Jesus in the Gospels

Sample

Petr Pokorný

"An invaluable, comprehensive introduction to the study of Christology."--Bloomsbury Publishing An invaluable, comprehensive introduction to the study of Christology

Sample

Lee Strobel

"There's little question that he actually lived. But miracles? Rising from the dead? Some of the stories you hear about him sound like just that - stories. A reasonable person would never believe them, let alone the claim that he's the only way to God! But a reasonable person would also make sure that he or she understood the facts before jumping to conclusions. That's why Lee Strobel - an award-winning legal journalist with a knack for asking tough questions - decided to investigate Jesus for himself. An atheist, Strobel felt certain his findings would bring Christianity's claims about Jesus tumbling down like a house of cards. He was in for the surprise of his life. Join him as he retraces his journey from skepticism to faith. You'll consult expert testimony as you sift through the truths that history, science, psychiatry, literature, and religion reveal. Like Strobel, you'll be amazed at the evidence - how much there is, how strong it is, and what it says. The facts are in. What will your verdict be in The Case for Christ?"

Sample

Avi Erlich

The ancient Hebrews, Erlich argues, invented a unique basis for social unity by forging an imaginative link between religion (or law), literary culture, and the specific land of Israel. In this conception, the land, the law, and the people of Israel are one, a living metaphor expressed in the idea of Zion. The unity of land, law, and literature created by the Hebrews has been one of the most potent historical metaphors ever devised, strong enough to maintain a sense of national identity among Jews for over two thousand years. Without this Jewish literary culture, Erlich argues, there could have been no state of Israel, no matter what efforts were made by modern Zionist ideologues. This book reads the ancient text with ancient eyes that make it startling and fresh for those conditioned to the "modern" view of national identity as based on either race or ideology. Modern Zionism, like modern nationalism generally, is a drastically impoverished descendant of this original Jewish nationalism, and Erlich concludes that many problems not only of Israel but of all modern nations struggling to define themselves in a changing world really stem from the loss of this vigorous ancient alternative.

Sample

Thomas P. Scheck

"Scheck's introduction is clearly written and lucid, containing fine theological observations as well as a clear historical context for Jerome's commentary. Scheck's excellent translation comes at a most opportune time given that interest in partistic exegesis is high and Jerome is among the best of the ancient commentators on Galations."--Joseph T. Lienhard, S.J., Fordham University. St. Jerome is regarded as one of the four great doctors of the western Christian Church, with St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, and St. Gregory. Termed by the Council of Trent "the greatest doctor in explaining the Scriptures," the Latin Church regards St. Jerome as its preeminent scriptural commentator. Nevertheless, much of his prodigious exegetical output has never been translated into English. In this volume, Thomas Scheck provides the first translation in English (and in any modern language) of Jerome's important commentary on Galatians, with two shorter commentaries on Titus and Philemon. Jerome's exegesis is characterized by extensive learning, acute historical and theological criticism, lively and vigorous exposition, and homiletic exhortation. It is noteworthy that throughout, Jerome, like his contemporary St. Ambrose and his theological mentors St. Basil and St. Gregory Nazianzen, carefully and thoroughly assimilates Origen of Alexandria's Greek exegesis into his own work. Indeed, Scheck regards Origen as the fountainhead of Jerome's exegesis. As an interpreter of these three Pauline epistles, Jerome exhibits a deeply Christian sensitivity. He articulates the necessity of both faith and good works found in Pauline theology and interprets St. Paul to mean that post-baptismal good works are a necessary out-flowing of paschal grace. This is the grace that enables the Christian to merit God's favor and to achieve the blessings associated with Christian asceticism and discipleship. --Book Jacket.