From the late first century to the end of late antiquity, three rival traditions-pagan, Jewish, and Christian-found themselves at odds over one issue in particular: the nature of the relationship between divine reality and the material world. In this context, the Evangelist John constructed his bios of Jesus as a narrative apologia addressed ......
To read a passage repeatedly, to examine its ambiguities, to probe its place in a larger text, to reflect on its relationship to other texts by the same author and its place within the canon of Scripture-all of these are acts of committed relationship. As in all committed relationships, the desire to understand is rightly characterized as love. ......
You stars of Anu, I call on you! You stars of Enlil, turn to me! You stars of Ea, all of you together, gather around me! I have offered you a pure sacrifice, I have scattered pure incense to you, I have poured out pure beer for you. Eat what is pure, drink what is sweet!With these words, the Babylonians invoked the gods of the night as they ......
In this volume, John Screnock provides a foundational examination of the Hebrew text of Psalms 90-100. The analysis is distinguished by the detailed yet comprehensive attention paid to the text. The author's exposition is a convenient pedagogical and reference tool that explains the form and syntax of the biblical text, offers guidance for ......
A trial lawyer by trade, a Christian by heart-author Mark Lanier has trained in biblical languages and devoted his life to studying and living the Bible. Facing daily the tension between the demands of his career and the desire for a godly life, Lanier recognizes the importance and challenge of finding daily time to spend in God's Word. His ......
The concept of natural law-universal moral knowledge-is often associated with Stoic philosophers, Thomas Aquinas, or the medieval Jewish rabbis. But Jews in the Second Temple period had their own model of natural, interpreting the story of Adam and Eve so as to associate the primordial pair with "wisdom," "law," or "commandment." In this ......
Exploring medieval spirituality invites us to delve into a remote world. This introduction is a guide to understanding how medieval believers experienced divine presence in manifold ways. God became real in the sacraments, above all on the altar, when the Eucharist was celebrated. He remained present after the celebration in the host, piously ......
Scholars today tend to view the birth narratives of Jesus as substantially less reliable than the rest of the canonical Gospel accounts. Indeed, many recent studies of the historical Jesus pass over his birth altogether or provide only scant commentary. A primary reason for this skepticism is intent oriented: ancient birth narratives (so the ......
Abraham fascinates. As a primeval desert sheik with dazzling character traits, as the father of many peoples and religions, as a migrant with long wanderings through trials and tribulations, as a convert and a sacrificer, as a believer and a doubter-his impact reverberates through the ages into the present. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all ......
