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The infancy narratives represent some of the most beautiful and intriguing passages in the Gospels. The stories they relate are also arguably the most well-known in the Christian tradition, from the child in the manger to the Magi paying homage to the infant Jesus. However there have been relatively few attempts to consider the stories of the Nativity from modern academic perspectives, examining them from feminist perspectives, poltical standpoints, in cinematic representations as well as more standard but up-to-date academic approaches. New Perspectives on the Nativity attempts to redress this providing a fresh insights on these crucial Christian texts from a cast of distinguished contributors. At the outset, Henry Wansbrough surveys scholarship on the infancy narratives since Raymond Brown's landmark study, The Birth of the Messiah (2nd edition, 1993). Thereafter, four chapters deal with Luke's infancy story. Ian Boxall demonstrates how the narrative offers subtle foreshadowings of the passion and resurrection. Barbara Reid surveys Luke's portrayal of three female prophets (Elizabeth, Mary, and Anna), who prepare for the later presentation of Jesus as a prophet. Leonard Maluf suggests a new understanding of Zechariah's canticle (the Benedictus), by situating it firmly in its Jewish background. Finally, Nicholas King indicates how the "inn" of the nativity prefigures the later journey of the gospel message. The next four contributions are concerned with Matthew's narrative. Warren Carter shows how the conflict between the infant Jesus and the ruling powers is repeated more dramatically in the life and death of the adult Christ. Benedict Viviano proposes that the three stages in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus belong within a grand scheme of seven ages of salvation history. Bernard Robinson investigates Matthew's nativity story within the context of biblical and Greco-Roman history-writing. Christopher Fuller highlights the carnivalesque approach to the Magi story in Pasolini's classic film, The Gospel According to St Matthew. Three final essays focus on the religious value of the infancy stories. Ann Loades reflects on late-20th-century poems dealing with the nativity. John Kaltner explores the references to Jesus' birth found in Islamic tradition. Finally, Thomas O'Loughlin argues that contemporary preoccupations with historical investigation can blind us to the mystery presented in the nativity stories.
On a winter night long ago, a baby boy was born in a stable with only the animals to witness his arrival. But it wasn’t just the cows and donkeys and soft little lambs who were present. Smaller, less loved creatures were there, too: the snake, the scorpion, the cockroach, and others. Lyrically written by Eve Bunting and luminously illustrated by Wendell Minor, this beautiful book offers a unique and moving perspective on the Christmas story. It reminds us that all God’s creatures, both great and small, celebrated the arrival of the Christ child.
“I love The First Christmas. What a charming way Stephen Mitchell has found to tell my favorite story of all, the Nativity, character by character (I love the donkey and the ox), with wise and thrilling interludes about God, reality, truth.” –Anne Lamott In The First Christmas, Stephen Mitchell brings the Nativity story to vivid life as never before. A narrative that is only sketched out in two Gospels becomes fully realized here with nuanced characters and a setting that reflects the culture of the time. Mitchell has suffused the birth of Jesus with a sense of beauty that will delight and astonish readers. In this version, we see the world through the eyes of a Whitmanesque ox and a visionary donkey, starry-eyed shepherds and Zen-like wise men, each of them providing a unique perspective on a scene that is, in Western culture, the central symbol for good tidings of great joy. Rather than superimposing later Christian concepts onto the Annunciation and Nativity scenes, he imagines Mary and Joseph experiencing the angelic message as a young Jewish woman and man living in the year 4 bce might have experienced it, with terror, dismay, and ultimate acceptance. In this context, their yes becomes an act of great moral courage. Readers of every background will be enchanted by this startlingly beautiful reimagining of the Christmas tale.
This beautiful, fresh new telling of the Nativity story, through the eyes of a young girl, brings wonderful humanity to this familiar tale. Bethlehem has never been so busy! Leah, the innkeeper's daughter businessman off her feet. Then in the starlight miracles begin.
