Caesar Augustus promoted a modest image of himself as the first among equals (princeps), a characterization that was as popular with the ancient Romans as it is with many scholars today. Paul Rehak argues against this impression of humility and suggests that, like the monarchs of the Hellenistic age, Augustus sought immortality—an eternal glory gained through deliberate planning for his niche in history while flexing his existing power. Imperium and Cosmos focuses on Augustus’s Mausoleum and Ustrinum (site of his cremation), the Horologium-Solarium (a colossal sundial), and the Ara Pacis (Altar to Augustan Peace), all of which transformed the northern Campus Martius into a tribute to his major achievements in life and a vast memorial for his deification after death. Rehak closely examines the artistic imagery on these monuments, providing numerous illustrations, tables, and charts. In an analysis firmly contextualized by a thorough discussion of the earlier models and motifs that inspired these Augustan monuments, Rehak shows how the princeps used these on such an unprecedented scale as to truly elevate himself above the common citizen.
In this expanded and updated third edition of an important work, respected Pauline scholar Victor Paul Furnish presents an analysis of some of Paul's most famous yet often misunderstood ethical teachings. Dr. Furnish enriches his discussion of key Pauline topics including: sex, marriage, divorce, homosexuality, women in the church, and the Church in the world. He pays particular attention to the socio-cultural context of Paul's ministry, the complexity of his thought, the character of his moral reasoning, and the way his thought and reasoning may inform and challenge us today. Victor Paul Furnish is University Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Emeritus at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, and general editor of the Abingdon New Testament Commentaries.
Two times govern Paul's thought world: the death and resurrection of Jesus, marking the origin of the believer's life; and Christ's return or parousia, culminating God's purposes with this world. Between these two times Paul is concerned about how believers behave¿how they walk. J. Paul Sampley provides a guidebook for all who want to understand Paul's thought world, his moral reasoning, and the resources for deliberation that Paul considers available to believers.
The evidence in the New Testament is clear: the church, from its beginning, faced problems of division and disunity, with the result that such unity still remains a goal to be achieved in the life of the visible body of Christ. Only a clear, hard-eyed view of the kind of problems that have beset the Christian community from its beginning will enable that community to move forward, under the guidance of God's Spirit, to that unity to which it is called. - From the Introduction
In this book, Paul Moser explains how self-sacrificial righteousness of a reparative kind is at the heart of Paul's gospel of God. He also shows how divine self-sacrifice authenticates that gospel via human reciprocity toward God in reconciliation. A basis for this reciprocity lies in a teaching of ancient Judaism that humans are to reciprocate toward God for the sake of an interpersonal relationship that is righteous and reconciled through voluntary self-sacrifice to God. Moser demonstrates that Paul's gospel calls for faith, including trust, in God as reciprocity in human self-sacrifice toward God. Although widely neglected by interpreters, this theme brings moral and evidential depth to Paul's good news of reparative redemption from God. Moser's study thus enables a new understanding of some of the controversial matters regarding Paul's message in a way that highlights the coherence and profundity of his message.
First published in 1968--and out of print since the 1980s--Victor Paul Furnish's treatment of Paul's theology and ethics has long been regarded as the key scholarly statement and most useful textbook on Paul's thought. Now, Theology and Ethics in Paul is available once again as part of the Westminster John Knox Press New Testament Library. Featuring a new introduction from Richard Hays, this timeless volume is as relevant in this century as it was in the last. The New Testament Library offers authoritative commentary on every book and major aspect of the New Testament, as well as classic volumes of scholarship. The commentaries in this series provide fresh translations based on the best available ancient manuscripts, offer critical portrayals of the historical world in which the books were created, pay careful attention to their literary design, and present a theologically perceptive exposition of the text.
Jerusalem to Illyricum is the geographical space and ca. AD 34 to 57 the time frame for Paul's church planting mission. Acts includes this within its meta-narrative, and while historically accurate, it is not raw history like Paul's letters. In this study Barnett is seeking references to Paul's initial missionary "arrival" (eisodos) and the local cultural pushback. Of particular interest for history and theology is his encyclical to the Galatians and his account of the dispute with Cephas in Antioch. Paul's success in his mission to the gentiles in Syria and Cilicia provoked the rise within the Jerusalem Church of those he calls "false brothers" whose colleagues travelled to "agitate" the Galatian believers and to drive the gentile believers in Antioch from the common meal. Some years later a band of preachers from Jerusalem sought to capture the church in Corinth, intending to then capture other churches in Macedonia and Asia. Paul's missions and writings have been the subject of numerous large studies which, however, unintentionally imply that Paul's mission years were longer than they were and that his mission writing occupied a lengthy time space. His nine missionary letters were written ca. AD 48 to 57, a mere decade, and all of which point to Paul's astonishing energy and drive.
