Unique and intriguing, Famous but Nameless focuses on the Bible's anonymous supporting cast, highlighting important character strengths expressed in their words and deeds. Author Mark Hendrickson's studies of lesser-known individuals from the Old and New Testaments offer tales rich with lessons that can instruct, inspire, or guide. Optional questions for discussion follow each story, suitable for Sunday school classes, Bible study groups, or personal reflection. Including figures as diverse as Samson's mother, the crew on Jonah's boat, Pilate's wife, and Paul's jailer, this collection revisits forty-five Bible episodes from a fresh, insightful perspective. Although written from a Christian perspective, Famous but Nameless highlights character attributes that anyone can admire. "What a great expression of love! [It] will bring blessings to each one who reads it." Rev. Larry Bernard, OFM "... inspiring stories with lessons in moral character to teach our children." Cheri Hollenbaugh, veteran home-schooling mom. "...understandable...engaging ...Mark has lifted up the unnamed of long ago and in so doing helps to lift us up as well." Rev. Dr. Gary F. Lewis

There was a bright moon three feet above his head, and an azure dragon embroidered on his sleeves. Riding a horse with a sword, indulging in unbridled pleasures, roaming the Jianghu with his lover.

In this addition to the well-received Paideia series, a respected senior New Testament scholar examines cultural context and theological meaning in Second Corinthians. Paideia commentaries explore how New Testament texts form Christian readers by ∙ attending to the ancient narrative and rhetorical strategies the text employs ∙ showing how the text shapes theological convictions and moral habits ∙ commenting on the final, canonical form of each New Testament book ∙ focusing on the cultural, literary, and theological settings of the text ∙ making judicious use of maps, photos, and sidebars in a reader-friendly format Students, pastors, and other readers will appreciate the historical, literary, and theological insight offered in this practical commentary.

Ecclesia et Violentia is an interdisciplinary anthology that explores the phenomenon of violence in relation to the medieval Church, as well as within the structures of that institution. The volume provides a clearer understanding of hostile and violent acts against both religious institutions and clergy, and explores the interpersonal aggression between clergymen or forms of violent behaviour of medieval clerics. It investigates, furthermore, the role of violence in maintaining discipline within religious communities, as well as religious, legal and cultural interpretations of the aforementioned issues. However, despite the many points of view expressed here, the central question the authors reconcile is how the phenomenon of violence interacted with the most important medieval institution, and official Church thinking regarding concepts such as power, rank, feudal loyalty and protection and ownership. Through the geographical diversity of the contributions and the variety of disciplinary perspectives, this book highlights how important violence was in the life of the clergy and how it formed an integral part of the legal culture and social bonds in many regions of medieval Europe.