The Theology Of The First Christians

Download or read book The New Testament in Its World Workbook written by N. T. Wright and published by Zondervan Academic. This book was released on 2019-11-19 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book The Theology of the First Christians written by Walter Schmithals and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 1997-01-01 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Theology of the First Christians, Walter Schmithals offers a comprehensive history of the development of religious thought from the preaching of Jesus to the formation of the New Testament canon. This well-researched volume will be of great interest to New Testament scholars and students.

Download or read book The Gospel of the Lord written by Michael F. Bird and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-22 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, through a distinctive evangelical and critical approach, Michael Bird explores the historical development of the four canonical Gospels. He shows how the memories and faith of the earliest believers formed the Gospel accounts of Jesus that got written and, in turn, how these accounts further shaped the early church. Bird's study clarifies the often confusing debates over the origins of the canonical Gospels. Bird navigates recent concerns and research as he builds an informed case for how the early Christ followers wrote and spread the story of Jesus -- the story by which they believed they were called to live. The Gospel of the Lord is ideal for students or anyone who wants to know the story behind the four Gospels. Watch an interview with Michael Bird from our Eerdmans Author Interview Series:

Download or read book From Jesus to Christ written by Paula Fredriksen and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2008-10-01 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Magisterial. . . . A learned, brilliant and enjoyable study."—Géza Vermès, Times Literary Supplement In this exciting book, Paula Fredriksen explains the variety of New Testament images of Jesus by exploring the ways that the new Christian communities interpreted his mission and message in light of the delay of the Kingdom he had preached. This edition includes an introduction reviews the most recent scholarship on Jesus and its implications for both history and theology. "Brilliant and lucidly written, full of original and fascinating insights."—Reginald H. Fuller, Journal of the American Academy of Religion "This is a first-rate work of a first-rate historian."—James D. Tabor, Journal of Religion "Fredriksen confronts her documents—principally the writings of the New Testament—as an archaeologist would an especially rich complex site. With great care she distinguishes the literary images from historical fact. As she does so, she explains the images of Jesus in terms of the strategies and purposes of the writers Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John."—Thomas D’Evelyn, Christian Science Monitor

Download or read book The Myth of Persecution written by Candida Moss and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2013-03-05 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Myth of Persecution, Candida Moss, a leading expert on early Christianity, reveals how the early church exaggerated, invented, and forged stories of Christian martyrs and how the dangerous legacy of a martyrdom complex is employed today to silence dissent and galvanize a new generation of culture warriors. According to cherished church tradition and popular belief, before the Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal in the fourth century, early Christians were systematically persecuted by a brutal Roman Empire intent on their destruction. As the story goes, vast numbers of believers were thrown to the lions, tortured, or burned alive because they refused to renounce Christ. These saints, Christianity's inspirational heroes, are still venerated today. Moss, however, exposes that the "Age of Martyrs" is a fiction—there was no sustained 300-year-long effort by the Romans to persecute Christians. Instead, these stories were pious exaggerations; highly stylized rewritings of Jewish, Greek, and Roman noble death traditions; and even forgeries designed to marginalize heretics, inspire the faithful, and fund churches. The traditional story of persecution is still taught in Sunday school classes, celebrated in sermons, and employed by church leaders, politicians, and media pundits who insist that Christians were—and always will be—persecuted by a hostile, secular world. While violence against Christians does occur in select parts of the world today, the rhetoric of persecution is both misleading and rooted in an inaccurate history of the early church. Moss urges modern Christians to abandon the conspiratorial assumption that the world is out to get Christians and, rather, embrace the consolation, moral instruction, and spiritual guidance that these martyrdom stories provide.

Download or read book Social Reality and the Early Christians written by Gerd Theissen and published by Augsburg Fortress Publishing. This book was released on 1992 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theissen inquires into the correlation between the theological and ethical convictions of the first Christians as well as the social realities of the world in which they lived. He expands the form-critical inquiry into the Sitz im Leben of early Christian texts to ask about the significance of early Christian convictions in society.

Download or read book The Philosophy of Early Christianity written by George E. Karamanolis and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-09-03 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 2014. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.