Combining New Testament study with the terseness of thriller writing, Theissen conveys the Gospel story in the imaginative prose of a novel. This is a story of our times, or how the gospels might have turned out if they were written by John Le Carre: racy, readable and full of incident.

Complete color global maps and high-resolution mosaics of Jupiter's four large moons – Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto – are compiled for the first time in this important atlas. The satellites are revealed as four visually striking and geologically diverse planetary bodies: Io's volcanic lavas and plumes and towering mountains; Europa's fissured ice surface; the craters, fractures and polar caps of Ganymede; and the giant impact basins, desiccated plains and icy pinnacles of Callisto. Featuring images taken from the recent Galileo mission, this atlas is a comprehensive mapping reference guide for researchers. It contains 65 global and regional maps, nearly 250 high-resolution mosaics, and images taken at resolutions from 500 meters to as high as 6 meters.

A VOICE CALLED - STORIES OF JEWISH HEROISM is a collection of articles about some of the great Jewish heroes of modern times. The book is a collage of role-models and inspiring makers of Jewish history. The first chapter tells the story of Theodor Herzl, father of modern Zionism, who died at the age of forty-four. He accomplished so much in just a few short years. His story is followed by an array of chapters about unique heroes and heroines including poets and song-writers, spies and underground fighters, soldiers and statesmen, boxers and a basketball player, a religious Christian, an astronaut and many others. The stories are written to shed light on Jewish history and to inspire the reader to live in the present with pride and dignity and to help build a better future. Some of the heroes are famous like Chaim Nachman Bialik, Sarah Aaronsohn, Rachel the Poetess, David Marcus and Menachem Begin. Other chapters deal with little known heroes like Michael Halpern, Manya Shochat and Zivia Lubetkin and then there are the unsung heroes like Michael Levin, Adam Bier, Alex Singer and Brian Bebchick. Readers will meet courageous fighters like Roi Klein and inspiring poets like Naomi Shemer. They will learn about the struggle after 1967 to free Soviet Jews from perspectives on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The book title takes its name from a poem by the great Hebrew poetess and fighting partisan Hannah Senesh who wrote, A voice called and I went . Hannah answered an inner calling when she moved to Israel in 1939 and again when she volunteered to parachute into Nazi occupied Europe to help rescue her Jewish people. She gave her life to light a fire that continues to burn brightly today. The legacy of these inspiring Jewish heroes is one that will remain with the reader for an eternity.

Drawing on his years of field experience in Galilee, the author illustrates how the archaeological record has been misused by New Testament scholars, and how synthesis of the material culture is foundational for understanding Christian origins in Galilee and the Jewish culture out of which they arose.

A theology of how Christianity and Judaism can be separate but linked by their roots in Scripture; presents a thorough study of Jesus as teacher seen from a Jewish perspective.

Amanda Witmer presents an investigation of exorcism in the activities of the historical Jesus, particularly the connection between spirit possession and exorcism on the one hand and the socio-political context of first-century Galilee on the other. Witmer draws on research from the areas of sociology, anthropology, archaeology and biblical studies to illuminate this aspect of Jesus' career, as well as the broader social implications of spirit possession in those he treated and the exorcisms themselves. Evidence found in the strands underlying the Synoptic Gospels is evaluated using the criteria of authenticity and comparative analysis in order to establish early and historical material. Questions posed and answered concern the historical plausibility of Jesus' role as exorcist, the possibility that his own career began with a period of spirit possession, and the meaning that his exorcisms conveyed to his first-century audience. Thus, the methodology includes textual analysis, sociological analysis of general cultural patterns within which first-century Palestine can be fitted, and anthropological analysis of the plausible functions of both spirit possession and exorcism in agrarian societies.

In a fragmented, divisive, and secular world, a follower of John the Baptist miraculously appears to continue the mission he had pursued in the ancient world. As his journey unfolds, he visits many of the world's leaders to warn them of a coming transformation. Though they ignore him, the popularity of his message grows. At the same time, a young woman starts her own mission through inspirational speeches, railing against the leaders of our society and their lack of spiritual life. The two join together to bring on the coming transformation, but numerous enemies attack them and try to prevent their work.

What are the origins of Jesus' reputation for healings and exorcisms? Few questions in Jesus studies are more hotly contested or elicit more diverse responses. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach and in dialogue with recent scholarly literature, The Galilean Wonderworker offers a compelling account. Recognizing the reciprocal relationship between personal and communal well-being within Israelite faith, this study offers new insights into how sickness and healing were understood in first-century Palestine. This, in turn, supplies the backcloth for a fresh evaluation of the evidence for Jesus' healings and exorcisms, where the emphasis falls firmly upon the dynamics of personal encounter. Jesus emerges as a spirit-person, capable of engendering faith and exercising authority to the extent that sufferers experienced liberation from debilitating symptoms and oppressive behaviors, many of which reflected contemporary sociopolitical conditions. Further, by vesting theological significance in these outcomes, they simultaneously constituted manifestations of God's sovereign presence, signaling restoration of covenantal well-being. Acknowledging that Jesus expected his disciples to heal and exorcize, the investigation concludes with an overview of how this legacy was embraced by the early church--noting how exorcism becomes incorporated into Christian initiation while spiritual healing, though continuing, is eclipsed by pastoral care and conventional medical practice.

Tucker S. Ferda examines the theory of the Galilean crisis: the notion that the historical Jesus himself had grappled with the failure of his mission to Israel. While this theory has been neglected since the 19th century, due to research moving to consider the response of the early church to the rejection of the gospel, Ferda now provides fresh insight on Jesus' own potential crisis of faith. Ferda begins by reconstructing the origin of the crisis theory, expanding upon histories of New Testament research and considering the contributions made before Hermann Samuel Reimarus. He shows how the crisis theory was shaped by earlier and so-called “pre-critical” gospel interpretation and examines how, despite the claims of modern scholarship, the logic of the crisis theory is still a part of current debate. Finally, Ferda argues that while the crisis theory is a failed hypothesis, its suggestions on early success and growing opposition in the ministry, as well as its claim that Jesus met and responded to disappointing cases of rejection, should be revisited. This book resurrects key historical aspects of the crisis theory for contemporary scholarship.