La 4e de couverture indique : "In this monograph, Timothy J. Murray studies early Christian practices of financial generosity by examining when, why and how they restricted their generosity. He analyzes the New Testament in its social context, arguing that common cultural ideals of mutual support in a family were adopted by the fictive-family of the early church."

This authoritative volume brings together a team of world-class scholars to cover the full range of New Testament backgrounds studies in a concise, up-to-date, and comprehensive manner. Drawing on the expertise of specialists in the areas of archaeological, historical, and biblical studies, this book provides concise treatments of a wide breadth of topics related to the world of the early Christ followers. The book offers compact overviews of key historical issues, facilitating enriched understandings of the significance and force of the texts of the New Testament in their original contexts. Meant to be used alongside traditional literature-based canonical surveys, this one-stop introduction to New Testament backgrounds fills a gap in typical introduction to the Bible courses and is ideal for undergraduate or seminary classes. It is beautifully designed and includes photographs, line drawings, maps, charts, and tables, which will facilitate its use in the classroom.

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note that the online publication date for this handbook is the date that the first article in the title was published online.

The contributors to this volume take as their theme the reception of Jewish traditions in early Christianity, and the ways in which the meaning of these traditions changed as they were put to work in new contexts and for new social ends. Special emphasis is placed on the internal variety and malleability of these traditions, which underwent continual processes of change within Judaism, and on reception as an active, strategic, and interested process. All the essays in this volume seek to bring out how acts of reception contribute to the social formation of early Christianity, in its social imagination (its speech and thought about itself) or in its social practices, or both. This volume challenges static notions of tradition and passive ideas of 'reception', stressing creativity and the significance of 'strong' readings of tradition. It thus complicates standard narratives of 'the parting of the ways' between 'Christianity' and 'Judaism', showing how even claims to continuity were bound to make the same different.

Over the past two and a half decades there has been an increasing interest in how the data from the associations—known primarily from inscriptions and papyri—can help scholars better understand the development of Christ groups in the first and second centuries. Richard Ascough’s work has been at the forefront of promoting the associations and applying insights from inscriptions and papyri to understanding early Christian texts. This book collects together his most important contributions to the scholarly trajectory as it developed over a two-decade period. A fresh introduction orients the sixteen previously published articles and essays, which are arranged into three sections; the first dealing with associations as a model for Christ groups, the second focused on how associations and Christ groups interacted over recruitment, and the third on two key elements of group life: meals and memorializing the dead.

Christian Generosity is based on the radical teachings of Jesus Christ and of the New Testament. Christians and Churches that still promote the “doctrine” of Tithing are missing out on the glory of Christian Giving. Stop tithing! Don’t let anyone take you on a guilt-trip on account of tithing. Switch to Christian Giving.

Moral Infringement and Repair in Antiquity, is a series of publications related to a project on Dynamics of Moral Repair in Antiquity, run by Thomas Kazen and Rikard Roitto between 2017 and 2021, and funded by the Swedish Research Council. The volumes contain stand-alone articles and serve as supplements to the main outcome of the project, the volume Interpersonal Infringement and Moral Repair: Revenge, Compensation and Forgiveness in the Ancient World, forthcoming on Mohr Siebeck in 2023. Supplement 1: Emotions and Hierarchies, contains four articles and chapters by Thomas Kazen. Three of them are republished in accordance with the publishers' general conditions for author reuse. The fourth has not been published before. 1. Emotional Ethics in Biblical Texts: Cultural Construction and Biological Bases of Morality. 2. Viewing Oneself through Others' Eyes: Shame between Biology and Culture in Biblical Texts. 3. Law and Emotion in Moral Repair: Circumscribing Infringement. 4. Retribution and Repair in Voluntary Associations: Comparing Rule Texts from Qumran, Collegia, and Christ Groups.

The First Urban Churches 7 includes essays focused on the development of early Christianity from the mid-first century through the sixth century CE in the ancient Macedonian city of Thessalonica. An international group of contributors traces the emergence of Thessalonica’s house churches through a close study of the archaeological remains, inscriptions, coins, iconography, and Paul’s two letters to the Thessalonians. After a detailed introduction to the city, including the first comprehensive epigraphic profile of Thessalonica from the Hellenistic age to the Roman Empire, topics discussed include the Roman emperor’s divine honors, coins and inscriptions as sources of imperial propaganda, Thessalonian family bonds, Paul’s apostolic self-image, the role of music at Thessalonica and in early Christianity, and Paul’s response to the Thessalonian Jewish community. Contributors include D. Clint Burnett, Alan H. Cadwallader, Rosemary Canavan, James R. Harrison, Julien M. Ogereau, Isaac T. Soon, Angela Standhartinger, Michael P. Theophilos, and Joel R. White.

In this insightful work, the author explores the fundamental Christian virtue of 'agape.' Spicq's genius is the way he combines fine linguistic analysis, exegesis, and theological insight. The three volumes cover most of the New Testament books: Volume 1: 'Agape in the Synoptic Gospels' Volume 2: 'Agape in the Epistles of St. Paul, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles of St. James, St. Peter, and St. Jude' Volume 3: 'Agape in the Gospel, Epistles and Apocalypse of St. John' Agape is an active and effective love operating with a singular tenderness. The Sermon on the Mount stressed its heroic forms of patience and of gentleness. The parable of the Good Samaritan shows it to be attentive and tender, truly compassionate. . . . In the Gospel, to love means to give, to give oneself, to belong to another--to belong to God in obedience and consecration, to belong to neighbor in service and compassion. --from the Conclusion

How To Get Rid of Jesus: Prove He Didn't Exist! A popular question posed by Christians today asks, "WWJD?" - which stands for, "What Would Jesus Do?" For more and more Skeptics of Christianity, however, the answer to this question is, "JDNE" - which stands for, "Jesus did not exist!" In this volume, edited by prominent Internet apologist James Patrick Holding, a team of Christian authors provide a series of essays giving detailed answers to those who argue for the "Christ myth." Though rejected by mainstream scholars, this theory continues to grow in popularity among popular writers and Internet antagonists. The need for Christians to be ready to give an answer to it will only become more urgent. "Here's a clear and compelling rebuttal to fallacious claims that keep resurfacing in books and on the Internet. It's well-researched, expertly presented, and ultimately convincing." - Lee Strobel, author, The Case for the Real Jesus