Richard B. Hays
Biography
Richard B. Hays is George Washington Ivey Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Duke Divinity School, where Hays previously served as dean. Hays wrote Reading with the Grain of Scripture (2020) and wrote the afterword to Renewing New Testament Christology (2023).
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A Concise Guide to Reading the New Testament
Biblical Studies & Commentaries
“This is not simply a conventional historical introduction. Instead, Nienhuis offers a robustly theological proposal about how to read the New Testament as a collection of texts that are foundational for Christian faith and practice. His reading highlights the carefully structured architecture of the generally received NT canon, as well as the way in which the texts form Christian disciples. Not to be overlooked are his illuminating citations of passages illustrating the reception of the NT books by patristic interpreters. A thought-provoking resource for all who seek to introduce students to the NT as Christian Scripture.”
Theology
“Charles Cousar's A Theology of the Cross moves gracefully between critical exegesis and theological reflection. Deftly expositing Paul's interpretation of the cross and resurrection, Cousar corrects the polemical imbalance of Kasemann's treatment while updating its insights about the urgency of the word of the cross for the church today. Cousar's discerning work is a splendid achievement: at once deeply conversant with cutting-edge technical scholarship and written with great lucidity for the nonspecialist, it illumines Paul's message in a way that will prove especially valuable for pastors and students. I know of no other work that so helpfully synthesizes important recent developments in the study of Pauline theology.”
Preaching & Worship
“Fleming Rutledge’s Advent preaching bursts upon us with the same elemental force as the preaching of John the Baptist. Rutledge’s fine crafting of language may be subtler than John’s, but she carries forward his incisive, apocalyptic message of judgment and hope. This is essential preaching for a church wallowing in self-referential sentimentality and caught in captivity to the compromises of the present political order. This is preaching that tells the truth about the world’s suffering and proclaims that God acts to rescue us. Do not drift anesthetized through another season of Advent; read this book.”
Evangelism & Missions
“These insightful essays build a careful exegetical case that the coming of God's reign calls us to participate in the mission of proclaiming shalom. By tracing this theme through the diverse individual witnesses in the canon, this volume illumines the unity of biblical theology and rebuts claims that the Bible underwrites violence. By reminding us that peace stands at the heart of the gospel, it serves as a prophetic summons to the church in our time.”
Biblical Studies & Commentaries
“The probing essays in this book open up fresh, illuminating perspectives on the mysterious Christology of John's Gospel and its relation to other ancient Jewish and Christian texts. Taken together, they offer fitting tribute to the wise, perceptive exegetical work of Marianne Meye Thompson, whose studies of John inspired this volume. Fair warning to close readers of this book: Prepare to have your theological imagination expanded.”
Prayer & Spiritual Formation
“For those new to the Christian faith, Wesley Hill presents a moving biblical introduction to this climactic season in the Christian year. And for those whose sensibilities may be dulled by familiarity with the story, he offers an eye-opening, poetic account of the meaning of Easter, richly informed by close attention to the various biblical accounts of Jesus' resurrection and to the church's ancient liturgical traditions. An excellent resource for preachers, study groups, and anyone interested in pondering the mystery of the resurrection.”
Philosophy
“This profound book should not be read quickly; each paragraph demands and rewards sustained, self-reflective meditation. Oliver O’Donovan’s incisive reflections, deeply grounded in Scripture and in the classic traditions of Christian theology, summon us to find ourselves situated in world and time in such a way that we can begin the task of seeking the promised kingdom of God.”
Preaching & Worship
“Johnson has long been recognized as one of our most insightful expositors of the New Testament. This collection of sermons, organized around the seasons of the church’s liturgical calendar, demonstrates how he moves from exposition to eloquent proclamation. These timely messages model an exemplary humility before the word of Scripture: they are never showy and always substantive, always letting us hear the texts speak more clearly.”
Biblical Studies & Commentaries
“Paul J. Achtemeier, Joel B. Green, and Marianne Meye Thompson provide a clear, historically informed introduction to the New Testament as the scripture of the Christian church. This book's structure, theological content, and balanced critical judgments should make it a valuable resource for introductory New Testament courses.”
Biblical Studies & Commentaries
“Tom Wright's bold and brilliant book challenges us to rethink everything we thought we knew about the Jesus of history. Wright masterfully surveys the field of research on Jesus and proposes a fresh account of Jesus as a first-century Jewish apocalyptic prophet. . . . The result? A portrait of Jesus that situates him firmly 'on the ground' in the politics of first-century Judaism while integrating the data of the Gospel traditions in original and surprising ways. Wright's sweeping hypothesis, presented in delightfull lucid prose, sets a benchmark for all subsequent investigations of the historical Jesus.”