A compendium of approximately three hundred texts--in Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, Ethiopic, Syriac, Coptic, and other languages--that are important for the study of Jewish messianism and early Christology. In recent decades, the study of Jewish messianic ideas and how they influenced early Christology has become an incredibly active field within biblical studies. Numerous books and articles have engaged with the ancient sources to trace various themes, including "Messiah" language itself, exalted patriarchs, angel mediators, "wisdom" and "word," eschatology, and much more. But anyone who attempts to study the Jewish roots of early Christianity faces a challenge: the primary sources are wide-ranging, involve ancient languages, and are often very difficult to track down. Books are littered with citations and a host of other sometimes obscure writings, and it can be difficult to sort them all out. This book makes a much-needed contribution by bringing together the most important primary texts for the study of Jewish messianism and early Christology--nearly three hundred in total--and presenting the reader with essential information to study them: the critical text itself (with apparatus), a fresh translation, a current bibliography, and thematic tags that allow the reader to trace themes across the corpus. This volume aims to be the starting point for all future work on the primary sources that are relevant to messianology and Christology. About the Author Gregory R. Lanier (PhD, University of Cambridge) is Associate Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. He has written extensively on early Christology and published Old Testament Conceptual Metaphors and the Christology of Luke's Gospel (Bloomsbury, 2018); Septuaginta: A Reader's Edition (Hendrickson, 2018); and Is Jesus Truly God? How the Bible Teaches the Divinity of Christ (Crossway, 2020). He also serves as associate pastor of River Oaks Church in Lake Mary, Florida.
This workbook accompanies The New Testament in Its World by N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird. Following the textbook's structure, it offers assessment questions, exercises, and activities designed to support the students' learning experience. Reinforcing the teaching in the textbook, this workbook will not only help to enhance their understanding of the New Testament books as historical, literary, and social phenomena located in the world of early Christianity, but also guide them to think like a first-century believer while reading the text responsibly for today.
Learn Something New This Christmas We hate to admit it, but after years, sometimes even decades, of reading the same Luke 2 story of Christmas, we get a little bored—we lose some of the awe we ought to have when discussing the greatest miracle in history. That’s why The Characters of Christmas was written, to help you take a fresh look at the Christmas story by getting to know the minor characters that played a part in Jesus’ birth, such as Zechariah and Elizabeth, the Shepherds, and Herod. As you slow down, engage your imagination, and enter into the stories of these women and men, you’ll see the most important character—Jesus Christ—with new eyes. And with discussion questions and a Christmas song suggestion at the end of each chapter, it’s perfect for engaging your whole family. Break free from the familiar, and discover something you never knew about the story you’ve always heard.
Discover the story of the first Christmas in this newly illustrated classic, perfect for little ones curious about the story behind their holiday celebrations. Expertly crafted for the attention span of toddlers, this simple book tells the biblical story of Christmas--from the Annunciation to the birth of Jesus and the arrival of the wise men. The story also helps little listeners understand the connection between the first Christmas and today's celebrations and traditions. With bright illustrations and a toddler-friendly length of about 200 words, this book is an age-appropriate way to introduce the story of the Nativity. A perfect addition for Christmas stockings!
With a scholar's mind and a pastor's heart, N. T. Wright guides us through the New Testament book of Luke, showing how we can particpate in Luke?s story by making it real in our own world. Twenty-six sessions for group or personal study.
The doctrine of the virgin birth is intricately woven within the texture of the liturgy, theology and piety of all branches of the Christian Church. In spite of its enduring influence, the doctrine has been dogged by criticism, particularly in the modern era. By the 20th century, the teaching of the virgin birth was rejected by the majority of Protestant theologians in Europe. Rejecting the conclusion of many of his contemporaries-including that of his own father-the Swiss theologian, Karl Barth (1886-1968), argued vehemently that, understood aright, the doctrine of the virgin birth plays a crucial role in Christian thought. Barth's legacy in this regard is widely regarded as providing the most influential rehabilitation of the doctrine among Protestants. This book offers a comprehensive account and analysis of Barth's interpretation of the doctrine of the virgin birth. Setting the doctrine in the context of the western Christian tradition, Resch examines it in relation to Barth's discussions in the Church Dogmatics of Christology, pneumatology and the interpretation of Scripture. The importance of this study lies in the way that it reveals Barth's continuity and discontinuity with both the classical Augustinian tradition of interpreting the virgin birth and the criticisms of the modern era, but especially in the way in which attention to Barth's doctrine of the virgin birth reveals his assumptions about the nature of history, humanity and the identity of Jesus Christ. As a 'fitting' sign of the mystery of the incarnation, Barth argued that the virgin birth expressed the dialectic of God's 'No' to sin and 'Yes' to humanity in his free act of revelation and reconciliation. As such, the doctrine of the virgin birth functioned for Barth as a paradigm through which to understand the fashion of God's work upon human beings and the suitable posture of the human being before God.