The Westminster Dictionary of New Testament and Early Christian Literature and Rhetoric details the variety of literary and rhetorical forms found in the New Testament and in the literature of the early Christian church. This authoritative reference source is a treasury for understanding the methods employed by New Testament and early Christian writers. Aune's extensive study will be of immense value to scholars and all those interested in the ways literary and rhetorical forms were used and how they functioned in the early Christian world. This unique and encyclopedic study will serve generations of scholars and students by illuminating the ways words shaped the consciousness of those who encountered Christian teachings.

This volume is a collection of newly published scholarly studies honoring Prof.Dr. David. E. Aune on his 65th birthday. These groundbreaking studies written by prominent international scholars investigate a range of topics in the New Testament and early Christian literature with insights drawn from Greco-Roman culture and Hellenistic Judaism.

This book studies kingship with reference to the Johannine Jesus. Postcolonialism leads us to an avenue from which to read this Gospel in the more complex and wider context of the hybridized Jewish and Greco-Roman worlds of the Roman Empire in the first century CE. This provides a new perspective on the kingship of the Johannine Jesus, whose kingly identity is characterized by hybridized christological titles. For the Johannine readers in the first century, who were exploited, oppressed, yet at odds with both the colonizer and the colonized in the Roman Empire, this Gospel was deemed to reveal his identity. Using many christological titles, it presented Jesus as the universal king going beyond the Jewish Messiah(s) and the Roman emperors and also as the decolonizer who came to "his own" world to liberate his people from the darkness. In this respect, the ideology of the Johannine emphasizes that love, peace, freedom, service of the center for the margins, and forgiveness are the ruling forces in the new world where Jesus reigns as king. Raising an awareness of these ideologies, John's gospel asks readers to overcome the conflicting world shrouded in darkness, thenceforth entering the new Johannine world.

In this original study, Vernon Robbins expounds and develops his system of socio-rhetorical criticism, bringing together social-scientific and literary-critical approaches to explore early Christianity.

The Blackwell Companion to the New Testament is a detailedintroduction to the New Testament, written by more than 40 scholarsfrom a variety of Christian denominations. Treats the 27 books and letters of the New Testamentsystematically, beginning with a review of current issues andconcluding with an annotated bibliography Considers the historical, social and cultural contexts in whichthe New Testament was produced, exploring relevant linguistic andtextual issues An international contributor list of over 40 scholars representwide field expertise and a variety of Christian denominations Distinctive features include a unified treatment of Lukethrough Acts, articles on the canonical Gospels, and a discussionof the apocryphal New Testament

This work concerns the early Christians' self-definitions and self-representations in the context of pagan-Christian conflict, reflected in the literatures from the mid-second to the early third centuries (ca. 150 - 225 CE).

Reading the New Testament is an excellent introduction to the New Testament by a prominent scholar who is able to communicate its main the structure of the book, has been rewritten extensively, updating the information and incorporating the results of new biblical approaches and research. Highlights of this new revised edition include: Extensive revisions Results of new biblical exegesis Updated and expanded bibliography New maps and illustrations Book jacket.

Most New Testament (NT) introductions, because of page limitations and other reasons, tend to minimize their treatment of the last nine books of the Christian Bible (from Hebrews to Revelation). The focus in these introductions is often on the four Gospels and the Letters of Paul. As important as these books are, one should not neglect, with only a brief survey, the treatment of Hebrews, the General Letters, and the book of Revelation. The title given later to the collection--Catholic Epistles or General Letters--is a reminder of its general appeal to the whole church, despite its slow "canonical" recognition and authorship issues. Nevertheless, these writings from Hebrews to Revelation continue to capture our attention and ignite our imagination. My purpose for this book is to supplement my NT introduction and others like it with a focus on specific questions about each book from Hebrews to Revelation: -When and why was each book written? -By whom and to whom was each book written? -What are some special features of each book? -How soon (or late) was each book included in the NT collection? Answers to many of these questions are tentative. The "assured results of scholarship" are in continual need of reevaluation. Since the 1980s a host of diverse studies have emerged, and I have endeavored to include them when they are relevant to the discussion.

The Handbook provides an indispensable account of the ritual world of early Christianity from the beginning of the movement up to the end of the sixth century.

Witherington provides a much-needed introduction to the ancient art of persuasion and its use within the various New Testament documents. More than just an exploration of the use of the ancient rhetorical tools and devices, this guide introduces the reader to all that went into convincing an audience about some subject. Witherington makes the case that rhetorical criticism is a more fruitful approach to the NT epistles than the oft-employed approaches of literary and discourse criticism. Familiarity with the art of rhetoric also helps the reader explore non-epistolary genres. In addition to the general introduction to rhetorical criticism, the book guides readers through the many and varied uses of rhetoric in most NT documents-not only telling readers about rhetoric in the NT, but showing them the way it was employed. This brief guide book is intended to provide the reader with an entrance into understanding the rhetorical analysis of various parts of the NT, the value such studies bring for understanding what is being proclaimed and defended in the NT, and how Christ is presented in ways that would be considered persuasive in antiquity. - from the introduction