Drawing on philosophical reflection, spiritual and religious values, and somatic practice, Spirit and the Obligation of Social Flesh offers guidance for moving amidst the affective dynamics that animate the streets of the global cities now amassing around our planet. Here theology turns decidedly secular. In urban medieval Europe, seculars were uncloistered persons who carried their spiritual passion and sense of an obligated life into daily circumambulations of the city. Seculars lived in the city, on behalf of the city, but—contrary to the new profit economy of the time—with a different locus of value: spirit. Betcher argues that for seculars today the possibility of a devoted life, the practice of felicity in history, still remains. Spirit now names a necessary “prosthesis,” a locus for regenerating the elemental commons of our interdependent flesh and thus for cultivating spacious and fearless empathy, forbearance, and generosity. Her theological poetics, though based in Christianity, are frequently in conversation with other religions resident in our postcolonial cities.

The winner in the battle between spirit and flesh is determined by which one gets fed the most. We need to actively sustain our spirit with prayer, study and meditation of God's Word and fellowship with believers. We also need to do whatever it takes to famish the flesh and its evil desires.It is a daily challenge of faith. When we do sustain the spirit and famish the flesh, we walk in God's light with wholehearted devotion. We experience a rewarding and fulfilling relationship with Christ and victory over temptation.

This book questions the long-standing and pervasive view that "flesh" is a force within the life of the Christian that he or she must continually struggle against and overcome only by choosing to walk in the power of God's "Spirit." This internal dualism between the forces of "flesh" and "Spirit" emerges as both a central paradigm for the spiritual life and a major construct in approaching Paul's theology. It is the central thesis of this book that this internal dualism, while accurate in some respects, is nonetheless significantly flawed in viewing "flesh" and "Spirit" as an internal polarity. Contents: ^I The Flesh/Spirit Conflict in Theology, Lexicography and History; A Rhetorical Analysis of Galatians and the Flesh/Spirit Conflict; The Social Dynamics of the Flesh/Spirit Conflict; A Thematic Analysis of the Flesh/Spirit Conflict in Galatians; The Flesh/Spirit Conflict in Galatians 5:13-26; The Flesh/Spirit Conflict in Galatians 6:1-18; Some Conclusions about the Flesh/Spirit Conflict; Works Cited; Index of Scripture References.

Are you living a rich and satisfying life? I sure wasn't. I was alive in the body but not really living as the Lord desired for me. I knew there was so much more, I just didn't know how to get there. There are so many of us who aren't living this satisfying life that the Lord desires for us. It may look to the outside world that we have it all together and have everything we want and need but deep down we are miserable and unsatisfied. Is that you? Do you really want to know why you aren't living that satisfying (abundant) life that Jesus desires for you in John 10:10? Like me, you aren't doing...Jesus replied, "But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice." Luke 11:18 (NLT) You aren't living because you continue to disobey the Lord. I have been called to teach the "not-so-good news" in the Good News so that when you hear the Good News it is really Good News! We do this by self-examination. That means looking at our thoughts, words, and actions and seeing how we are measuring up with the Lords standards. This first book in this series is the most important. In order to be blessed, to have joy in your tribulations, to be at peace with God and others, to live that abundant life on earth, and to be used by God, you must put off a preoccupation of self and start living the basics of Christianity. You must put off your anger, your unforgiveness, your unloving ways, your unsubmissiveness, your fear, worry, depression and your life dominating sins. This is achieved when you understand His focus for our living. "Deny self, carry your cross, and follow Him." Luke 9:23-24.

William S. Campbell provides a comprehensive commentary on Paul's most challenging letter. In conversation with reception history and previous scholarship, he emphasizes the contextuality of Romans as a letter to Rome, using social identity theory combined with historical, literary and theological perspectives to arrive at a coherent reading of the entire letter. Because Paul has never visited Rome and is not the founder of the Christ-movement there, Campbell argues that his guidance and teaching are formulated more cautiously than in his other letters. Yet the long list of people who had previous links with him and his mission to the 'gentiles' demonstrates that Paul is well-informed about the situation in Rome and addresses issues that have arisen. With Christ the Messianic Time is beginning, but there was some lack of clarity in Rome about the implications of this for Jews and gentiles. Rather than ethne in Christ replacing Israel, as some in Rome possibly concluded, Campbell stresses that Paul affirms the irrevocable calling of Israel, and that simultaneously the identity of ethne in Christ is also called alongside the people Israel; thus, the integrity of the identity of both is affirmed as indispensable for God's purpose now revealed in Christ. Campbell fully demonstrates how Paul in Romans achieves this by the social and theological intertwining of the message of the gospel.

An Intertextual Commentary on Romans is an exhaustive treatment of the hundreds of Old Testament citations, allusions, and echoes embedded in Paul’s most famous epistle. As many scholars have acknowledged, to understand Paul’s engagement with Israel’s Scriptures is to understand Romans. Despite this acknowledgement, there is a dearth of reference works in which the primary focus is how the Old Testament impacts Paul’s argument from Romans 1:1 to 16:27. This four-volume commentary aims to provide just such a reference. The interplay between Romans and its vast sea of Old Testament pre-texts produces unstated points of resonance that illuminate Paul’s rhetorical argument from the letter’s opening to its closing doxology. Volume 2 examines the scriptural pre-texts in Romans 5:1—8:39. While this portion of Romans contains only one full citation, it is teeming with scriptural allusions and echoes that are critical to understanding Paul’s argumentation. Crisler leaves no intertextual stone unturned as he probes the subtext of one of the richest sections in the entire Pauline corpus. From Paul’s key transition in Romans 5:1 to his poetic flourish in 8:31–39, and everywhere in between, Crisler explores the interplay between the apostle’s endless engagement with Israel’s Scriptures and his message to the Christians in Rome. This volume contributes to the commentary’s overarching aim which is to provide scholars, interpreters, and students with verse by verse analysis of how Israel’s Scriptures impact almost every clause of Paul’s most famous letter.