Examines the role played by the Old Testament in the formation of early Christian thinking.

From the early days of the church to the present, the Old Testament Law has been a subject of much confusion, debate, and outright theological division. And with good reason: the way Christians understand the Law has massive implications for their individual lives and for the life of the church. To sort through the numerous interpretations and approaches to this thorny issue, we need to start with a solid knowledge of the Law itself. Richard Averbeck provides a comprehensive, accessible discussion of how the Law fits into the arc of the Bible and its relevance to the church today. Beginning with the way God intended the Law to work in its original historical and cultural context, he then explores the New Testament perspective on the Law. Averbeck identifies three biblical theological theses: the Law is good, the Law is weak, and the Law is a unified whole. Rejecting common partitions between categories of law, he makes the case that the whole Law applies to the Christian. Our task is to discern how it applies in the light of Christ. The Old Testament Law for the Life of the Church invites readers to consider how all of Scripture is illuminating and useful for God's people. The church, as the new temple, has much to learn from the Law and about what it means for our doctrine and practice.

The writings explored in this book'authentic books of the Bible you've probably never read'are often dubbed ?Apocrypha,? and were cut from the Bible by the Reformers. The Rest of the Bible provides a brief and intriguing introduction to the writings unique to the Greek Old Testament, treasured by the Orthodox Church through the centuries and termed by St. Athanasius ?the Readables.'

Many Christians today long to become reacquainted with their ancient ancestors in the faith. They see a deeper worship and devotion in the prayers and hymns of the early church. And they believe that the writings of the early church can shed new light on their understanding of Scripture. But where and how do we begin? Our first encounter with the writings of the church fathers may seem like visiting a far country where the language, assumptions, concerns and conclusions are completely unfamiliar to us. In Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers Christopher Hall helps us through this cultural confusion, introducing us to the early church, its unique world, and the sights and sounds of Scripture that are highlighted for them. As Hall points out, the ancient fathers hear music in Scripture where we remain tone-deaf. Despite their occasional eccentricities, theirs is a hearing refined through long listening in song, worship, teaching, meditation and oral reading. And like true masters they challenge and correct our modern assumptions as they invite us to tune our ears to hear the divine melodies of the Bible. Reading Scriptue with the Church Fathers is an exceptional guide. Hall provides a warm, winsome, informative and indispensable introcution to who these leaders and scholars were, how they read and interpreted Scripture, and how we might read Scripture with them for all its worth. Note: Because this ebook is file is large, please allow a little extra time to download after purchase.

In the period between the councils of Nicea and Chalcedon in the fourth and fifth centuries, the faithful in the churches of the ecclesiastical district of Antioch were the beneficiaries of the ministry of the Word from distinguished pastors. Included in this ministry were homilies on the Old Testament by John Chrysostom and written commentaries by his mentor Diodore and his fellow student Theodore, and later by Theodoret. Though the biblical text was admittedly Jewish in origin, "the text and the meaning are ours," claimed Chrysostom; and the great bulk of extant remains reveals the pastoral priority given to this often obscure material. Students and exegetes of the Old Testament and its individual authors and books will be introduced here to Antioch1s distinctive approach and interpretation by commentators reading their local form of the Greek Bible. In the course of this survey, readers will gain an insight also into Antioch1s worldview and its approach to the person of Jesus, to soteriology, morality and spirituality.

Much of the contemporary discussion of the Jesus tradition has focused on aspects of oral performance, storytelling, and social memory, on the premise that the practice of communal reading of written texts was a phenomenon documented no earlier than the second century CE. Brian J. Wright overturns the premise that communal reading of written texts was a phenomenon documented no earlier than the second century CE by examining evidence for its practice in the first century.

Comprehensive, up-to-date collection of primary source documents (creation accounts, epic literature, etc.) gives insight into the Ancient Near East and the Old Testament.