"To relish the feast that is Scripture, we need to use multiple models."A Christian never gains all that Scripture offers by reading it with just one approach. Yet too often this is attempted—whether through an academic obsession with the historical-critical method or through a consumerist approach that seeks only the motivation of the moment. Mark Reasoner broadens the options for scriptural engagement by describing five models of Scripture: documents, stories, prayers, l...

Reasoner's Now Shown Mercy is the first commentary in 500 years that returns to the quadriga (literal sense plus threefold spiritual sense) in its exegetical approach. The commentary shows how Paul understands Israel to be valued by God for its own sake, not simply as a type of the church or a preparation for the Christ. Paul views Israel as under God's mercy even as he writes Romans chapters 9-11, grieving as he is over both Israel's political subjugation in the first century and its spir...

A selection of the most important sources for the cultural and political context of the early Roman Empire and the New Testament writings, Roman Imperial Texts includes freshly translated public speeches, official inscriptions, annals, essays, poems, and documents of veiled protest from the Empire’s subject peoples —all introduced by Mark Reasoner.

The Bible has profoundly influenced the western world. Many of its characters and stories are well known and yet, oddly enough, wide swaths of the Bible are unknown and misunderstood. The laws and teaching contained within it have shaped contemporary thinking and jurisprudence in ways many do not realize. Equally important, two of the world’s largest religions—Judaism and Christianity—consider the Hebrew Bible to be sacred and to contain enduring truths about beginnings and creation, life ...

Being a player in the NFL has its drawbacks. For the average player, his career only lasts about four years, and sometimes, lives are ruined by injury. Kickers have more longevity and can survive up to fifteen years. However, even kickers must eventually admit their days in the football spotlight have come to an end.Kicker for the Indianapolis ColtsMatt Ridgeway is nearing the end of his careerhe just doesnt know it yet. When draft season comes around, his team picks Clay Dinsmore ...

Since Charles Puskas first published The Letters of Paul, it has proven to be a reliable text and reference tool. It is an exemplary guide to the basic issues surrounding the Pauline letters-who really wrote each letter; when it was written; the letter's social context, audience, and literary characteristics-and also includes discussion of the worlds of Paul, the letter genre, and the rhetorical arrangement of each letter.Working with noted Pauline scholar Mark Reasoner on...

Pamela Eisenbaum, an expert on early Christianity, reveals the true nature of the historical Paul in Paul Was Not a Christian. She explores the idea of Paul not as the founder of a new Christian religion, but as a devout Jew who believed Jesus was the Christ who would unite Jews and Gentiles and fulfill God's universal plan for humanity. Eisenbaum's work in Paul Was Not a Christian will have a profound impact on the way many Christians approach evangelism and how to bett...

The Old Testament is more than a religious history of the nation of Israel. It is more than a portrait gallery of heroes of the faith. It is even more than a theological and prophetic backdrop to the New Testament. Beyond these, the Old Testament is inspired revelation of the very nature, character, and works of God. As renowned Old Testament scholar Bruce Waltke writes in the preface of this book, the Old Testament’s every sentence is “fraught with theology, worthy of reflection.” This bo...

Since its publication in 1997, Raymond Brown’s Introduction to the New Testament has been widely embraced by modern readers seeking to understand the Christian Bible. Acknowledged as a paragon of New Testament studies in his lifetime, Brown was a gifted communicator who wrote with ease and clarity. Abridged by Marion Soards, who worked with Brown on the original text, this new, concise version maintains the essence and centrist interpretation of the original without ...

Thomas Schreiner's substantial New Testament Theology examined the unifying themes that emerge from a detailed reading of the New Testament canon. This student-level digest of Schreiner's massive work explores the key themes and teachings of the New Testament in a more accessible and concise way. The book summarizes the findings of Schreiner's larger work and provides answers to the "so what?" question of New Testament theology. Comprehensive and up to date, this survey is arrange...

“This book is . . . my personal search ‘for the face of the Lord.’” –Benedict XVIIn this bold, momentous work, the Pope––in his first book written as Benedict XVI––seeks to salvage the person of Jesus from recent “popular” depictions and to restore Jesus’ true identity as discovered in the Gospels. Through his brilliance as a theologian and his personal conviction as a believer, the Pope shares a rich, compelling, flesh-and-blood portrait of Jesus and incites us to encounter, face-...

**2013 Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS) Award for Best Book Relating to the New TestamentFrank Moore Cross Award, American Schools of Oriental Research (2013)**Apocalypticism is not a peripheral topic in biblical studies. It represents the central, characteristic transformation of Hebrew thought in the period of the Second Temple. It therefore constituted the worldview of Jesus, Paul, and the earliest Christians, and it is the context in which the New Testament books were...