What motivated the apostle Paul from his Damascus road experience through to the end of his life? That is the question driving this powerfully argued work by leading New Testament scholar Paul Barnett. Dr Barnett proposes that an understanding of Paul's years in Syria-Cilicia is critical for understanding his visit to Jerusalem, the mission to Galatia, the counter-mission of the 'agitators', the dispute with Cephas in Antioch and the implied dispute with James. Read this work and see Galatians in a different light. COMMENDATIONS "If you are remotely interested in New Testament Studies, especially the writings of Paul, this is an outstanding book to read. Paul Barnett does an excellent job in casting light on the lengthy period of time the Apostle spent in Syria and Cicilia. While in Syria, Paul formed his theology, which Barnett brings out extremely informatively. Barnett reflects on how Paul would have influenced the writings of Peter and James. This book is stimulating, informative and an invaluable resource. For anyone who takes the New Testament writings of Paul seriously, this book brings it all together and is a must-read." - Peter Christofides, Dean of Students, Lecturer in New Testament, Vose Seminary, Perth, Western Australia
Paul's letters are the earliest surviving Christian writings and therefore the earliest documentary evidence for what Jesus's followers knew and said about him. The present volume deals with questions frequently asked about Paul. Did he know Jesus personally? If not, then how much did Paul know about Jesus, and how did this information come to him? Where in his letters does Paul make use of Jesus's teachings, how does he employ them, and what kind of authority does he accord them? Above all, why does Paul place so much emphasis on Jesus' death and resurrection? How is he able to proclaim these as saving events? Finally, a closing chapter considers how several writings in the Pauline tradition variously continued and altered the apostle's own interpretation of Jesus. Because these Pauline understandings of Jesus have remained so influential across twenty centuries, the more fully they are appreciated the more one is helped in understanding Jesus today.
This study examines by a meticulous analysis of abundant rabbinic citations the pluralism of the Halakhah in the pre-70 period which stands in contrast to the fixed Halakhah of later periods. The Temple's destruction provoked, for political motives, the initiation of this significant shift, which protracted itself, in developmental stages, for a longer period. The transition from the Tannaitic to the Amoraic era was a consequential turning point on the extended path from flexibility to rigidity in Jewish law.
Across the history of Christianity, Paul’s letters have been mined for doctrines like original sin and the “Fall” of Adam or for arguing that justification is by faith, not by works. J. Paul Sampley’s concern is not first with doctrines but with how Paul instructed, encouraged, built up—and, at times, chided—the followers who trekked behind him in “the upward call of God in Christ Jesus,” (Phil. 3:14). Sampley writes particularly for readers today who seek insight into the spiritual and moral life but are perplexed by the apostle. While taking seriously the distance between Paul and our time, he also understands Paul’s relevance for those seeking to live responsibly in a broken and alienated world. Sampley articulates how important themes in his letters—the grand narrative of God’s action, the new creation, the power of baptism and of the Lord’s Supper—serve the basic goal of calling people to faithful living and to “walking in love,” for God and for each other. Walking in Love is a clear exposition of the ethical dimension of Paul’s complex theology.
Caesar Augustus promoted a modest image of himself as the first among equals, a characterisation that was popular with the ancient Romans. This work focuses on Augustus's Mausoleum and Ustrinum, the Horologium-Solarium, and the Ara Pacis. It also examines the artistic imagery on these monuments.
This book highlights the vulnerability of healthcare buildings in the context of climate change-triggered extreme weather events (EWEs) and the case for mitigation. With a concise discussion on climate change and its consequences in the form of such events, a cost model and equations that register losses and help quantify them are then presented. The model can be used to estimate the significant potential loss that might occur during an EWE and help healthcare facilities prepare for them. The book analyses cases of major EWEs in India over the last two decades and collates the data available into various categories. Through this research the authors have developed a framework which assists healthcare facilities with a detailed calculation of value losses, both tangible and intangible. The framework can be used to assess the impacts on healthcare buildings in terms of disruption of services so that appropriate decisions related to the resilience in healthcare planning can be taken into consideration. Thus, the book is useful for directing planning and design processes aimed at continuity of service and building resilience to perform in the face of natural disaster and extreme weather. The purpose of this book is to prompt facilities planners and healthcare facilities to prepare to respond to EWEs through the planning and design process in a rational manner. Built infrastructure professionals such as architects and engineers, policy makers, and academics with an interest in disasters, risk and climate change will all find this book to be key reading.
In this study, John-Paul Harper critically compares how Paul and Philo rethought the significant Jewish symbols of Land, Jerusalem, and Temple. Drawing particular attention to their political significance, he demonstrates how these symbols offer important insights into how both Paul and Philo conceptualised authority in the local community (Temple), within the wider 'people of God' (Jerusalem), and in relation to the Roman Empire (Land). The author argues that, while both conceptualised authority in charismatic terms, Philo's appropriation tended to be more individualistic and focused on otherworldly realities, whereas Paul's tended to be more communal and focused on this-worldly realities. Along the way, the author contributes to contemporary discussions of Paul and Philo's Jewish identity, their perspectives on community leadership and order, and their perspectives on the Roman Empire.
