'Victory over Violence' This book, 'Victory over Violence', deals with Òpolitical theologyÓ - as it developed within Palestinian Judaism between 334 B.C. and the time of Christ, and as it is being advocated now by radical theologians and groups within the Christian community. The book is, therefore, not simply an academic discussion of a bygone era. It is an attempt to bridge the gap between New Testament theology and contemporary Christian social ethics. Hengel clearly intends to speak to the contemporary situation, which forces Christians to debate the possible use of violence in revolution. He is appalled that those who advocate a Òtheology of revolutionÓ pay so little attention to the political situation of Jesus and primitive Christianity. According to Hengel's interpretation, the position of Jesus and the early Christians on the question of violence was radically different from that of the Zealots: Jesus was the model of nonviolence who demanded of his followers that they renounce violence and love their enemies. Further, since the situation today is similar to the situation in Jesus' time, Hengel argues that the Christian response should be similar too. 'Was Jesus a Revolutionist?' Jesus has often been portrayed as a forerunner of modern revolutionary movements. Martin Hengel believes that this judgment must be scrutinized carefully to determine if revolutionists are reading their own views back into Jesus. The author considers the political background at the time of Jesus, especially the Zealot movement, then looks at key passages in the Gospels that seem to support the revolutionist label. This study shows that Jesus' ethical system was revolutionary, but his political actions were not. Students of politics and religion will want to read Hengel's comments on Jewish movements, depth psychology, and today's theology of revolution.

The response of the Jews to foreign domination at the time of Christ, and some modern parallels.

A diverse group of scholars charts new paths in the quest for the historical Jesus. After a decade of stagnation in the study of the historical Jesus, James Crossley and Chris Keith have assembled an international team of scholars to envision the quest anew. The contributors offer new perspectives and fresh methods for reengaging the question of the historical Jesus. Important, timely, and fascinating, The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus is a must read for anyone seeking to understand Jesus of Nazareth. Contributors Michael P. Barber, Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology, United States of America Giovanni B. Bazzana, Harvard Divinity School, United States of America Helen K. Bond, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom James Crossley, MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society, Norway, and Centre for the Critical Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements, United Kingdom Tucker S. Ferda, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, United States of America Paula Fredriksen, Boston University, United States of America, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Deane Galbraith, University of Otago, Aotearoa New Zealand Mark Goodacre, Duke University, United States of America Meghan R. Henning, University of Dayton, United States of America Nathan C. Johnson, University of Indianapolis, United States of America Wayne Te Kaawa, University of Otago, Aotearoa New Zealand Chris Keith, MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society, Norway John S. Kloppenborg, University of Toronto, Canada Amy-Jill Levine, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, United States of America, and Vanderbilt University, United States of America Brandon Massey, University of Münster, Germany Justin J. Meggitt, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom Halvor Moxnes, University of Oslo, Norway Robert J. Myles, Wollaston Theological College, University of Divinity, Australia Wongi Park, Belmont University, United States of America Janelle Peters, Loyola Marymount University, United States of America Taylor G. Petrey, Kalamazoo College, United States of America Adele Reinhartz, University of Ottawa, Canada Rafael Rodríguez, Johnson University, United States of America Sarah E. Rollens, Rhodes College, United States of America Anders Runesson, University of Oslo, Norway Nathan Shedd, William Jessup University, United States of America, and Johnson University, United States of America Mitzi J. Smith, Columbia Theological Seminary, United States of America, and University of South Africa, South Africa Joan Taylor, King’s College London, United Kingdom Matthew Thiessen, McMaster University, Canada Robyn Faith Walsh, University of Miami, United States of America Matthew G. Whitlock, Seattle University, United States of America Stephen Young, Appalachian State University, United States of America Christopher B. Zeichmann, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada

Shows how the questions posed by Albert Schweitzer a century ago remain central today; sketches a profile of Jesus in terms of his prophetic praxis, his subversive stories, his symbology and the answers he gave to key questions, in a debate-igniting examination of Jesus' aims and beliefs, argued on the basis of his actions and their accompanying riddles. Reprint.

