Harold Attridge

The Conceptual Worlds of the Fourth Gospel

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“The Fourth Gospel, with compelling drama, complex imagery, scriptural citations and allusions, and engagement with serious conceptual issues, invites comparison with ancient literary sources, both Jewish and Greek. Puskas and Robbins offer a well-organized review of comparative material that may illuminate the Gospel. Well-documented and offering a probing critical framework, Conceptual Worlds offers an extremely useful tool for students of John both new and old.”

The First One Hundred Years of Christianity

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Udo Schnelle, one of Germany's leading New Testament scholars, has produced a comprehensive account of the growth and development of early Christianity. Thoroughly at home in all the relevant ancient texts and in critical dialogue with contemporary scholars, Schnelle sets the development of the church against the complex background of Greco-Roman and Jewish culture. He carefully traces the ways in which communities of Jesus believers grew and produced their distinctive literature. This is a rich and rewarding resource for serious students of early Christianity, particularly useful for introducing English readers to a wealth of German scholarship.”

The Four Gospels on Sunday

Preaching & Worship

“Gordon Lathrop imaginatively traces how the gospels interacted with, and attempted to shape, early Christian assemblies and then draws suggestive implications for contemporary practice. Informed and insightful, his synthesis of scripture and liturgical theology will be valuable for anyone who reads scripture and leads worship today.”

The Lord’s Prayer

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Black provides a detailed exegetical commentary on the Lord’s Prayer, with careful analysis of the difficulties of this beloved and well-known text. At the same time, he offers a rich theological com- mentary on the Prayer, sensitive to its lengthy history of interpre- tation and to the challenges facing contemporary Christians. This volume will be a welcome resource for pastors and for theologically engaged students of the New Testament.”

The Mind of the Spirit

Theology

“An important book for anyone interested in the relationship of Pauline theology to its cultural context. In this richly documented study, Craig Keener shows Paul's affinities with ancient philosophers while recognizing that Jewish apocalyptic expectations also framed the apostle's thinking about the human mind. Like the philosophers, Paul held that fundamental convictions shaped character and behavior. And as an heir of the Jewish apocalyptic tradition, he believed that convictions should be shaped by God's action in Christ. In respectful but critical dialogue with an array of Pauline scholars, Keener applies his fundamental insight to illuminate individual arguments and Paul's overall theology. This will be an important book for anyone interested in the relationship of Pauline theology to its cultural context.”

The Pseudepigrapha on Sexuality

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“William Loader's ambitious project — to study sexuality in the world of ancient Jews and early Christians — is timely and potentially significant for contemporary debates about sexual morality. His rigorous historical approach provides an in-depth study of the primary sources, with attention to all of the concerns that they express about human sexual behavior and identity. This volume on Jewish Pseudepigrapha is a rich resource for anyone interested in the cultural sources of the positions on sexuality adopted by contemporary religious communities.”

The Rhetoric of the Gospel, Second Edition

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Black explores the rhetoric of the New Testament in an original and insightful way. He does not limit his treatment to the standard handbooks nor does he confine his insights to the most obvious places in the New Testament. He guides readers through a wide range of ancient theory—including the Characters of Theophrastus and Longinus’ On the Sublime —and shows their relevance in unexpected places, such as the Lukan parables, the last supper discourses of the Fourth Gospel, and a mysterious narrative in Acts. With an eye to his audience, he finally focuses on the parabolic rhetoric appropriate to preaching, using the ancient masters Augustine and Quintillian. Any Christian orator, a.k.a. preacher, will find this work enormously helpful.”