While it is widely acknowledged that Jesus told stories, there has not been much focus on why he did so and how these stories contributed to his ministry. Stephen Wright approaches this topic afresh to analyze how considering the parables as "stories" can help our understanding of Jesus and his mission. Wright begins by looking for insights in scholarship from recent decades on the parables and the historical Jesus. He goes on to imagine how these stories would have resonated with hearers ...

What led a thirty-year-old carpenter/builder from an obscure village in Galilee to abandon his trade and become the itinerant preacher, teacher, and healer described in the Gospels? Many Christians--including even some ministers--if asked precisely what outcome Jesus was hoping to achieve from his earthly ministry, are more likely to utter gasps of astonishment or admissions of ignorance ("I've never thought about it") than to give a considered opinion, even though the matter could hardly ...

From an "astonishing" writer (Toni Morrison), the savagely funny story of a couple who unexpectedly come into some money in a wealth-obsessed America deranged by Mammon.A bag of money drops out of the sky, literally, into the path of a cash-starved citizen named Graveyard. He carries it home to his wife, Ambience, and they embark on the adventure of their lives, finally able to have everything they've always thought they deserved: cars, guns, games, jewels, clothes...

An utterly wild, debauched, romantic, and violent ride inspired by the 18th-century Irish pirate Anne Bonny, reimagined here as Amethyst "Meeks" Connell, one of the most extraordinary outlaws of any age. For readers of George Saunders, Percival Everett, and Maggie O'Farrell.“This fiercely imaginative, blood-soaked, starry-eyed, and exuberant epic will capture the dreams and nightmares of any daring reader.” (Shelf Awareness

In Shadows of the Past, Stephen Wright explores humanity's enduring fascination with hauntings, tracing their roots in culture, history, and folklore. From eerie urban legends to the evolution of ghost stories in literature, film, and modern media, Wright examines how hauntings reflect collective fears, unresolved traumas, and the desire to connect with the past.The book delves into the emotional impact of ghostly encounters, the role of paranormal investigations, and the ...

This volume of thirteen original essays provides a timely analysis of African foreign policies in a post–Cold War environment where African marginalization from the global economy appears to be increasing. Three thematic essays give an overview of critical changes occurring in African foreign policies, and ten country-by-country case studies provide specific analyses of decisionmaking, intraregional relations, and the struggles over policy with external agencies, including the World Bank a...

Our knowledge of the world comes from various sources. But it is sometimes said that testimony, unlike other sources, transmits knowledge from one person to another.In this book, Stephen Wright investigates what the transmission of knowledge involves and the role that it should play in our theorising about testimony as a source of knowledge. He argues that the transmission of knowledge should be understood in terms of the more fundamental concept of the transmission of epistemic gr...

In a post-Christian modern world, skepticism and skeptics abound. Christian belief once depended upon faith alone, but skeptics require more, insisting upon proof before belief. If believers today are to evangelize these skeptics, Christians must marshal proof of the Christian concept. This book does that. Using overlooked history and well-known Scripture, the author sets about to convince the skeptic through novel, eye-opening proof.

From an "astonishing" writer (Toni Morrison), the savagely funny story of a couple who unexpectedly come into some money in a wealth-obsessed America deranged by Mammon.A bag of money drops out of the sky, literally, into the path of a cash-starved citizen named Graveyard. He carries it home to his wife, Ambience, and they embark on the adventure of their lives, finally able to have everything they've always thought they deserved: cars, guns, games, jewels, clothes...

An utterly wild, debauched, romantic, and violent ride inspired by the 18th-century Irish pirate Anne Bonny, reimagined here as Amethyst "Meeks" Connell, one of the most extraordinary outlaws of any age. For readers of George Saunders, Percival Everett, and Maggie O'Farrell.Meeks is a poor Irish orphan whose energy, wit, and native sensitivity to the “main chance” take her to the unlikeliest of places. She marries into the aristocracy and follows her war-besotted h...

If you are thinking, "What another book on the parables?" then think again! Here's a single volume that judiciously surveys parables research, sketches the significance of Jesus' parables for each of the synoptic Gospels, analyzes the importance of the parables for understanding Jesus' ministry, and discusses how these parables would have been heard in their own contexts - all of this in readable prose that is fully conversant with scholarly discussion without bogging us down in that discu...

First full-length history of the largest and most successful airborne offensive ever. Scores of eyewitness accounts from paratroopers, glidermen, pilots, and infantrymen plus details on planes, gliders, and equipment. Recounts the actions for which participants won two Medals of Honor, a Victoria Cross, and a Conspicuous Gallantry Medal.