Rodney Reeves contrasts easy spiritualities of serenity and retreat with the apostle Paul's vision: a cross-shaped spirituality for fools making their way through life's trials. Responding to Paul's invitation "follow me as I follow Christ," Reeves discovers an ancient spiritual path in the letters of Paul.

What does it mean to imitate another person? What relationships are possible and necessary, or unthinkable, because of exhortation advising people to imitate Paul? What are the effects of giving special status to likeness? Questions such as these are posed in this thought-provoking book that addresses the notion of mimesis (imitation) and how it functions in Paul's letters as a strategy of power. The Literary Currents in Biblical Interpretation series explores current trends within the discipline of biblical interpretation by dealing with the literary qualities of the Bible: the play of its language, the coherence of its final form, and the relationships between text and readers. Biblical interpreters are being challenged to take responsibility for the theological, social, and ethical implications of their readings. This series encourages original readings that breach the confines of traditional biblical criticism.

At a time when the call to imitate Jesus comes loaded with moralistic overtones, Jason Hood offers a refreshing look at imitation on the Bible's terms. Drawing our attention to the practice that Paul taught "everywhere in every church," Hood's study yields insights into Scripture, the church fathers and Christian culture.

Recognizing that we can’t actually imitate Christ, St. Paul calls us to use him as a model and imitate him in his conformity to the paschal mystery.

"Besides Jesus, no one has kept me from despair, or taken me deeper into the mysteries of the gospel, than the apostle Paul." —John Piper No one has had a greater impact on the world for eternal good than the apostle Paul—except Jesus himself. For John Piper, this impact is very personal. He does not just admire and trust Paul. He loves him. Piper gives us thirty glimpses into why his heart and mind respond this way. Can a Christian-killer really endure 195 lashes from a heart of love? Can a mystic who thinks he was caught up into heaven be a model of lucid rationality? Can an ethnocentric Jew write the most beautiful call to reconciliation? Can a person who lives with the unceasing anguish of empathy be always rejoicing? Can a man's description of the horrors of human sin be exceeded by his delight in human splendor? Can a man with a backbone of steel be as tender as a nursing mother? If we know this man—if we see what Piper sees—we too will love him. Paul's testimony is a matter of life and death. Piper invites you into his relationship with Paul in the hope that you will know life, forever.

In contrast to many studies of New Testament ethics, which treat the New Testament in general and Paul in particular, this book focuses on the person of Jesus himself. Richard Burridge maintains that imitating Jesus means following both his words -- which are very demanding ethical teachings -- and his deeds and example of being inclusive and accepting of everyone. Burridge carefully and systematically traces that combination of rigorous ethical instruction and inclusive community through the letters of Paul and the four Gospels, treating specific ethical issues pertaining to each part of Scripture. The book culminates with a chapter on apartheid as an ethical challenge to reading the New Testament; using South Africa as a contemporary case study enables Burridge to highlight and further apply his previous discussion and conclusions.

The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.

Neither Jesus nor Paul developed a formal ethical system, yet each left a moral legacy that forms the core of New Testament ethics. In this book, Frank Matera examines the ethic found in the teachings of Jesus and Paul. He explores the broad range of moral concerns found in these writings and finds an identifiable unity that underlies the ethical teachings of both.

The two-volume work The New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers offers a comparative study of two collections of early Christian texts: the New Testament; and the texts, from immediately after the New Testament period, which are conventionally referred to as the Apostolic Fathers.The second volume, Trajectories through the New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers , discusses broad theological, literary, and historical issues that arise in the comparative study of these texts, and which are of importance to the study of early Christianity. It deals with the most important current debates concerning both the Apostolic Fathers and the New Testament, such as baptism, Pauline theology, the function of apocalyptic elements, Church order, and Jewish and Christianidentity.

This study claims that Paul uses his personal example as an explicit literary strategy in 1 Corinthians, Galatians and Philippians, and as an arguably implicit strategy in 1 Thessalonians and Philemon. He uses his own example to ground and illustrate his argumentation in a rhetorically sophisticated manner, often structuring his argument on such a basis. In places a crisp statement of his own case serves as a thesis statement of the argument that follows (e.g., Rom. 1.17; Gal. 1.10), while at other times it serves to summarize the argument and to provide a transition to the next phase (especially in 1 Corinthians and Gal. 2.15-21). All the while Paul's self-portrayals in his letters serve not autobiographical or egoistic purposes but pedagogical and argumentative aims.