"The Drama of Scripture" is an introduction to the basic story line and theology of the Bible. In considering the biblical story, the authors emphasize the unity of the whole, viewing the Bible as a drama in six acts--creation, sin, Israel, Christ, church, and new creation. Two overarching themes tie the biblical story together--covenant in the Old Testament and kingdom in the New Testament. Throughout, the authors suggest, God is revealed through the story and calls us to participate in his drama.

    Bailey begins by surveying the development of allegorical, historical-eschatological, aesthetic, and existential methods of interpretation. Though figures like Julicher, Jeremias, Dodd, Jones, and Via have made important advances, Bailey sees the need to go beyond them by combining an examination of the poetic structures of the parables with a better understanding of the Oriental culture that informs the text. Bailey's work within Middle Eastern peasant culture over the last twenty years has helped him in his attempt to determine the cultural assumptions that the teller of the parables must have made about his audience. The same values which underlay the impact of the parables in Christ's time, Bailey suggests, can be discovered today in isolated peasant communities in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. Because time has made almost no impact in these cultural pockets, it is possible to discern, for example, what it meant 2,000 years ago for a friend to come calling at midnight, or for a son to ask for his inheritance prior to his father's death. In addition to illuminating the cultural framework of the parables, Bailey offers an analysis of their literary structure, treating the parabolic section as a whole as well as its individual components. Through its combination of literary and cultural analyses, Bailey's study makes a number of profound advances in parabolic interpretation.

    I have done so self-consciously and self-critically and have tried to do the same on reconstructing myself. But what justifies this memoir is how my own personal experience, from Ireland to America, from priest to professor, from monastery to university, and ... from celibacy to marriage, may have influenced that reconstruction. Where has it helped me see what others have not, and where has it made invisible to me what others find obvious?-from A Long Way from TipperaryFrom his upbringing in Ireland to front-page coverage in the New York Times and mention in cover stories in Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report, John Dominic Crossan-who has courageously pioneered the contemporary quest for the historical Jesus-has dared to go his own way. In this candid and engaging memoir, the world's foremost Jesus scholar reveals what he has discovered over a lifetime of open-eyed, fearless exploration of God, Jesus, Christianity, and himself. Crossan shares his provocative thinking on such issues as how one can be a Christian without going to church; whether God is vengeful, or just, or both; and why Jesus is more like Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr. than like the Pope or Jerry Falwell.Raised in the traditional Irish Catholic Church, Crossan inherited a faith that was "accepted fully and internalized completely but undiscussed, uninvestigated, and uncriticized." A dauntless spirit whose imagination was ignited not by piety but by the lure and challenge of adventure, he became a monk to travel and explore the world, unaware that his most thrilling quests would be scholarly and spiritual. "God had going the best adventure around," Crossan confesses.Because he could never subject his theological convictions and historical findings to the restrictions of the Church, Crossan chose to leave the monastery and priesthood. Speaking of this time in his life, Crossan writes, "Not even a vow of obedience could make me sing a song I did not hear." But he never abandoned the Roman Catholic community or tradition and never lost his faith. He has devoted his life and career to a reexamination of what he calls "necessary open-heart surgery on Christianity itself."

    Offering a fresh look at these parables in the light of their entire gospel and biblical context, Capon elucidates Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom of God.

    Now, using this simple method you'll learn the best way to put this important discipline to use for maximum spiritual benefit.

    However, many churches tend to neglect this crucial part of Scripture, leading to the loss of the Old Testament as a resource for faith and life. This timely book details a number of ways the Old Testament is showing signs of decay, demise, and imminent death in the church. Brent Strawn analyzes the Old Testament's important role in Christian faith and practice and criticizes current misunderstandings that contribute to its decline, offering a way forward for all students of the Bible.

    In this revision Hasel has incorporated significant scholarship since 1982; his bibliography of Old Testament theology, with nearly 950 entries, is the most comprehensive published to date.

    He proposes that there is indeeda unifying center to the theology and message of the Bible that is indicated and affirmed byScripture itself. That center is the promise of God. It is one all-encompassing promise of lifethrough the Messiah that winds itself throughout salvation history in both the Old and NewTestaments, giving cohesiveness and unity to the various parts of Scripture.After laying out his proposal, Kaiser works chronologically through the books of both testaments,demonstrating how the promise is seen throughout, how the various sub-themesof each book relate to the promise, and how God’s plan to fulfill the promise progressivelyunfolds. Here is a rich and illuminating biblical theology that will stir the emotion and theintellect.

