Part I: The Gospel that was part of Marcion's collection in the first half of the 2nd century is the oldest of all Gospels. The author presents a meticulous reconstruction and argues that all canonical Gospels are dependent on this Gospel. This sheds new light on the formation and tradition history of the gospels, contributes new insights on the history of the New Testament text and textual criticism, and has significant consequences for how to assess the formation of the canonical edition of the New Testament and the history of earliest Christianity in general. Part I contains the methodological foundation, substantiating the hypothesis that canonical Luke is a revised edition of this oldest Gospel. On this ground, a model of the Gospels' tradition history is developed. A detailed epilogue comments on recent research on and reconstructions of Marcion's Gospel and analyzes the methodological differences of these approaches. Part II: Reconstructing the text of Marcion's Gospel is essential for the two basic tasks of establishing this Gospel's priority over canonical Luke and understanding the formation process from this oldest Gospel to the canonical Four-Gospel book. Part. II offers a reconstruction of the oldest Gospel. Its text is established on the basis of evidence provided by the heresiological witnesses and the textual variants. A detailed commentary makes every single decision of the reconstruction transparent and carefully traces the steps of the tradition history for individual sayings and pericopes. The volume includes an English translation as well as an extensive list of the correspondences between the attestations for Marcion's Gospel and the variants of canonical Luke.

The earliest of the four Gospels, the book portrays Jesus as an enigmatic figure, struggling with enemies, his inner and external demons, and with his devoted but disconcerted disciples. Unlike other gospels, his parables are obscure, to be explained secretly to his followers. With an introduction by Nick Cave

The publication of the King James version of the Bible, translated between 1603 and 1611, coincided with an extraordinary flowering of English literature and is universally acknowledged as the greatest influence on English-language literature in history. Now, world-class literary writers introduce the book of the King James Bible in a series of beautifully designed, small-format volumes. The introducers' passionate, provocative, and personal engagements with the spirituality and the language of the text make the Bible come alive as a stunning work of literature and remind us of its overwhelming contemporary relevance.

Written by an L. A. County homicide detective and former atheist, Cold-Case Christianity examines the claims of the New Testament using the skills and strategies of a hard-to-convince criminal investigator. Christianity could be defined as a “cold case”: it makes a claim about an event from the distant past for which there is little forensic evidence. In Cold-Case Christianity, J. Warner Wallace uses his nationally recognized skills as a homicide detective to look at the evidence and eyewitnesses behind Christian beliefs. Including gripping stories from his career and the visual techniques he developed in the courtroom, Wallace uses illustration to examine the powerful evidence that validates the claims of Christianity. A unique apologetic that speaks to readers’ intense interest in detective stories, Cold-Case Christianity inspires readers to have confidence in Christ as it prepares them to articulate the case for Christianity.

Acts is the sequel to Luke's gospel and tells the story of Jesus's followers during the 30 years after his death. It describes how the 12 apostles, formerly Jesus's disciples, spread the message of Christianity throughout the Mediterranean against a background of persecution. With an introduction by P.D. James

"Magisterial. . . . A learned, brilliant and enjoyable study."—Géza Vermès, Times Literary Supplement In this exciting book, Paula Fredriksen explains the variety of New Testament images of Jesus by exploring the ways that the new Christian communities interpreted his mission and message in light of the delay of the Kingdom he had preached. This edition includes an introduction reviews the most recent scholarship on Jesus and its implications for both history and theology. "Brilliant and lucidly written, full of original and fascinating insights."—Reginald H. Fuller, Journal of the American Academy of Religion "This is a first-rate work of a first-rate historian."—James D. Tabor, Journal of Religion "Fredriksen confronts her documents—principally the writings of the New Testament—as an archaeologist would an especially rich complex site. With great care she distinguishes the literary images from historical fact. As she does so, she explains the images of Jesus in terms of the strategies and purposes of the writers Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John."—Thomas D’Evelyn, Christian Science Monitor