Over 150,000 Copies Sold Worldwide!Understand Scripture on Its Own TermsWhat was clear to the original readers of Scripture is not always clear to us. Because of the cultural distance between the biblical world and our contemporary setting, we often bring modern Western biases to the text. For example:When Western readers hear Paul exhorting women to "dress modestly," we automatically think in terms of sexual modesty. But most...

跳脫個人主義的框架，重建聖經的文化視野，讓神的話語更貼近心靈我們往往透過個人主義的眼鏡來看聖經而不自覺。在聖經當中，我們看到的是個別聖經人物的成功與失敗、得勝或墮落，或是僅僅將聖經視為記錄了「個人與上帝的關係」，而忽略了當中的「我們」與「他們」。這樣的誤讀，使我們錯過了聖經中深刻的社會背景與價值體系，因為聖經的誕生並非基於個人主義，而是根植於古代集體文化的土壤。由於缺乏對這些背景的認識，許多經文的重點與細節容易被忽視，使我們錯失了神藉聖經所傳達的寶貴信息。要突破這種局限，我們需要打破個人主義的迷思，開啟全新的視野。這不僅僅是從一個新的解讀角度出發，更是通過文化通識課來深入理解聖經背後的歷史脈絡與社會結構。聖經的訊息不僅是關於個人的成敗，更是集體、社會及群體中所表現的價值觀和行為模式的呈現。在集體文化的框架下，聖經文本中每一個細節都充滿了不同層次的社會意義。本書將帶你走進十五堂聖經文化通識課，由聖經學者蘭迪· 里查茲和中東宣教士里奇· 詹姆斯共同領航，探索聖經中親屬關係、恩主制度...

Was für die Menschen zur Zeit der Bibel noch ganz selbstverständlich mitgedacht wurde, ist für uns heute nicht mehr offensichtlich. Unsere westliche Kultur heute denkt anders über Gesellschaft, Individualismus, Beziehungen, Tugenden und Laster als es in biblischen Zeiten üblich war. Unsere kulturelle Prägung hat große Auswirkungen auf unser Denken, unsere Werte und auch darauf, wie wir die Bibel verstehen. Und so lesen wir manchmal etwas in Texte hinein, was gar nicht so gemeint war. Mit v...

**The apostle Paul was kind of a jerk.**He was arrogant and stubborn. He called his opponents derogatory, racist names. He legitimized slavery and silenced women. He was a moralistic, homophobic killjoy who imposed his narrow religious views on others. Or was he?Randolph Richards and Brandon O'Brien explore the complicated persona and teachings of the apostle Paul. Unpacking his personal history and cultural context, they show how Paul both offended Roman perspectives and scandalized Jewis...

The Bible was written within collectivist cultures. When Westerners, immersed in individualism, read the Bible, it's easy to misinterpret important elements—or miss them altogether. In any culture, the most important things usually go without being said. So to read Scripture well we benefit when we uncover the unspoken social structures and values of its world. We need to recalibrate our vision.Combining the expertise of a biblical scholar and a missionary practiti...

**Many young Bible scholars are passionate for the Scriptures. But is passion enough?**In A Little Book for New Bible Scholars, Randolph Richards and Joseph Dodson encourage young students of the Bible to add substance to their zeal—the kind of substance that comes from the sweat and toil of hard study. "Just as we should avoid knowledge without love," they write, "we should also avoid love without knowledge."Aimed at beginners, this concise overview offers a wealth of good advice...

For some of us, the apostle Paul is intimidating, like a distant and difficult uncle. Maybe not someone you'd like to hang out with at a coffee shop on a rainy day. He'd make a scene, evangelize the barista, and arouse looks across the room. For amid-morning latte, we'd prefer Jesus over Paul.But Paul is actually the guy who—from Ephesus to Athens—was the talk of the marketplace, the raconteur of the Parthenon. He knew everyone, founded emerging churches, loved the difficult people, and he...

What was clear to the original readers of Scripture is not always clear to us. Because of the cultural distance between the biblical world and our contemporary setting, we often bring modern Western biases to the text. For example, when Western readers hear Paul exhorting women to "dress modestly," we automatically think in terms of sexual modesty. But most women in that culture would never wear racy clothing. The context suggests that Paul is likely more concerned about economic modesty—t...

The Bible was written within collectivist cultures. When Westerners, immersed in individualism, read the Bible, it's easy to misinterpret important elements—or miss them altogether. In any culture, the most important things usually go without being said. So to read Scripture well we benefit when we uncover the unspoken social structures and values of its world. We need to recalibrate our vision.Combining the expertise of a biblical scholar and a missionary practitioner, Misread...

Readers' Choice Awards Honorable MentionOne of Nijay Gupta's Best Academic New Testament BooksWho is your Jesus? Matthew's teacher? John's Word made flesh? Hebrews' great high priest? What if it turned out that your Jesus is a composite of your favorite selections from the New Testament buffet, garnished with some Hollywood and Americana?Rediscovering Jesus takes us on a gallery tour of biblical portraits of Jesus, from Mat...

The apostle Paul was kind of a jerk. He was arrogant and stubborn. He called his opponents derogatory, racist names. He legitimized slavery and silenced women. He was a moralistic, homophobic killjoy who imposed his narrow religious views on others. Or was he? Randolph Richards and Brandon O'Brien explore the complicated persona and teachings of the apostle Paul. Unpacking his personal history and cultural context, they show how Paul both offended Roman perspectives and scandalized Jewish ...

"Excellent publication for the study of intelligence analysis, structured analytical techniques and their application in this increasingly dangerous environment. A must read for anyone entering the intelligence community as an analyst, practitioner, stakeholder and leader."—Charles E. Wilson, University of Detroit MercyThe Third Edition of Structured Analytic Techniques for Intelligence Analysis showcases sixty-six structured analyt...