Non-Retaliation in Early Jewish and New Testament Texts


Book Description

This study examines the varieties and continuities of ethical exhortations and ideals in the Jewish and Christian traditions (c. 200 BCE-100 CE) that fall under the rubric of non-retaliation. One of the principal conclusions of this thought-provoking work is that a critical factor in determining the shape of non-retaliatory ethics is whether the exhortation is applied to relations within the local and/or elect community or to relations with oppressors of the elect community. It becomes apparent also that the non-retaliatory ethic of the NT stands solidly in the tradition of non-retaliatory ethics in Early Judaism.




Non-retaliation in Early Jewish and New Testament Texts


Book Description

I. The ethics of non-retaliation in early Judaism -- II. The ethics of non-retaliation in the New Testament.




The Love of Enemy and Nonretaliation in the New Testament


Book Description

The essays in this irenic book explore two pervasive New Testament teachings that are foundational to peace: Jesus' commands to love enemies and not to retaliate against those who do evil. These themes are covered from a variety of perspectives, showing the impact of Jesus' teaching throughout the New Testament.




Violence, Scripture, and Textual Practices in Early Judaism and Christianity


Book Description

This volume analyzes the emergence of Jewish and Christian discourses of religious violence within their Roman imperial context with an emphasis on the shared textual practices through which authoritative scriptural traditions were redeployed to represent, legitimate, and indeed sacralize violence.




Roman Christianity and Roman Stoicism


Book Description

Runar M. Thorsteinsson presents a challenge to the view that Christianity introduced an entirely new, better, and decidedly universal morality into the ancient world. Presenting evidence from Stoic and Christian texts from first century Rome, he emphasizes the similarities between the two belief systems.




The Invention of Judaism


Book Description

"Judaism is often understood as the way of life defined by the Torah of Moses, but it was not always so. This book identifies key moments in the rise of the Torah, beginning with the formation of Deuteronomy, advancing through the reform of Ezra, the impact of the suppression of the Torah by Antiochus Epiphanes and the consequent Maccabean revolt, and the rise of Jewish sectarianism. It also discusses variant forms of Judaism, some of which are not Torah-centered and others which construe the Torah through the lenses of Hellenistic culture or through higher, apocalyptic, revelation. It concludes with the critique of the Torah in the writings of Paul"--Provided by publisher.




The First Letter to the Corinthians


Book Description

This careful, sometimes innovative, mid-level commentary touches on an astonishingly wide swath of important, sensitive issues - theological and pastoral - that have urgent resonances in twenty-first-century life. This thorough commentary presents a coherent reading of 1 Corinthians, taking full account of its Old Testament and Jewish roots and demonstrating Paula's primary concern for the unity and purity of the church and the glory of God. Those who preach and teach 1 Corinthians will be grateful to Ciampa and Rosner for years to come and scholars will be challenged to see this letter with fresh eyes.




Matthew and the Didache


Book Description

The Didache, or Doctrine of the Twelve Apostles, is an important source for our knowledge of early Christianity. The Didache demonstrates that we should understand nascent Christianity and early Judaism as sharing to a large extent the same traditions. The volume throws fresh light on the Jewishness of the Two Ways teaching in Didache 1-6. It presents a cautious reconstruction of the Jewish prototype of the Two Ways and traces the Jewish life situation in which the instruction could emerge and flourish. This attempt is important, as it provides us with a Jewish source (and its transmission) underlying Christian and Jewish writings. For example, it is shown how acquaintance with these traditional materials benefits our perception of the antithetical section in Matthew 5:17-48. In the field of liturgical studies, a significant contribution is made to the discussion of Didache 7-10. It improves our understanding of the Jewish provenance and historical development of Baptism and the Eucharist. The book also presents an intriguing look into the redactional stages behind the materials about church discipline. The ministry of itinerant apostles and prophets moving from town to town, and their settling down in the community, is considered in the perspective of the larger environment of Jewish religious and cultural history. This volume will prove indispensable for all those engaged in the study of early Judaism, the New Testament, Patristics, the origins of Christian liturgy, and early Church history in general.




Paul and the Synoptic Jesus Tradition


Book Description

This study compares the Jesus traditions in Paul's genuine letters to the synoptic Jesus tradition. The aim is to identify parallels between Jesus traditions in the Pauline letters and synoptic Gospels and to determine whether the wording of the Pauline Jesus traditions is closer to any particular synoptic Gospel or Q. Paul's quotes of words of the Lord (1 Cor 7:10–11; 9:14; 11:23–25) as well as possible allusions to Jesus traditions in Paul's letters are investigated and compared to similar synoptic sayings of Jesus. Allusions to Jesus traditions in 1 Thessalonians and Romans are revisited. Special attention is paid to possible allusions in Galatians. The findings show that Paul does make use of Jesus traditions resembling those of the synoptics, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. [Paulus und die synoptische Jesustradition] In dieser Arbeit wird die Jesustradition in den Proto-Paulinen mit der synoptischen Jesustradition verglichen. Ziel der Untersuchung ist es, Parallelen zwischen den Jesustraditionen in den Paulusbriefen und Synoptikern aufzuweisen und festzustellen, ob die von Paulus benutzte Jesustradition im Wortlaut näher an einer der Synoptiker bzw. Q ist. Die Zitate der Herrenworte in 1Kor 7,10-11; 9,14 und 11,23-25 werden erneut untersucht, sowie mögliche Anspielungen des Paulus auf die synoptische Jesustradition im ersten Thessalonicherbrief und im Römerbrief. Ein Schwerpunkt wird auf den Galaterbrief gestellt. Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass Paulus in seinen Briefen synoptische Jesustraditionen benutzt, die vor allem mit dem Matthäusevangelium Gemeinsamkeiten aufzeigen.




Jesus and Paul before Christianity


Book Description

Who was the real founder of Christianity as it is known today--Jesus or Paul? What, if any, was the connection between them? These and other questions about the two historical figures have occupied biblical scholars and the Christian church for many years up to the present time. This book proposes new ways of framing the questions as well as new approaches to answering them. Neither Jesus nor Paul spoke of a new world religion, separate from Judaism, that would envelop the planet and last for millennia. This study seeks to locate both figures in their respective places in the first century, in Jewish contexts and within the larger Greco-Roman society. The aim is to transcend the language and thought patterns of later generations of theologians in order to hear more clearly the prophetic voices of Jesus and Paul on their terms and in their social locations. By so doing, Shillington lays the groundwork for a more authentic translation of their vision and mission into modern alternatives, including better Jewish-Christian relations.