Christianity is the largest religion in the world with approximately 2.1 billion adherents. Nonetheless, when measured by the gold standard-early Christian teachings and practice-we find considerable slippage. Two words describe current church problems and failures: dull and devious. At the highest levels of Catholic leadership, for example, we find scandals galore. Top officials pilfer $40 million in Detroit to build national shrines, Cardinals and bishops cover up priest sexual abuse, and the pope most recently ignores high ranking bishops and cardinals' pleas to allow Catholics to use condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. That is the devious part. At the lower end of the totem pole are priests and laity that just don't get it. They say their prayers, go to mass, and have their baptisms; they wonder why their kids don't go to church any more. Not enough priests? We will close the small churches and build a mega church. One small city in Wisconsin (pop. 40,000) did this at the cost of $12 million. Care to measure the cost of celibacy? Pay, pray, and obey is the mantra and the young people don't like it. Little wonder that only 1 in 3 Christians practice their faith to any appreciable degree and fail to pass religious traditions on to the next generation. Instead of going after the lost sheep, the pope says maybe we need a small dedicated remnant of believers. Interesting strategy when you have driven the sheep away with questionable policies: no women priests, no married priests, no condoms to fight AIDS.

Though often neglected among readers of Paul's letters, his two surviving letters to the church in Thessalonica are highly valuable sources for reconstructing the theology of Paul and the history of the earliest Christian churches. First and Second Thessalonians also stand out for their intensely personal nature and provide a rare glimpse into Paul's methods of pastoral care. This practical commentary interacts with the best scholarship on the Thessalonian letters while offering fresh new insights.

Starting with Mary, who initially discovered the empty tomb, women have played a significant role in the history of the Christian church. Their prayers, their songs of faith, and their steadfast perseverance in the face of adversity can still encourage us today. Spend the year with some of the greatest women in Christian history: from Claire of Assisi to Joan of Arc, from Fanny Crosby to Susannah Wesley, from Catherine Booth to Anne Bradstreet, and many more. This One Year book leaves no historical stone unturned in order to help you discover the amazing spiritual heritage you have in the lives of faith-filled women of the past.

The Synoptic gospels were written by elites educated in Greco-Roman literature, not exclusively by and for early Christian communities.

Vols. for 1898-1968 include a directory of publishers.