V.1. The beginnings of patristic literature.--v.2. The ante-Nicene literature after Irenaeus.--v.3. The Golden Age of Greek patristic literature from the Council of Nicaea to the Council of Chalcedon.

A monumental work that presents a solid introduction to early Christian literature to the English reading public. It is the first work of its kind written originally in English. Reviewers were unanimous in heaping praise upon the publication and looking upon it as a breakthrough in studying the Fathers of the Church.

The doctrine of the Antichrist is one of the most interesting doctrines found in Scripture, says author Kim Riddlebarger. Unfortunately, it's also one which has been subject to far more speculation than sound biblical exegesis. Until now. Unlike other resources available on the Antichrist, The Man of Sin focuses on Scripture, not contemporary events, to uncover the truth about this mysterious entity. With skilled exegesis Riddlebarger asserts that, contrary to popular speculation, the Antichrist is not a singular individual but a series of beings that will arise to challenge Christ throughout the inter-advental age before culminating in an end-times Antichrist. Backing this claim first in Scripture, Riddlebarger also draws from historical teachings including those of the church fathers, the Reformation, and historic Protestantism, before contrasting this evidence to the sensational interpretations of many contemporary writers. Pastors, teachers, and study groups wanting to understand the doctrine of the Antichrist will find The Man of Sin to be a unique and comprehensive study.

'All God's People: A Theology of the Church' sets out a corrective understanding of the nature of the church universal with a focus on implications for the church local. The book is divided into three basic sections: A Historical Theology of the Church surveys the history of theology of the church, beginning with the early church, the formative years for all Christian theology; A Biblical Theology of the Church examines the Old Testament, Gospels, and apostolic sense of the people of God; A Systematic Theology of the Church seeks to both systematize the biblical theology and synthesize it with contemporary thought. Finally, A Practical Theology of the Church concludes the work relating the book's lessons to the contemporary church climate.

This important book reassesses the classic Chalcedonian view of Jesus: "one person, two natures". It carefully rejects all forms of kenotic Christology and affirms that Jesus possessed and used all the divine attributes, in particular, that of omnipresence, arguing that evangelical scholars have abandoned this important truth. This has ramifications for our view of the Holy Spirit and of Christ's presence with his people. It challenges us to read the Scriptures again and to live in the presence of Jesus. - Publisher Commendation: "In this important study of orthodox Christology, Dr Zachariades develops an aspect of it that has generally been neglected. How should we understand the universal presence of the risen, ascended an glorified Christ? Starting with the controversies of the early church, he takes us through the questions involved in the discussion and points us to a deeper understanding of how Christ is both God and man at the same time." Gerald L. Bray, Research Professor of Divinity, History and Doctrine, Beeson Divinity School, USA

*A new translation of two ancient works defending Origens writings*

Was Tertullian of Cathage a schismatic? How did he view the church and its bishops? How did he understand the exercise of authority within the church? In this study David Rankin sets the writings of Tertullian in the context of the early third century church and the developments it was undergoing in relation to both its structures and its self-understanding. He then discusses Tertullian's own theology of the church, his imagery and his perception of church office and ministry. Tertullian maintained throughout his career a high view of the church, and this in part constituted the motivation for his vitriolic attacks on the church's hierarchy after he had joined the New Prophecy movement. His contribution to the development of the church has often been misunderstood, and this thorough exploration provides a timely reassessment of its nature and importance.

Reading 1 Peter through the lens of feminist and diaspora studies keeps front and center the bodily, psychological, and social suffering experienced by those without stable support of family or homeland, whether they were economic migrants or descendants of those enslaved by Roman armies. In the new “household” of God, believers are encouraged to exhibit a moral superiority to the society that engulfs them. But adoption of “elite” values cannot erase the undertones of randomized verbal abuse, general scorn, and physical violence that women, immigrants, slaves, and freedmen faced as the “facts of life.” First Peter offers the “honor” of identifying with the Crucified, “by his bruises you are healed” (2:24). A Christian liberation ethic would challenge 1 Peter’s approach. Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia-Pontus in north-western Asia Minor, is a contemporary of 2 Peter’s writer. The polemical, accusatory genre of 2 Peter, like Jude, originates in Roman judicial rhetoric. The pastor, in the persona of a prosecuting attorney, condemns immoral defendants, including influential women. Their “crimes” encode community tensions over women’s leadership, Gentile-members’ sexual ethics, their syncretistic deviations from Jewish doctrine on creation, and the certainty of divine judgment and punishment. Citations to Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s A Woman’s Bible enliven the commentary. The doctrinal disorder prompts the male pastor to sustain loyalists in their commitment to “Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Second Peter dramatizes an ecclesial crisis whose “solution” was the eventual imposition of a magisterium to silence dissent. Brief, combative, and assuming a familiarity with a literary culture that most twenty-first-century readers do not have, the Letter of Jude would be an obvious candidate for being the most neglected book of the New Testament. As a model for a pastoral strategy, it can be recommended only with great reservations: almost everyone will find in it something problematic, if not offensive. Yet, in addition to giving a window on a Greek-speaking Jewish-Christian milieu, Jude’s energetic prose testifies to the author’s visceral concern for those attempting to live by the gospel in difficult circumstances. Furthermore, to the extent that over familiarity with parts of the New Testament can blunt their challenge, this letter provides a salutary reminder that the entire canon originated in a world that is radically unfamiliar to us.

This volume examines the use of Paul's writing within the work of ante-Nicene apologetic writers. It takes apologetics as a broad genre in which many early Christian writers participated, offering rhetorical defenses for emerging aspects of doctrine, rooted in understanding of the scriptures, and often specifically the writings of Paul. The volume interacts with the writings of many significant 'apologetic' writers, including: Melito of Sardis, Clement of Alexandria, Tatian, Tertullian, Hippolytus and Cyprian. The chapters examine how these early Christian writers used the letters of Paul to develop their own philosophical ideas and defenses of aspects of the emerging Christian faith. The internationally renowned contributors have all been specially commissioned for this volume, and an afterword by Todd D. Still considers the question of whether or not Paul was an 'apologist' himself.

This book is a highly readable, comprehensive study that has established itself as the definitive work on the diaconate. Drawing upon original sources, the book provides valuable insights into the development of the office of the deacon in the early church and situates it within the context of the church s total ministry. Dr. Barnett contends that a radical change in the nature and understanding of the church s ministry took place in the fourth century. A ministry that had included the whole people of God in a horizontal, organic structure gave way to one that was clerical and hierarchical. This change, among other factors, eventually transformed the diaconate into an inconsequential, transitional office on the way to the priesthood. Responding to the present-day revival of the diaconate in the Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, and other churches, Barnett calls for a restoration of the office to its original place as full and equal order, thus re-creating the great symbol of the servant ministry that Christ gave to all the church. James Monroe Barnett, now living in retirement in Omaha, is the former rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, Norfolk, NE.