The Tradition of the Elders, based on Matt 15:1-20 and Mark 7:1-23, explores how the oral law upheld and promoted the anti-Christian forces of Pharisaism and Sadduceism. As such, they appear repeatedly in the New Testament documents, often as "the law" and "the works of the law." For example, consider: - "When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law" (Rom 2:14). - "We ourselves, who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified" (Gal 2:15-16). - "Tell me, you who desire to be under law, do you not hear the law?" (Gal 4:21). But which law do these legal references concern--the Torah, the oral law, or the Decalogue? This important distinction between the oral law and the Ten Commandments is what The Tradition of the Elders sets out to make clear. All New Testament exegetes, including teachers and students, can benefit from an increased understanding of the enmity of the oral law against the Gospel.

Like many Native Americans, Ojibwe people esteem the wisdom, authority, and religious significance of old age, but this respect does not come easily or naturally. It is the fruit of hard work, rooted in narrative traditions, moral vision, and ritualized practices of decorum that are comparable in sophistication to those of Confucianism. Even as the dispossession and policies of assimilation have threatened Ojibwe peoplehood and have targeted the traditions and the elders who embody it, Ojibwe and other Anishinaabe communities have been resolute and resourceful in their disciplined respect for elders. Indeed, the challenges of colonization have served to accentuate eldership in new ways. Using archival and ethnographic research, Michael D. McNally follows the making of Ojibwe eldership, showing that deference to older women and men is part of a fuller moral, aesthetic, and cosmological vision connected to the ongoing circle of life a tradition of authority that has been crucial to surviving colonization. McNally argues that the tradition of authority and the authority of tradition frame a decidedly indigenous dialectic, eluding analytic frameworks of invented tradition and naïve continuity. Demonstrating the rich possibilities of treating age as a category of analysis, McNally provocatively asserts that the elder belongs alongside the priest, prophet, sage, and other key figures in the study of religion.

Readers catch a rare glimpse of West African spirituality in "The Way of the Elders," co-authored by a West African native raised in the Mande tradition. This spiritual guidebook explores offerings, charms, herbal healing, shamans, the importance of wildlife, and the four elements of nature.

Spiritual elders (startsy) are a quintessential part of Russian Orthodox spirituality, yet scholars have given relatively little focus to them. Elders whose authority came not from their position within institutional church but from their reputation for personal holiness were mediating agents between official and popular Orthodoxy. Acting as teachers, spiritual directors, counselors, and prophets, elders represented a particular form of ministry within the Church. The informal source of elders authority meant that their position was often in conflict with the bureaucratized Synod.In her highly readable book, Paert looks at both Imperial and Soviet Russia and examines the social and cultural contexts in which startsy operated, demonstrating how eldership was appropriated by both elites and lower classes. A significant contribution to the debate about the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in modernizing Russian society, Paert s study shows that elders represented both the weaknesses and the strengths of Russian Orthodoxy s response to the challenges of modernity. Spiritual Elders promises to stimulate further discussion on the problems of spiritual authority, popular belief, the impact of a religious identity on a national one, and the interactions between church and society in the modern world. Historians of Russia and scholars of Eastern Orthodoxy, as well as general readers of religious history, will find this book of great interest.

Straightforward answers about Roman Catholicism for a Protestant audience The Roman Catholic faith is one of the world's most widespread religious traditions, yet the unique aspects of Roman Catholicism elicit perennial questions from adherents and outsiders alike. Such questions tend to fall into three major categories: historical backgrounds, theological matters, and personal relationships. Using Catholic Church documents and the writings of Catholic scholars, Baptist systematic theologian Gregg R. Allison distills the teachings of Catholicism around forty common questions about Catholic foundations, beliefs, and practices. The accessible question-and-answer format guides readers to the areas of interest, including: Where do Roman Catholic and Protestant beliefs differ? What happens during a Roman Catholic Mass? How does Roman Catholicism understand the biblical teaching about Mary? Who are the saints and what is their role? How can my Roman Catholic loved ones and I talk about the gospel? 40 Questions About Roman Catholicism explores theology and practice, doctrine and liturgy, sacraments and Mariology, contributions and scandals, and many other things, clarifying both real and perceived differences and similarities with other Christian traditions.

In this revealing cultural study, dozens of ancient weavers and the landscapes that they occupy in the Cusco region of the Andes are vividly portrayed through personal stories and life experiences, bringing to life the decades of endurance, skill, fortitude, and natural pride honed from the time-honored traditions of the region and its people. Some of the storytellers featured here include Pitumarca's Timoteo Ccarita, who became so interested in the old textiles he found on his own travels that he re-created tapestry techniques from sight; Leonardo Quispe, who single-handedly rescued and revived the techniques of ikat-style tied-warp dyeing (watay) in his community of Santa Cruz de Sallac; and Cipriana Mamani, who remembers that in her town of Accha Alta, their finely woven textiles had many lives and were repurposed for use over and over again. Intimate photographs capture each of the elders, some of whom had never seen a picture of themselves or even looked in a mirror, revealing the life, strength, character, and experience of these men and women.

(Foreword by Mark Dever) A biblically functioning church requires intentional devotion to the New Testament model of the church. In this practical book, Phil Newton gives a definitive and biblical study of elder-based leadership.