This collection of essays presents Judaism and emerging Christianity within the framework of religious competition in antiquity during the first centuries before and after the Common Era.

The fifteen essays in this volume, rooted in the work of the Hellenistic Moral Philosophy and Early Christianity Section of the SBL, examine the works of Philodemus and how they illuminate the cultural context of early Christianity. Born in Gadara in Syria, Philodemus (ca. 110-40 BCE) was active in Italy as an Epicurean philosopher and poet. This volume comprises three parts; the first deals with Philodemus' works in their own terms, the second situates his thought within its larger Greco-Roman context, and the third explores the implications of his work for understanding the earliest Christians, especially Paul. It will be useful to all readers interested in Hellenistic philosophy and rhetoric as well as Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity.

Did Paul urge Christians to engage in mission? What would that have meant in his setting? What should the church be doing now? This essential study examines Paul's letter to the Philippians in its ancient Jewish context, making a convincing case that Paul expected churches to continue the work of spreading the gospel. Published in hardcover by Brill, it is now available as an affordable paperback.

In Exclusion and Judgment in Fellowship Meals, Lanuwabang Jamir seeks to demonstrate that the tradition of fellowship meals in the ancient world form the background against which the Lord's Supper must be understood. Similarly, the basis of Paul's response to the situation in Corinth and his theology of the Lord's Supper is to be found in these traditions. The role of the fellowship meal in Greco-Roman and Jewish culture indicate that it was an important institution that played a pivotal role in the functioning of society. Judgment was an integral part of the fellowship meal traditions and it made such meal practices all the more significant in ancient cultures. For example, Jamir reveals that social-economic factors were only part of the problem in Corinth, where differences in ideology were the underlying cause of divisions in the church. Paul's response to the problem shows that he upheld the fellowship meal traditions, linking sickness and death with the abuse of the Lord's Supper. The concept of judgment in the Lord's Supper, while based on the fellowship meal traditions, has been redefined in the light of the Gospel tradition.

The Apostle Paul sought to exert his influence and authority over the congregations he founded long after they had been established. Such ongoing oversight by Christianity's prototypical «evangelist» has not been adequately understood. In a brief 1987 article, W. Paul Bowers challenged John Knox's assertion that Paul's «pastoral and administrative work irked him and that he wanted to be free of it». This book confirms and significantly develops Bowers's little-known thesis, examining a wide range of passages in the apostle's undisputed letters and highlighting crucial implications of Paul's broadly conceived vocation for understanding his mission and moral reflection.

For a few decades, jet packs seemed to be everywhere: on Gilligan’s Island, Lost in Space, Thunderball, and even the opening ceremony of the 1984 Olympics. Inventors promised we’d all be flying with them now, enabling us to zoom around effortlessly in the sky and getting us to work without traffic jams and trains. What happened to the jet pack? In The Great American Jet Pack, Steve Lehto gives us the definitive history of this and related devices, explaining how the technology arose, how it works, and why we don’t have them in our garages today. These individual lift devices, as they were blandly labeled by the government men who financed much of their development, answered man’s desire to simply step outside and take flight. No runways, no wings, no pilot’s license were required. Soaring through the air with the wind in your face and landing anyplace there was room to stand—could this be done? Yes, it could be, and it was. But the jet pack was perhaps the most overpromised technology of all time. From the rocket belt to the jet belt to the flying platform and all the way to Yves Rossy’s 21st-century free flights using a jet-powered wing, this book profiles the inventors and pilots, the hucksters and cheats, the businessmen and soldiers who were involved with these machines. And it finally tells a great American story of a technology whose promise may, one day, yet come to fruition.

This stimulating collection of essays by prominent scholars honors Carolyn Osiek. The essays reflect her career and attempt to pay tribute to both the unity and the diversity of her accomplishments. The authors interpret early Christians in their social world and women in early Christianity, with interpretations spanning the New Testament and early church documents. The editors have brought together an international group of scholars. The book includes both a comprehensive bibliography of Osiek's work as well as a brief introduction by the editors reflecting on their experiences with her during her career. Contributors: David Balch Jeremy W. Barrier Terri Bednarz, R.S.M. Laurie Brink, O.P. Warren Carter Adela Yarbro Collins Amy-Jill Levine Margaret Y. MacDonald Jason L. Merritt Halvor Moxnes Barbara Reid, O.P. David Rhoads Donald Senior, C.P. Yancy W. Smith

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Apocrypha addresses issues and themes that arise in the study of early Christian apocryphal literature. It discusses key texts including the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Peter, letters attributed to Paul, Peter, and Jesus, and acts and apocalypses written about or attributed to different apostles. Part One consists of authoritative surveys of the main branches of apocryphal literature (gospels, acts, epistles, apocalypses, and related literature) and Part Two considers key issues that they raise. These include their contribution to our understanding of developing theological understandings of Jesus, the apostles and other important figures such as Mary. It also addresses the value of these texts as potential sources for knowledge of the historical Jesus, and for debates about Jewish-Christian relations, the practice of Christian worship, and developing understandings of asceticism, gender and sexuality, etc. The volume also considers questions such as which ancient readers read early Christian apocrypha, their place in Christian spirituality, and their place in contemporary popular culture and contemporary theological discourse.

This study investigates the history of the traditions that coalesced around the name Philip in the New Testament and other early Christian literature. It proposes that all of this material ultimately owes its genesis to one historical and literary figure, Philip the apostle. This proposition is explored through a wide-ranging examination of the evidence: Luke's redactional employment of traditional materials about Philip the apostle in Acts 8:4-25 and 8:26-40, the evidence of the canonical Gospels, the second-century perspective on Philip as an apostolic authority figure invoked to legitimate various Christian practices, Philip's apostolic authority in "gnostic" documents for the transmission of the revelatory teaching of Jesus, and the Acts of Philip as a witness to the formation of Christian culture in the earliest centuries. While historical issues are considered where possible, the focus is on the life of the traditions and their reception.

The essays collected in The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Origins offer a series new chapters in the history of Christianity's first century. Stephen J. Patterson, whose work on the Gospel of Thomas has circulated widely for more than two decades, argues that taking this new source seriously will require rethinking a number of basic issues, including the assumed apocalyptic origins of early Christian faith, the supposed centrality of Jesus' death and resurrection, and the role of Platonism in formulation of both orthodox and heterodox Christian theology.