In Witch Hunt in Galatia, Jeremy Wade Barrier reconstructs Galatians as part of Paul's effort to convince the Jews in Galatia to choose baptism through the "breath" (i.e. Spirit) of God over circumcision as a way to bring divine healing to their community.

Approximately 2,000 years ago, some Jewish communities of Galatia in central Asia Minor believed they had fallen under a curse, argues Jeremy Wade Barrier. A fellow Jew named Paul wrote the letter we call Galatians to help them escape its effects. In the letter, Barrier argues, Paul called for the Jews in Galatia to stop practicing circumcision. The rite had fallen into disuse within many Jewish communities in the Roman Empire, but Barrier argues the Galatian Jews believed it was a talisman that would protect them from harm. As a further precaution, they needed to deal with the person who had brought this evil to their community. A witch hunt was underway, and some had concluded that the witch was none other than Paul. Barrier provides a reconstruction of the original occasion of Paul’s letter to the Galatians and shows how Paul defended himself from accusations of witchcraft by countering that the ritual that would protect them from the “Evil Eye” was not circumcision, but rather baptism. Through the ritual of baptism, they could receive healing from a material, yet divine, “breath” of God. Barrier also reconstructs an earlier understanding of this pneuma that was lost to subsequent Christianity under the influence of Neoplatonism.

"A transcendent travelogue that guides readers through the history, places, and people of several of the many witch hunts and how their legacy continues to impact us today." --Pam Grossman, author of Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power Traveling through cities and sites across Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, Kristen J. Sollée explores the places and people significant to the early modern legacy of the witch. Between the 15th and 17th centuries, a confluence of political, economic, and religious factors ignited a wildfire of witch hysteria in Europe and, later, in parts of America. At the heart of these witch hunts were often dangerous misconceptions about femininity and female sexuality, and women were disproportionately punished as a result. Today, this lineage of oppression remains a vital reference point in the fight for women's rights--and human rights--in the Western world and beyond. By infusing an adventurous first-person narrative with extensive research and moments of imaginative historical fiction, Sollée (author of Witches, Sluts, Feminists) makes an often-overlooked period of history come alive. Written for armchair travelers and on-the-ground explorers alike, Witch Hunt not only uncovers the horrors of history but how the archetype of the witch has been rehabilitated. For witches are not just haunting figures of the past; the witch is also a liberatory icon and identity of the present. This paperback edition includes a new afterword by the author and an updated travel resources section.

In the context of growing inequality in the twenty-first century, That There May Be Equality seeks to give new audibility to Paul’s appeal to the principle of “equality” in the collection for the poor. L.L. Welborn traces the history of the concept of “equality” in Greek history in order to convey the potency of the idea which Paul invokes. He analyzes the structural inequality of the Roman economy, particularly that of Roman Corinth, and traces the emergence of Paul’s concern about inequality in the ekklēsia of Christ believers at Corinth. Welborn then analyzes Paul’s invocation of the principle of “equality” in his appeal for partnership in the collection for the poor in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, bringing Paul’s appeal to “equality” into the present-day crisis of global inequality.

In Paul and Image, Philip Erwin challenges conventional interpretations of 1 Corinthians that tend to overlook the significance of ancient Roman visual culture in framing and posing exegetical questions. He argues that in 1 Corinthians Paul engaged in a long-standing philosophical discussion of visual representation, with consequential implications for how he and his Corinthian addressees interacted with the imagery around them. By situating Paul’s letter in the context of the critical discourse on visual representation from Plato to Philo to the Second Sophistic, Erwin redefines Paul’s critique of human wisdom, treatment of idols, and resurrection discourse in visual terms.

Jeremy and the Witches' Medallion will take its readers back to the medieval England during one of the most well-known witch-hunts in history. While combining modern day narrative and medieval times, there is magic, witchcraft, talking animals and English history to take a reader on a thrilling adventure that they will never forget.