In Forensic Scriptures Brian Arthur Brown presents a long overdue Diagram of Sources of the Pentateuch from Hebrew Scriptures, a new perspective on authorship of the document known as "Q" in the Christian Scriptures, an acceptable entree into particular disciplines of scriptural criticism for Muslims, and an exciting new paradigm from Islam identifying the role women may have played in production of the Qur'an and the Bible. ...
The story of the birth of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew is told in eight verses. Embedded in this short narrative is «Joseph's dilemma.» Listeners are told that, «When Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit» (1:18). What happens next has long been debated. We are made to assume that Joseph discovers that Mary is pregnant, but that he does not know that she is wit ...
Along with the churches located in large Greek cities of the East, the church of Carthage was particularly significant in the early centuries of Christian history. Initially, the Carthaginian church became known for its martyrs. Later, the North African church became further established and unified through the regular councils of its bishops. Finally, the church gained a reputation for its outstanding leaders–Tertullian of Carthage (c. 140-220), ...
This work includes essays in preaching method and a series of sermons on Romans 10, a mini-treatise on preaching. It reflects on the tasks of preaching and teaching preaching as a form of communication that is critical to the life of the church. Despite the numerous existing volumes, useful texts are still needed. The quest is for methods of preparation that can be applied with consistency, and that suggest habits for labor, which can be tedious ...
"The Common Market is going to be the kingdom of the Antichrist!" "Jesus will return within 40 years of the creation of the state of Israel in 1948!" "The Battle of Armageddon will come when the Soviet Union invades Israel over oil!" Those newspaper mileposts passed and the Soviet Union fell. The faithful Christian has his faith shaken every time prophetic teaching based on the New York Times fails. Critics have ...
In this creative and original book, Paul S. Chung interprets Karl Barth as a theologian of divine action. Chung appreciates Barth's dogmatic theology as both contextual and irregular, and he retrieves the neglected sides of Barth's thought with respect to political radicalism, Israel, natural theology, and religious pluralism. ...
The prophets exhort us to defend the poor; but we lionize the rich. They assure us that chariots and missiles cannot save us; yet we seek refuge under their cold shadow. They urge us to forgo idolatry; but we compulsively fetishize the work of our hands. Above all, the prophetic Word warns us that the way to liberation in a world locked down by the spiral of violence, the way to redemption in a world of enslaving addictions, the way to genuine t ...
Ethical discourse about the institution of voting rarely includes the option of abstaining for principled reasons. This collection of nine articles widens the discussion in that direction by giving readers a new question: At what point and on what grounds might one choose not to vote as an act of conscience? Contributors offer both ethical and faith-based reasons for not voting. For some, it is a matter of candidates not measuring up to high st ...
Becoming God's Beloved in the Company of Friends offers a fresh perspective and invites persons to develop a personal and communal Christian spirituality. It offers a way to deepen commitment to live as a disciple of Jesus personally and with others. It bridges the gap between a first-century biblical text and twenty-first-century readers who hunger for genuine spirituality today. Each chapter focuses on a few stories and a few teachings to ...