Captivated by the biblical vision of shalom, Paul Martin shares reflections on the Creator's master plan-the shalom Kingdom-the then, the now, and the yet-to-be.
The son of a Jewish father and Baptist mother, Paul Wilbur grew up attending synagogue. In college he was transformed by a Baptist minister’s teaching about a rabbi, Jesus, who fulfilled the promise of the Torah. As he grew in his relationship with Jesus, Wilbur was reintroduced to the God of the Old Testament and began exploring his Jewish heritage. Along the way, he discovered the power of Jewish worship traditions—the weekly Shabbat, with the power of Holy Communion and dedication to family, along with other high holy traditions and feast days. Observing those ancient rituals, now infused with the power of the Holy Spirit, Wilbur heard a sound that he describes as a “roar from Zion.” As evangelicals came to understand and incorporate ancient Jewish worship practices in their home and church lives, miracles broke out, fathers assumed their roles as the head of their families, prodigal children returned home, and marriages were restored. What began with one man is now becoming a movement, with tens of thousands taking part.
Food and drink, along with the material culture involved in their consumption, can signify a variety of social distinctions, identities and values. Thus, in Early Minoan Knossos, tableware was used to emphasize the difference between the host and the guests, and at Mycenaean Pylos the status of banqueters was declared as much by the places assigned to them as by the quality of the vessles form which they ate and drank. The ten contributions to this volume highlight the extraordinary opportunity for multi-disciplinary research in this area.
A mosquito-infested and swampy plain lying north of the city walls, Rome's Campus Martius, or Field of Mars, was used for much of the period of the Republic as a military training ground and as a site for celebratory rituals and occasional political assemblies. Initially punctuated with temples vowed by victorious generals, during the imperial era it became filled with extraordinary baths, theaters, porticoes, aqueducts, and other structures - many of which were architectural firsts for the capitol. This book explores the myriad factors that contributed to the transformation of the Campus Martius from an occasionally visited space to a crowded center of daily activity. It presents a case study of the repurposing of urban landscape in the Roman world and explores how existing topographical features that fit well with the Republic's needs ultimately attracted architecture that forever transformed those features but still resonated with the area's original military and ceremonial traditions.
What type of relationship did New Testament churches have with one another? Was it a relationship of conflict and competition? Or was it a loose aggregation of individual churches scattered across the Roman Empire? Or can it be described as a cohesive partnership for the common cause of the gospel of Christ? Most New Testament church activities are recorded in connection with Paul’s ministry. In this sense, the present study started on the premise that close attention to Paul’s partnership ministry would offer a richer understanding of New Testament church relationships. By exploring some ministry areas—such as Paul’s coworkers, financial assistance, and communicative activities—this book demonstrates that Paul’s churches, occasioned and mediated by Paul’s partnership ministry, were engaged in networking and collaboration far more closely than has generally been assumed, not only among themselves but also with non-Pauline churches. Paul’s partnership ministry significantly contributed to the relationship of New Testament churches.
What type of relationship did New Testament churches have with one another? Was it a relationship of conflict and competition? Or was it a loose aggregation of individual churches scattered across the Roman Empire? Or can it be described as a cohesive partnership for the common cause of the gospel of Christ? Most New Testament church activities are recorded in connection with Paul's ministry. In this sense, the present study started on the premise that close attention to Paul's partnership ministry would offer a richer understanding of New Testament church relationships. By exploring some ministry areas--such as Paul's coworkers, financial assistance, and communicative activities--this book demonstrates that Paul's churches, occasioned and mediated by Paul's partnership ministry, were engaged in networking and collaboration far more closely than has generally been assumed, not only among themselves but also with non-Pauline churches. Paul's partnership ministry significantly contributed to the relationship of New Testament churches.
Unique, Fascinating Look at How God's Promises to Israel Apply to Today We read throughout the Bible about God blessing his people, but most of us don't realize that these blessings are still meant for today--and for us. In this accessible study, pastor and international leader Paul Thangiah connects ancient biblical texts to modern-day life. Exploring Jacob's final blessings over his twelve sons in Genesis and Moses' parting blessings to the twelve tribes in Deuteronomy, Thangiah sheds light on the history of those on whom these blessings were bestowed. With keen insight, he examines the background of each of Jacob's sons, the significance of each name and personal situation, and what the Bible says about his descendants. Then, he shows how each of the twelve tribes saw the fulfillment of both Jacob's and Moses' prophetic blessings. Yet these blessings didn't cease at the end of the Old Testament, says Thangiah, revealing how they were powerfully and ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. You will be encouraged and inspired to discover how God's promises to his people extend beyond Israel to include all who've been grafted in through Christ--and how you can still enjoy these prophetic blessings today.
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