"Deliver us from (the) evil (one)" is the heart's cry from the Lord's Prayer. Evil wears many faces in our modern world. This book connects the Lord's Prayer to troubles of our times, be it attacks from Satan, the wars around the world, the scourge of racism, or the mass shootings of our time. The subtitle of the book identifies the scope. This book blends both deliverance from demonic bondage and witness to the powers in relation to political policies and government. While the book aims to be a biblical theology on these topics, it seeks also to address the praxis: how these evils are confronted through healing-deliverance ministries and what people of God say and do in witness to the powers. The two streams of response to evil are really one as a faithful response to the saving work of the Lord God Almighty through Jesus Christ's victory over Satan, sin, evil, and death. "Love your enemy" confronts evil with power to transform!

This study offers fresh insight into the place of (non)violence within Jesus' ministry, by examining it in the context of the eschatologically-motivated revolutionary violence of Second Temple Judaism. The book first explores the connection between violence and eschatology in key literary and historical sources from Second Temple Judaism. The heart of the study then focuses on demonstrating the thematic centrality of Jesus’ opposition to such “eschatological violence” within the Synoptic presentations of his ministry, arguing that a proper understanding of eschatology and violence together enables appreciation of the full significance of Jesus’ consistent disassociation of revolutionary violence from his words and deeds. The book thus articulates an understanding of Jesus’ nonviolence that is firmly rooted in the historical context of Second Temple Judaism, presenting a challenge to the "seditious Jesus hypothesis"—the claim that the historical Jesus was sympathetic to revolutionary ideals. Jesus’ rejection of violence ought to be understood as an integral component of his eschatological vision, embodying and enacting his understanding of (i) how God’s kingdom would come, and (ii) what would identify those who belonged to it.

Over the centuries, New Testament texts have inspired both peace activism and violence towards others. Most Christians, including New Testament scholars, continue to find peace at the core of these scriptures, and consider that the use of violence misrepresents basic Christian beliefs. This challenging study contends that the New Testament promotes violence as strongly as it promotes peace. Through close analysis of a wide range of texts, Desjardins shows how foundational both peace and violence are in the New Testament, and then suggests that the leading interpretative theories in this area do not do justice to the complexity of the primary sources.

While much work has been done on the role of Jews in the crucifixion of Jesus in post-Holocaust biblical scholarship, the question of violence in subsequent community formation remains largely unexamined. New Testament passages suggesting that early Christ-believers were violently persecuted--the "stone throwing" passages from John, the "persecuted from town to town" passages in Matthew, the stoning of Stephen in Acts, Paul's hardship catalogue in II Corinthians, etc.-- are frequently read positivistically as windows onto first century persecution; at the other extreme, they are sometimes dismissed as completely a-historical. In either case, scholars up until now have provided little in the way of methodological reflection on how they have reached such conclusions. A further problematic issue in previous readings of passages suggesting such violence is that the perpetrators of violence are frequently cast as "Jews" while the violated are cast as "Christians," in spite of the growing consensus that it is impossible to tease out these two distinct and separate religious identities, Jew and Christian, from first century texts. This volume takes up crucial methodological questions about how to read passages suggesting violence among Jews in texts that eventually became part of the New Testament canon. It situates this intra-religious violence within the violence of the Roman Imperial order. It provides new readings of these texts that move beyond the "Jew as violator"/"Christian as violated" binary.

André Trocmé of Le Chambon is famous for his role in saving thousands of Jews from the Nazis during World War II. But his bold deeds did not spring from a void. They were rooted in his understanding of Jesus’ way of nonviolence – an understanding that gave him the remarkable insights contained in this long out-of-print classic. In this book, you’ll encounter a Jesus you may have never met before – a Jesus who not only calls for spiritual transformation, but for practical changes that answer the most perplexing political, economic, and social problems of our time.