The New Testament contains four accounts of the life of Jesus. To some people in antiquity, four was too many. Disagreements in the Gospels over what Jesus said and did triggered debate between insiders and drew criticism from outsiders. To other people, four was not enough. As early as the first century, Christians wrote additional gospels, each with their own portrayal of Jesus and depictions of his relationships with his family, his followers, and his Father. While these gospels were no...

In our fraught global environment, when political and ideological lines are drawn ever sharper and old allegiances are increasingly strained, love for neighbor as both individual and societal obligation needs to be thematized and justified anew. At the same time, the New Testament call to love one’s enemies forms a sharp point of contrast to the current non-culture of hatred for all things different and foreign.Oda Wischmeyer’s Love as Agape: The Early Christian Concept and Mod...

Jesus of Nazareth continues to fascinate. From antiquity onwards countless people have found meaning for their lives through Jesus' teaching. His life led to the establishment of a community that subsequently grew into what is today the world's largest religion. At the center of the Christian faith stands the confession that this Jesus is both "true human being and true God."In Jesus of Nazareth, noted German New Testament scholar Jens Schröter directly addresses the conne...

That there are four canonical versions of the one gospel story is often seen as a problem for Christian faith: where gospels multiply, so too do apparent contradictions that may seem to undermine their truth claims. In Gospel Writing Francis Watson argues that differences and tensions between canonical gospels represent opportunities for theological reflection, not problems for apologetics.Watson presents the formation of the fourfold gospel as the defining moment in the r...

“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-...

This book unravels mysteries, corrects misunderstandings, and offers thoughtful, straightforward responses to common objections about the Catholic faith.Bestselling author Scott Hahn, a convert to Catholicism, has experienced the doubts that so often drive discussions about God and the Church. In the years before his conversion, he was first a nonbeliever and then an anti-Catholic clergyman.In REASONS TO BELIEVE, he explains the "how and why" of the Catholic faith—drawing f...

2016 Word Guild Award - Academic categoryHonorable mention, Grace Irwin PrizeRenowned scholar Craig Bartholomew, coauthor of the bestselling textbook The Drama of Scripture, writes in his main area of expertise--hermeneutics--to help seminarians pursue a lifetime of biblical interpretation. Integrating the latest research in theology, philosophy, and biblical studies, this substantive hermeneutics textbook is robustly theological in its approach, ta...

“This book will prove to be a most effective weapon against the debunking and skeptical attitudes toward the Gospels that are so prevalent, not only in academe, but also on the street.”—Robert Barron, author of CatholicismFor well over a hundred years now, many scholars have questioned the historical truth of the Gospels, claiming that they were originally anonymous. Others have even argued that Jesus of Nazareth did not think he was God and never claimed ...

A fresh scholarly reading of grace in Paul's theologyIn this book esteemed Pauline scholar John Barclay presents a strikingly fresh reading of grace in Paul's theology, studying it in view of ancient notions of "gift" and shining new light on Paul's relationship to Second Temple Judaism.Paul and the Gift centers on divine gift-giving, which for Paul, Barclay says, is focused and fulfilled in the gift of Christ. He offers a new appraisal of Paul's theology ...

From the bestselling author of The Lamb's Supper and Signs of Life comes an illuminating work that unlocks the many mysteries of the Catholic sacrament of the Eucharist.Long before the New Testament was a document, it was a sacrament. Jesus called the Eucharist by the name Christians subsequently gave to the latter books of the Holy Bible. It was the "New Covenant," the "New Testament," in his blood. Christians later extended the phrase to cover the books produced ...

May we speak, in the present age, of holy scripture? And what validation of that claim can be offered, robust enough to hold good for both religious practice and intellectual enquiry? John Webster argues that while any understanding of scripture must subject it to proper textual and historical interrogation, it is necessary at the same time to acknowledge the special character of scriptural writing. His 2003 book is an exercise in Christian dogmatics, a loud reaffirmation of the triune God...

How and when did the books of the Bible originate? In what sense are these books different from other books? How have these books been preserved and transmitted to us? Why do we have so many different translations of the Bible?How We Got the Bible provides factual, accessible answers to questions like these. A classic guide for Bible students, it has sold more than 300,000 copies during its forty years in print. Now, in this new edition, each chapter has been revised and chapters ha...