John Meier's previous volumes in the acclaimed series A Marginal Jew are founded upon the notion that while solid historical information about Jesus is quite limited, people of different faiths can nevertheless arrive at a consensus on fundamental historical facts of his life. In this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the series, Meier approaches a fresh topic-the teachings of the historical Jesus concerning Mosaic Law and morality-with the same rigor, thoroughness, accuracy, and insightfulness on display in his earlier works.

Since the late nineteenth century, New Testament scholars have operated on the belief that most, if not all, of the narrative parables in the Synoptic Gospels can be attributed to the historical Jesus. This book challenges that consensus and argues instead that only four parables—those of the Mustard Seed, the Evil Tenants, the Talents, and the Great Supper—can be attributed to the historical Jesus with fair certitude. In this eagerly anticipated fifth volume of A Marginal Jew, John Meier approaches this controversial subject with the same rigor and insight that garnered his earlier volumes praise from such publications as the New York Times and Christianity Today. This seminal volume pushes forward his masterful body of work in his ongoing quest for the historical Jesus.

Since Albert Schweitzer's monumental work, nearly a century ago, psychology has been banned from Historical Jesus research. But both disciplines have advanced and it is time to review the contribution that psychology can make. Bas Van Os examines the problems which surround both the historical and the psychological study of Jesus, such as the fact that we can only work with the surviving traditions that some of his early followers left us. Following this, Van Os proposes a theoretical framework that combines sound psychological theories and critical biblical scholarship to explain how Jesus' life and religious experience impacted the beliefs of his friends and family after his death.

This book offers an ideal introduction to the Gospels and explains why it is that scholars and lay people have such different understandings of the person of Jesus. The first half of the book looks at the main sources for the life of Jesus, principally the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, but also the so-called apocryphal Gospels. The second half of the book begins with an examination of the criteria employed by scholars to determine the earliest and most reliable forms of the tradition. The third edition interacts with developments in modern scholarship, particularly the advance of memory studies. With study questions at the end of each chapter, updated reading lists, and a new chapter bringing scholarship up to date the third edition of this classic text will provide a perfect companion for students coming to grips with academic study of Jesus and the Gospels.

The problem with too much Christianity today is that we replace the person of Jesus with a doctrine of grace. Living in denial of Jesus' teaching on judgment and holiness, too many Christians take refuge from the sayings of Jesus in doctrines of forgiveness that they hope will bolster up their sense of self-worth before God. Andy Angel tackles this dysfunctional spirituality head-on, opening up the journey of learning and love into which the living Lord Jesus invites us all. Unpacking the Gospel of Matthew, he encourages us to rediscover the teaching ministry of Jesus in our own lives, and in doing so, to recover the riches and freshness of the gospel message and to rediscover the depths of love Jesus has for each one of us.

The contemporary Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is in a paradoxical situation: On all levels of Church life, new practices and concepts are considered to belong to Orthodox tradition, yet at the same time Orthodoxy is regarded as the most “unchangeable” and normative of the Christian confessions. So what makes tradition? The nineteen contributions in this volume examine the ambiguities and complexities created by the dynamic between tradition and innovation within the ROC in relation to the fundamental tenets of Orthodoxy. By this focus, the volume offers new insights and highlights the question how to define (Orthodox) Tradition. It addresses “unorthodox” topics of Orthodox paradoxes. Contributors include: Tatiana Artemyeva, Alexei Beglov, Wil van den Bercken, Per-Arne Bodin, Page Herrlinger, Nadieszda Kizenko, Anastasia Mitrofanova, Stella Rock, and Alexander Verkhovsky.

The Beloved Son as Tantalizing Teacher is a contribution to the study of the “historical Jesus.” It is meant for anyone interested in Jesus as a person as well as part of the academic project of discovering his humanity and his place in history. To truly uncover him in this way, the facts of his Jewish historical context are foundational. The context is in terms of six dynamics or factors: the history of late antiquity of the Mediterranean world from Alexander to the destruction of the temple and how people in the land of Israel interacted with that history; Israel’s economic, social, religious, and political structures; and the ecology of the land of Jesus’ time. In particular we understand Jesus and the movement he initiated as part of other renewal movements of his time and place that arose to confront what most of his contemporaries perceived as the corrosion of Jewish society. So the Jewish people of the first century, living in their patrimonial land of Israel, were embroiled in a crisis that threatened to overwhelm the nation. The Beloved Son as Tantalizing Teacher sums up the situation, with the pithy phrase borrowed from one scholar, as a people whose “backs were against the wall.”

CBT AND CHRISTIANITY “A surprisingly satisfying read that refreshed my perspective on, and deepened my understanding of, two topics that have long seemed overly familiar. This work underscores how much of contemporary thinking has been anticipated by the ancients or just how much ‘new thinking’ is a recapitulation of the old, but does so in a thoroughly original way.” Murray J. Dyck, PhD, Professor of Clinical Psychology, Griffith University While cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an empirically supported treatment, many behavioural and analytical psychotherapists also recognize the healing potential of religious belief. CBT and Christianity offers CBT therapists an authoritative, practical, and comprehensive resource for counselling clients with an allegiance to the Christian faith. This innovative new treatment approach compares the teachings of Jesus to contemporary cognitive and mindfulness-based therapies, describing a variety of successful assessment and treatment approaches with Christian clients by incorporating the teachings of Jesus into logical thinking, schema modification, and committed behaviour change. Clarity is further enhanced through a variety of specific examples, descriptions of generic methods, and supplemental resources provided by the author. By combining effective treatments with sensitivity to religious convictions, CBT and Christianity offers innovative insights into the spiritual and psychological well-being of clients with Christian beliefs.

In this work, Anthony Giambrone investigates the appropriation and development of Jewish charity discourse in Luke's Gospel. In contrast to previous scholarship, neither the coherence of Lukan "wealth ethics" nor its contemporary actualization defines his study. Instead, the sacramental significance of almsgiving becomes the starting point for a more theologically oriented exegesis. The end result recognizes Luke's "Christological mutation" of the inherited tradition.The text is organized around three exegetical probes, each handling parabolic material: i.e. Luke 7:36-50, 10:25-37, and 16:1-31. The author advances an approach to these parables that highlights Christological allegory (metalepsis) as a Lukan narrative device. A break is thus implied with the dominant rationalist constructions of Luke's parabolic art and ethics. Also in contrast to a dominant trend, stress is laid upon Luke's Jewish rather than Greco-Roman context.

This is an introductory guide to the ways Jesus is depicted in the New Testament. Both college students and the general reader will find here a variety of New Testament understandings of Jesus that are rooted in critical reading of the four gospels and Pauline letters. This new edition adds historical context to the portraits of Jesus as each document is somewhat shaped by historical factors. This work presumes neither religious faith nor lack of faith; its aim is to inform and to stimulate some fundamental questions as well as to give the readers portraits as synthetic balance to the vital work of analysis.