The author explores the Christian identity characteristics of Pauls letter to the Galatians. By so doing, she presents Pauls struggle to work out a form of Christianity, which includes Jews and Gentiles, males and females, free and slave, on the basis of their common baptism in Christ. While the Roman Empire struggled to include many different ethnic groups, Paul in Galatians makes a bold breakthrough to a new inclusivity in Christ and his Holy Spirit. This solution holds major social implications: it can help overcome divisions of race, culture, nationality, or ethnicity. The author endeavours to affirm certain equality among people while also realizing that this equality is not absolute in every respect. The results of the study of Galatians confronts the situation in the new Republic of South Africa where, despite the ultra-liberal constitution, the country still needs the inclusive and ethical message of Galatians to address the new problems of blackon-black racism, xenophobia, homophobia, violence against women, great corruption in government, and irresponsible exercise of authority and freedom. Galatians remains crucial for its insistence on social inclusivity and liberating, yet real, ethics. The author is convinced that the eternal truths of Christianity, as displayed in the Jesus Movement of antiquity, are still relevant in addressing contemporary life issues that aggrieve people in post-Apartheid South Africa.

Culture is defined as the shared values and practices found in a community. Cultural values are then varied from one social group to the other. In contrast, gospel is static. The values and principles from Scripture do not change. Moreover, when gospel and culture tensions occur--especially in the application of the gospel message in a specific culture--do believers from a specific culture adopt the culture of the Bible? If so, is there one unified culture in the Bible? From the Canaanite culture to the Greco-Roman and Jewish cultures, Scripture exhibits many cultures. Should the believers from a specific worldview follow all the cultural practices of the Bible? Can the believers from Kerala or Bihar in India hold on to their own indigenous cultures? How might one appropriate the message of the gospel in their respective cultures? Contextualizing the gospel is an important task in the practice of Christianity. This means that the identification of the principles of contextualization is important in order to answer the aforementioned questions. One Gospel, Many Cultures will be a valuable addition as these pertinent questions on gospel and culture are addressed by renowned scholars.

Although asserting one's ethnic identity is not morally wrong, the manner in which one ethnic group construes or relates to the ethnic other(s) can obliterate the bond of togetherness and create the insecurity of life. Ethiopia, which is home to anthropologically diverse ethno-linguistic groups, exhibits a proclivity to ethnic-based hostilities and conflicts. As a result of such hostilities, Ethiopia had suffered recurrent small- and large-scale deaths, and in the last half decade only millions have been internally displaced and live in dire conditions. In dialogue with perspectives from a wide range of disciplines such as history, law, sociology, philosophy, theology, and political thought, this multi-authored book aims at generating Christian moral resources for peaceful multiethnic togetherness. This interdisciplinary engagement is meant to buttress the task of interpreting ethnic diversity and national unity within both contemporary and historical Ethiopia, and articulating a Christian moral response to the crisis of togetherness ensuing from the malpractices of affirming ethnic identity and enacting national unity.

Paul's Letter to the Galatians is one of the fiercest and most polemical writings in the Bible. That is what makes it, for the author of this study, such an exciting document to deal with. It emerges from the early days of a vigorous new movement (Christianity), when basic principles were first being formulated, and when the whole character of the movement was at stake. In the pages of Galatians we witness fundamental features of Christian theology taking shape before our eyes, where the living heart of Paul's gospel is encountered. For James D. G. Dunn there is an elemental quality about the letter, to which those tired of compromising half-truths are drawn when they feel the impulse to return to first principles. This book, which benefits from this perspective on Paul, explains more clearly than hitherto both the issues which confronted Paul and the powerful theological arguments he brought to bear in response, and casts light on a document still capable of shaping lives and theology today.

Evidence Unseen is the most accessible and careful though through response to most current attacks against the Christian worldview.

This volume probes the social context of Paul's letter to Galatians in order to determine the character and purpose of the moral instruction Paul gives to its recipients. Here the new perspectives on Paul and the Law are fully integrated with a detailed exegesis of Galatians, shedding light on the crisis Paul addressed and on the whole character of Pauline ethics.

A comprehensive analysis of the New Testament from the perspective of postcolonial criticism, this title enables readers to relate biblical texts more sharply to the perennial geopolitical issues of imperialism and colonialism.

This landmark resource, now available in the NABRE translation, contains all the authoritative study notes, expanded essays, and informational sidebars for which it is known and trusted. The heart of this volume remains its extensive Reading Guide that leads the reader through the Scriptures, book by book. References and background information are clearly laid out in the margins of the text, guiding the reader to a fuller understanding of the Bible. Other outstanding features include: a 15-page glossary of special terms, complete Sunday and weekday lectionary readings for the liturgical years of the Church. 32 beautiful pages of full-color Oxford Bible Maps come with a place-name index for easy reference. Printed on smooth, durable paper and bound with the highest quality materials, the Catholic Study Bible is an incredible value. It is available in three attractive and affordable bindings: black bonded leather, hardcover, and paperback. The New American Bible Revised Edition: The New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) brings to culmination the work of nearly 100 scholars, including translators, editors, and a subcommittee of Catholic bishops who provided extensive review of the biblical text over a period of many years. The NABRE is the first major amendment to the New American Bible translation since 1991. It features: *The first update of the Old Testament since 1970, taking into account recent archaeological and textual discoveries. *Complete revision of the Psalter.

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