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The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.
Answers to the usual introductory questions do not yield sufficient harvest to enable an intelligent reading of Acts. The approach of Reading Acts is to ask how ancient Mediterranean auditors would have heard Acts when it was read in their presence. To be successful Talbert divides this approach into two parts- how Acts would have been heard in its precanonical context and in its canonical context.
The book of Acts tells the story of what happened after the death and resurrection of Jesus. The book is filled with adventure and entertainment as Acts narrates God's activity among his people and the world. In this book I explore one way of reading Acts that attends closely to the plotline of the book and seek to invite readers into the story that Acts tells. Along the way, I examine some of the most important themes of Acts, including divine activity, the extension of the gospel to surprising people in surprising ways, conflict and congruence between the gospel and the broader world, and the ongoing importance of Israel as God's people. While there are many excellent reasons to read Acts, I reflect too upon the theological and ethical vision of Acts for those who read this book as Christian Scripture.
Researching documents left by "common" readers, contributors suggest that American literature was experienced in a way not previously revealed by examinations of literary criticism. Ryan (English, U. of Missouri in Kansas City) and Thomas (English, Montana State U.) present 11 essays that discuss the act of reading as related to women's agency, "ordinary" critics of the critics, class and consumption, and societal reaction to single-parenthood. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
A senior New Testament scholar and teacher helps students understand the historical, literary, and theological issues of the book of Acts and introduces key concepts in the field of narrative criticism. This volume captures the message of the book of Acts by taking seriously the book's essential character as a powerful story through which Luke communicates profound theological truth. While giving attention to historical background, its purpose is to lead readers through a close reading that yields fresh insights into passages throughout Acts.
No longer can Acts be seen as a simple apologia that articulates Christianity's harmlessness vis-à-vis Rome. Rather, in its attempt to form communities that witness to God's apocalypse, author Kavin Rowe argues that Luke's second volume is a highly charged and theologically sophisticated political document. Luke aims at nothing less than the construction of a new culture - a total pattern of life - that inherently runs counter to the constitutive aspects of Graeco-Roman society.
Did Jesus claim to be the "bridegroom"? If so, what did he mean by this claim? When Jesus says that the wedding guests should not fast "while the bridegroom is with them" (Mark 2:19), he is claiming to be a bridegroom by intentionally alluding to a rich tradition from the Hebrew Bible. By eating and drinking with "tax collectors and other sinners," Jesus was inviting people to join him in celebrating the eschatological banquet. While there is no single text in the Hebrew Bible or the literature of the Second Temple Period which states the "messiah is like a bridegroom," the elements for such a claim are present in several texts in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Hosea. By claiming that his ministry was an ongoing wedding celebration he signaled the end of the Exile and the restoration of Israel to her position as the Lord's beloved wife. This book argues that Jesus combined the tradition of an eschatological banquet with a marriage metaphor in order to describe the end of the Exile as a wedding banquet.
The disciples and early Christians faced doubt, opposition, and threats--just like many Christians do today. In Together with the World, Michael Wagenman shows how the book of Acts can help modern Christians respond to crisis and critique in our contemporary world. The book of Acts is about more than simply the beginning of church history. In Together for the World we find a group of disciples, empowered by the Holy Spirit, following God's call to spread the good news.
Galatians is one of the earliest of the Pauline letters and is therefore among the first documents written by Christians in the first century. Paul’s letter to the Galatians deals with the first real controversy in the early church: the status of Jews and gentiles in this present age and the application of the Law of Moses to gentiles. Paul argues passionately that gentiles are not “converting” to Judaism and therefore should not be expected to keep the Law. Gentiles who accept Jesus as Savior are “free in Christ,” not under the bondage of the Law. Galatians also deals with an important pastoral issue in the early church as well. If gentiles are not “under the Law,” are they free to behave any way they like? Does Paul’s gospel mean that gentiles can continue to live like pagans and still be right with God? For Paul, the believer’s status as an adopted child of God enables them to serve God freely as dearly loved children. Galatians: Freedom through God's Grace is commentary for laypeople, Bible teachers, and pastors who want to grasp how the original readers of Galatians would have understood Paul’s letter and how this important ancient letter speaks to Christians living in similar situations in the twenty-first century.