Medieval exegesis of the Apocalypse from Richard of St. Victor through Nicolas of Lyra In this volume Franciscan scholar David Burr concentrates on the mendicant contribution to the book of Revelation. Clashing interpretive strategies developed, mirroring authority structures in the context of the new institutional framework of the university, the new methodology of scholasticism, and expanding papal authority. By the early fourteenth century a clear victory of one strategy and one structure emerges in the work of Pierre Auriol and Nicholas of Lyra, and, conversely, the defeat of another in the posthumous condemnations of Petrus Iohannis Olivi and, to some extent, Joachim of Fiore. This is the fifth volume of The Bible in Medieval Tradition (BMT), a series designed to reconnect the church with part of its rich history of biblical interpretation.

In the two thousand years that have elapsed since the time of Christ, Christians have been as much divided by their faith as united, as much at odds as in communion. And the contents of Christian confession have developed with astonishing energy. How can believers claim a faith that has been passed down through the ages while recognizing the real historical contingencies that have shaped both their doctrines and their divisions? In this carefully argued essay, David Bentley Hart critiques the concept of "tradition" that has become dominant in Christian thought as fundamentally incoherent. He puts forth a convincing new explanation of Christian tradition, one that is obedient to the nature of Christianity not only as a "revealed" creed embodied in historical events but as the "apocalyptic" revelation of a history that is largely identical with the eternal truth it supposedly discloses. Hart shows that Christian tradition is sustained not simply by its preservation of the past, but more essentially by its anticipation of the future. He offers a compelling portrayal of a living tradition held together by apocalyptic expectation--the promised transformation of all things in God.

In some of the church's history, Scripture has been pitted against tradition and vice versa. Prominent New Testament scholar Edith Humphrey, who understands the issue from both Protestant and Catholic/Orthodox perspectives, revisits this perennial point of tension. She demonstrates that the Bible itself reveals the importance of tradition, exploring how the Gospels, Acts, and the Epistles show Jesus and the apostles claiming the authority of tradition as God's Word, both written and spoken. Arguing that Scripture and tradition are not in opposition but are necessarily and inextricably intertwined, Humphrey defends tradition as God's gift to the church. She also works to dismantle rigid views of sola scriptura while holding a high view of Scripture's authority.

Tradition and revelation are often seen as opposites: tradition is viewed as being secondary and reactionary to revelation which is a one-off gift from God. Drawing on examples from Christian history, Judaism, Islam, and the classical world, this book challenges these definitions and presents a controversial examination of the effect history and cultural development has on religious belief: its narratives and art. David Brown pays close attention to the nature of the relationship between historical and imaginative truth, and focuses on the way stories from the Bible have not stood still but are subject to imaginative 'rewriting'. This rewriting is explained as a natural consequence of the interaction between religion and history: God speaks to humanity through the imagination, and human imagination is influenced by historical context. It is the imagination that ensures that religion continues to develop in new and challenging ways.

This document's purpose is to spell out the Church's understanding of the nature of revelation--the process whereby God communicates with human beings. It touches upon questions about Scripture, tradition, and the teaching authority of the Church. The major concern of the document is to proclaim a Catholic understanding of the Bible as the "word of God." Key elements include: Trinitarian structure, roles of apostles and bishops, and biblical reading in a historical context.

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

This work is concerned with the influence of biblical and prophetic traditions on the author of the book of Revelation, and in particular his use of the prophecies of Isaiah. First, John's own prophetic consciousness and expression is compared with previous Israelite-Jewish and early Christian prophetic conventions. This is followed by an evaluation of John's use of the OT in general, including a discussion of methodology for isolating allusions, the question of the validity of the terms quotation and allusion in Revelation, and the presence of thematic patterns in the author's choice of Scripture. All this is foundational to the main portion of the work (Ch. III), where a detailed analysis is undertaken to determine the validity of all proposed allusions to Isaiah in the book of Revelation. Of the 72 suggested allusions treated, 40 were judged as certain or virtually certain, 24 were considered as unlikely or doubtful, and 8 were appraised as probable or possible. Those allusions which were accepted received further evaluation to see how and why they were used by John, with special attention given to the tradition-history of the passage used, and the possible interpretative techniques employed. A variety of exegetical and literary devices were uncovered, including the use of catchwords, inclusio, repetition of texts, exploitation of Hebrew parallelism, and the collection of texts around a central theme. Furthermore, John's use of Isaiah is concentrated in basic areas, with clusters of Isaiah texts appearing in specific sections of Revelation. The principal Isaian themes with which he is interested are holy war and the Day of the Lord, oracles against the nations, and salvation prophecies relating to the community of faith and the restored and glorified Jerusalem. It was concluded that on the whole, John's use of Isaiah is not random, and he does not use the OT texts merely as a visionary resource for language, phrases, structural patterns etc. But he consciously carries on the prophecies of his biblical predecessors and invokes their authority. The remnants and results of John's interpretation of Isaiah presuppose exegetical activity and application prior to the vision experience and it is likely that at least some of his intended readers were familiar not only with his theological concerns, but also with his methodological approach.

Given the popular-level conversations on phenomena like the Gospel of Thomas and Bart Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus, as well as the current gap in evangelical scholarship on the origins of the New Testament, Michael Kruger's Canon Revisited meets a significant need for an up-to-date work on canon by addressing recent developments in the field. He presents an academically rigorous yet accessible study of the New Testament canon that looks deeper than the traditional surveys of councils and creeds, mining the text itself for direction in understanding what the original authors and audiences believed the canon to be. Canon Revisited provides an evangelical introduction to the New Testament canon that can be used in seminary and college classrooms, and read by pastors and educated lay leaders alike. In contrast to the prior volumes on canon, this volume distinguishes itself by placing a substantial focus on the theology of canon as the context within which the historical evidence is evaluated and assessed. Rather than simply discussing the history of canon—rehashing the Patristic data yet again—Kruger develops a strong theological framework for affirming and authenticating the canon as authoritative. In effect, this work successfully unites both the theology and the historical development of the canon, ultimately serving as a practical defense for the authority of the New Testament books.

Know Exactly What Scripture Means In his first book for Our Sunday Visitor, noted Catholic apologist Patrick Madrid helps you: Be absolutely certain your interpretation of Scripture is accurate Discover how the simple sentence "I never said you stole money" can be the key to understanding the entire Bible Answer any questions a non-Catholic might throw at you Learn exactly what the Bible teaches about the Pope, priestly celibacy, homosexuality, abortion, salvation, and other hot topics Obtain a working knowledge of Scripture so you can feel comfortable talking with Fundamentalists and Evangelicals Allow the life-giving truth and power of Scripture to transform your life Become an effective spokesman for the truth of Catholic teaching. With comprehensive Scripture references, quotes from the great teachers of the Faith, tips on how to deflate even the most vehement arguments, as well as a list of verses typically used against Catholics with effective counterarguments, Where Is That in the Bible? is a great book of Scripture-based apologetics.