Peter Oakes has long been recognized for his illuminating use of Greco-Roman material culture and social-scientific criticism to interpret the New Testament. This volume brings together his best work and introduces a substantial new essay that challenges current scholarly approaches to paradoxical teachings of the New Testament.Of special interest to Oakes throughout this book is the concrete impact of economic realities and Roman imperialism on first-century Christian communities ...

Isaac Mbabazi makes a major contribution to the field of New Testament by arguing that the relevant Matthean theme of interpersonal forgiveness is quite central to the first Gospel. In The Significance of Interpersonal Forgiveness in the Gospel of Matthew, he delineates five sets of evidence in support of his argument. Beginning with a survey of all Matthean forgiveness and forgiveness-related texts, he then carries out an in-depth exegesis of two key Matthean texts in which the idea of in...

The resurrection of Jesus is arguably the most significant component of the Christian narrative and is critical for Paul's presentation of the Gospel. Yet it is routinely marginalized in study of the polemics of Galatians, largely because it is explicitly mentioned only once, and even then, only obliquely. This investigation redraws the boundaries of its impact in the letter, showing the risen Christ to be an indispensable feature of how Paul's argument unfolds and achieves its ultimate ob...

What was the ancient world like?Ancient sources tell us a great deal about the cultural patterns and values that prevailed in the Mediterranean of the biblical periods:how they constructed identityhow they exercised control over groups, space, gender, and dresshow they thought of friendshiphow they participated in social and economic exchangehow ritual functioned and how kinship was constructedwhat healing practices, e...

Oakes and Boakye rethink Galatians by examining the text as a vision for the lives of its hearers. They show how, in tackling the difficulties that he faces in Galatia, Paul offers a vision of what the Galatians are in their relationship with the living Christ. This offers a new understanding of the concept of unity in diversity expressed in Gal 3:28.The authors develop their views over six chapters. First, Oakes maps a route from the letter to a focus on its Galatian hearers and o...

In this volume, respected New Testament scholar Peter Oakes offers a translation and reading of Galatians as presenting a gospel of unity in diversity in Christ. He shows that Paul treats the Galatians' possible abandonment of his gospel as putting at stake their fidelity to Christ. As with other volumes in the Paideia series, this volume is conversant with contemporary scholarship, draws on ancient backgrounds, and attends to the theological nature of the text. Students, pastors, and othe...

Peter Oakes combines archaeology and biblical studies to give the reader a fresher, deeper understanding of Paul's letter to the Romans. An investigation of the archaeological evidence from Pompeii helps us to think about the ways in which Paul's letter may have been understood by different people -- such as a slave girl, a cabinet-maker-cum-surgeon and an educated slave concubine -- might have understood Paul's letter when they first heard it.

2013 Catholic Press Award WinnerIn this addition to the well-received Paideia series, a respected New Testament scholar examines cultural context and theological meaning in First Corinthians. Paideia commentaries explore how New Testament texts form Christian readers by• attending to the ancient narrative and rhetorical strategies the text employs• showing how the text shapes theological convictions and moral habits• commenting on the final, c...

"He comes as yet unknown into a hamlet of Lower Galilee. He is watched by the cold, hard eyes of peasants living long enough at a subsistence level to know exactly where the line is drawn between poverty and destitution. He looks like a beggar yet his eyes lack the proper cringe, his voice the proper whine, his walk the proper shuffle. He speaks about the rule of God and they listen as much from curiosity as anything else. They know all about rule and power, about kingdom and empire, but t...

The Controversial, Bestselling Account of What We Can Know About the Life of Jesus

In this national bestseller, John Dominic Crossan, the world's leading expert on the historical Jesus, reveals how Christianity emerged in the period following Jesus' death. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, Crossan shines new light on the theological and cultural contexts from which the Christian church arose. He argues powerfully that Christianity would have happened with or without Paul and contends that Jesus' "resurrection" meant something vastly different for his early followers ...

John Dominic Crossan, the eminent historical Jesus scholar, and Jonathan L. Reed, an expert in biblical archaeology, reveal through archaeology and textual scholarship that Paul, like Jesus, focused on championing the Kingdom of God––a realm of justice and equality––against the dominant, worldly powers of the Roman empire.Many theories exist about who Paul was, what he believed, and what role he played in the origins of Christianity. Using archaeological and textual evidence, and t...