Biblical Studies & Commentaries
“Case and Glass forcefully and elegantly interrogate regnant critical models of the development of early Christianity. . . . Their argument portrays an early church whose unity is not the simple deposit of a monolithic tradition but rather ‘the hard-won fruit of personal sacrifice, patient discernment, and painful disagreement.’ If they are right, that early history might offer a hopeful vision for divided ecclesial communities in our own time. This book is a must-read for all students of the New Testament and the early church.”
New Testament Foundations for Christian Ethics
Biblical Studies & Commentaries
“Marxsen's book is a serious and engaging effort to reflect theologically about the role of the New Testament in Christian theological ethics.”
Biblical Studies & Commentaries
“This volume on biblical theology jumps into the fray and poses the right kind of questions. It does not offer a single way forward. Several of the essays are quite fresh and provocative, breaking new ground (Bray, Reno); others set out the issues with clarity and grace (Bartholomew); others offer programmatic analysis (Webster; Bauckham); others offer a fresh angle of view (Chapman, Martin). The success of this series is in facing the challenge of disarray in biblical studies head-on and then modeling a variety of approaches to stimulate our reflection.”
Biblical Studies & Commentaries
“Wherever Paul's letters are studied in English translation, this work would be a useful aid.”
Biblical Studies & Commentaries
“This splendid introduction to the Apostle Paul is the best book of its kind: concise, wise, insightful, thoroughly conversant with the best recent scholarship yet thoroughly clear and readable. Against the numerous distorted preconceptions that occlude our reading of Paul, Gorman brilliantly sketches a picture of Paul's gospel as a gracious, world-transforming message of peace and reconciliation. I will assign this as required reading for students in my introductory New Testament course and put it in the hands of as many pastors and laypeople as possible.”
Reading the Bible with the Dead
Biblical Studies & Commentaries
“It is a peculiar conceit of modernity that we are the first to recognize the presence of puzzling, offensive texts in the Bible. John Thompson punctures that illusion and offers a fascinating survey of the diverse ways in which premodern interpreters struggled — for better and for worse — with some of the same texts that trouble us today. Reading the Bible with the Dead contains a treasure trove of provocative insights. The clarity of Thompson's exposition is exemplary, and his evaluations are wise and balanced. The 'Finding Guide to English Translations of Commentary Literature Written before 1600' will be of great value to students and pastors who want to pursue this conversation more deeply.”
Redeeming Transcendence in the Arts
Arts & Literature
“A fruitful ambiguity resides in the title of Jeremy Begbie’s splendid new book, Redeeming Transcendence in the Arts. Who is the agent of the ‘redeeming’ promised on the cover? On the one hand, it is Begbie himself, whose incisive analysis redeems the category of ‘transcendence’ from the wispy, dualistic, conceptual fog where it has, in late modernity, been stranded. But on the other hand—and more profoundly—the implied agent of the redeeming is the Creator God, whose otherness and uncontainability are disclosed precisely in and through the specific acts of overflowing, self-giving love narrated in Scripture. Begbie contends that God’s transcendence is not a matter of distance from the world; instead, it is precisely a ‘redeeming transcendence’ that acts to restore the creation. Human works of art participate in that redeeming work through ‘sympathetic resonance,’ being taken up into the triune God’s action to bring ‘the integrity of creation to its fulfillment.’ This is brilliant theological writing that illumines our cultural setting and challenges readers to receive the arts with newly opened eyes and ears.”
Renewing New Testament Christology
Biblical Studies & Commentaries
Afterword
“Lee Keck has at last offered us the fruits--or better yet, the distillation--of a lifetime of learning. The long deferral of the book's publication has only deepened its savor and its value, like the aging of fine wine. As at Cana, we readers are guests at the feast, grateful guests who are unexpectedly receiving the best wine last. Reader, drink deeply.”
Theology
“Rarely does a new body of scholarship come along that compels us to rethink what we thought we knew about the New Testament. Moffitt’s work on the Letter to the Hebrews is exactly that sort of game-changing intervention. This new collection of deeply researched essays builds upon and persuasively amplifies his earlier interpretations of resurrection and atonement in Hebrews, while also illuminating the theology of other New Testament documents. For those whose faculties have been trained by practice to recognize serious and illuminating exegesis, this book is not milk but solid food.”
NOTE: Only includes books currently in our catalog; not necessarily a complete list.
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