revised sixth German edition of the extensive extra-canonical gospel literature is an absolutely indispensable collection of sources for every student of the New Testament and of the history and literature of ancient Christianity. The reader will find lucid accounts of the results and questions of the intensive and exciting international scholarly debate of the last two decades.

In recent years there has been so much research into extra-canonical gospel literature and, in particular, into the Coptic Gnostic library of Nag Hammadi that a completely new recasting of the seminal work, Neutestamentliche Apokryphen in Deutscher Ubersetzung (originally founded by Edgar Hennecke), seemed called for. This is the English translation of the revised edition of that work, published in two volumes. This is an essential collection of sources for every student of the New Testament and of the history and literature of ancient Christianity. Volume II covers writings related to the Apostles, the Apocalypses and related subjects.

This collection of essays argues that Paul's articulation of Christ and his saving work makes use of the categories and perspectives of ancient Jewish apocalyptic eschatology. Such eschatology is concerned with the expectation that God will finally and irrevocably put an end to the present order of reality ("this age") and replace it with a new, transformed order of reality ("the age to come"). In Paul's view, God has initiated this eschatological act of cosmic rectification in the person and work of Christ. The essays included, two of them previously unpublished, investigate and illuminate various aspects of Paul's christologically focused appropriation of ancient Jewish apocalyptic eschatology, particularly in his letters to the Galatians and the Romans. The collection begins with the author's seminal essay on the two tracks of Jewish apocalyptic eschatology (forensic and cosmological) from 1989 and ends with an essay from 2016 containing the author's retrospective restatement and elaboration of his views.

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Apocrypha addresses issues and themes that arise in the study of early Christian apocryphal literature. It discusses key texts including the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Peter, letters attributed to Paul, Peter, and Jesus, and acts and apocalypses written about or attributed to different apostles. Part One consists of authoritative surveys of the main branches of apocryphal literature (gospels, acts, epistles, apocalypses, and related literature) and Part Two considers key issues that they raise. These include their contribution to our understanding of developing theological understandings of Jesus, the apostles and other important figures such as Mary. It also addresses the value of these texts as potential sources for knowledge of the historical Jesus, and for debates about Jewish-Christian relations, the practice of Christian worship, and developing understandings of asceticism, gender and sexuality, etc. The volume also considers questions such as which ancient readers read early Christian apocrypha, their place in Christian spirituality, and their place in contemporary popular culture and contemporary theological discourse.