    God gave us the Bible to reveal great truth about himself and about our lives, and he wants to draw us into the ongoing story of what he is doing in the world. The CSB Day-by-Day Chronological Bible features a clear narrative approach to the Bible, arranging the complete text into a fresh chronological reading plan with daily readings guided by Dr. George Guthrie.In this plan, the books, chapters, and verses of the Bible are thoughtfully arranged so readers can track the story of Scripture, day-by-day, from beginning to end, understanding the flow of events and how the grand narrative of Scripture applies to everyday life. Unlike other chronological Bibles, this arrangement is not date specific (e.g. "January 1"), so the reading plan can begin at any point in the calendar year. Features Include: 52 weeks of readings (six readings per week) in chronological order, Scripture presented in three main acts (God's Plan for All People; God's Covenant People; God's New Covenant People) and seventeen total scenes, an introduction for each act and scene to orient the reader to its importance in the grand story, single-column text with plenty of space for taking notes, concordance, smyth-sewn binding, presentation page, and full-color maps. The CSB Day-by-Day Chronological Bible features the highly readable, highly reliable text of the Christian Standard Bible® (CSB). The CSB stays as literal as possible to the Bible's original meaning without sacrificing clarity, making it easier to engage with Scripture's life-transforming message and to share it with others.

    The Book of Noah, Testament of Solomon, Book of Giants, and a few other extras are also included in this third ePUB edition. The introduction by David Chariot is perhaps the best short form explanation of the book for those who are familiar with the book and those who are just discovering it. Enoch has been logically organized into chapter/verse settings and canonized in this English version which will resemble the King James Version of the Scriptures. Additionally, an XML file has been included with archaeological evidence of fossilized giant humans found throughout the world. All known fragments of the Book of Giants has been included in this edition along with a listing of external references to Enoch in other manuscripts such as the Book of Jubilees and other Scriptures. This is a standardized reference material regarding the body of knowledge presented in the Book of Enoch.

    Michael S. Heiser, an expert in the ancient near east and author of the best selling The Unseen Realm, explores the most unusual, interesting, and least understood parts of the Bible and offers insights that will inspire, inform, and surprise you on every page.Dr. Heiser has helped to remind the church of the supernatural worldview of the Bible. In The Bible Unfiltered, you will see his methods and expertise applied to dozens of specific passages and topics. Gleaned from his years working as Faithlife's scholar-in-residence, this is some of the very best of Dr. Heiser's work.

    This unique reference tool will benefit anyone interested in examining the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Preachers will find this work useful for creating a complete picture of the life of Christ. Students of the English Bible will use it to come to their own conclusions about the variations in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And advanced scholars will use the scholarly apparatus to study the textual variations in the earliest known Greek and Latin Manuscripts of the Gospels.Features:Easy-to-follow system of comparisonTextual notes for in-depth study of biblical manuscriptsNoncanonical parallels to the Gospel textText from the New Revised Standard Version of the BibleThis 5th edition features revised and updated textual notes based on the NRSV, enlarged type size, an all-new page design, and an improved system of comparison.

    Now, this expanded edition provides similar insights on the Apocrypha, presenting a significant view of the lives and religious experiences of women as well as attitudes toward women in the Second Temple period. This expanded edition sets a new standard for women's and biblical studies.

    --Mark 1:17-18 The Gospel of Mark is a book of action and passion. Events happen one after another, with a vivid sense of immediacy and urgency. Jesus? emotions come through strongly--at times he is angry and distressed, other times filled with compassion. In this volume, Michael Card provides a lively tour of the Gospel of Mark. As a friend and interpreter of Simon Peter, Mark gives firsthand glimpses of the life and ministry of Jesus in vibrant and energetic narration. The first Gospel to be written, Mark is a pamphlet for hard times, encouraging Christians that all their sufferings were already endured by Jesus. Accompany Mark on his journey with Jesus. The more clearly you see Jesus here, the greater your passion will be for him.