Pheme Perkins

1 Peter

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Craig Keener has complemented his massive four volumes on Acts with one nearly as weighty on the brief epistle from the aging Peter in Rome to those in the vast diaspora of provinces in northern Asia Minor. He shows that Paul’s letters and echoes of gospel traditions in the epistle reflect the early formulation of a shared Christian faith. Keener also presents a translation—or ‘articulation’—of 1 Peter that will jar readers into taking a close look at his treatment of semantics and syntax. Admitting that Peter himself was unlikely to be familiar with more than part of the Jewish and early Christian material, Keener employs the massive encyclopedia of ancient Greek and Roman literature, philosophy, and religion from his work on Acts to provide a broader cultural context for words, images, and possible overtones in each phrase.”

Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Careful study of this book would provide an excellent beginning to an exegetical course on John. At the same time, it should also provide a valuable resource for those who teach John in classics, philosophy, or English courses.”

Ancient Christian Worship

History & Biography

“Ancient Christian Worship provides pastors, students, and interested readers with a lively, detailed account of how Christians ate together, prayed, read Scripture, and celebrated with song and dance from New Testament times to the fourth-century basilica churches. The story of diversity and change will encourage twenty-first-century believers struggling with church renewal.”

Fortress Introduction to the Gospels

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“A reliable and lucid description of contemporary Gospel studies for the general reader. Mark Powell writes so clearly that this book will easily serve for individual study and church groups as well as a text in introductory bible courses.”

Paul and Imperial Divine Honors

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

Foreword

“Religion in the Cities might be an engaging miniseries or virtual-reality tour developed from the picture that Rev. D. Clint Burnett paints of first-century Philippi, Thessalonica, and Corinth. Unlike authors who repeat broad generalizations in standard tourist guidebooks—and in many New Testament textbooks—he has immersed himself in the archaeological remains dated to each city when Paul founded churches there. An extensive archive that includes many of his own photos draws on inscriptions, statuary, and coin images to illustrate local differences in divine honors paid to deceased or, occasionally, living members of the Julio-Claudian imperial family.”

Shaping the Past to Define the Present

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Professor Sterling provides both scholars and general readers with a clear and careful case to upend the division between a ‘Gospel of Luke’ and ‘Acts’ as a founding story of how the apostles spread Christianity from Jerusalem into the cities of the Roman world. Instead both ‘scrolls’ belong to a single literary work, an ‘apologetic history’ that shows despised believers how to identify themselves as heirs to a lineage from ancient Israel to Jesus and the Church. Combining examples from comparable Jewish and Graeco-Roman historians and careful literary analyses of Luke and Acts, this book makes important contributions to both classics and biblical studies.”

The First One Hundred Years of Christianity

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Professor Schnelle's distinguished career in New Testament scholarship and theology provides the foundation for this substantial history of Christianity's first hundred years. Eschewing fads and popularizing the byways of noncanonical gospels, Schnelle makes the case for the deserved success of Jesus's followers in establishing an independent religious movement that originated with the person, ministry, and teaching of Jesus. This movement's new vision of God, salvation, and conduct in community was key to its success, as was the crucial role played by written texts and education.”

The Letter to the Colossians

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“McKnight’s conservative approach to Paul incorporates insights from a broad spectrum of ‘new approaches’ to the apostle and his theology. His years of teaching Colossians in Greek provide detailed grammar analysis in footnotes. Insisting that Paul is above all a missionary and pastor for whom the new regime of King Jesus challenges the dark powers of imperialism, McKnight’s commentary offers pastors and other readers a fresh vision of church communities as the embodiment of God’s new creation.”

The Lost Gospel of Judas

Apologetics

“A needed correction to the hype and even false publicity connected with the marketing of the newly translated Gospel of Judas. Porter and Heath challenge some of the scholars involved to a more responsible presentation of the history of early Christianity. The final chapter takes on a bigger task — defense of the four canonical Gospels as witnesses to the truth of apostolic Christian tradition.”

The Mandaeans

World Religions

“This book makes an important contribution to the study of a religion whose modern adherents are largely unknown and whose ancient sources are not accessible to students of religion with access to a scholarly library. For the scholar, Lupieri's careful analysis of the historical information about Mandaeanism provides a new look at how this movement was shaped by the religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The annotated anthology of selections from Mandaean texts provides a readable guide for the novice. Its attention to texts that refer to the religion of others will be particularly valuable to students of comparative religion.”

The Mystery of Christ . . . and Why We Don't Get It

Theology

“The Mystery of Christ is vintage Capon — wit, compassion, and a firm hold on the fact that the gospel is 'good news' without reserve. Closet Puritans and Pharisees, beware: Father Capon refuses to let guilt sneak in and make a system of redemption out of Christianity.”