The Russian Dating Bible


Book Description




Bringing God Up to Date


Book Description

Religion is an essential part of our humanity. We all follow some form of religion, in the original meaning of the word. But organized religion establishes definitions, boundaries and hierarchies which the founders would be amazed by. This is perhaps more true of Christianity than most other religions, due to the short life of Jesus, his sudden death, the lack of any contemporary records. His teaching about the kingdom of God is great; it could see us through our time on earth. But his followers watered it down and soon lost it altogether. It became a kingdom in heaven for the few, rather than one here and now for everyone. The Church, or Churches, that resulted became increasingly irrelevant, even a hindrance, to seeing it realized. Many will always find security and truth in the traditions that developed, and good for them. But for those who can't, for those who have given up on religion or never thought it worth considering, the original teachings are worth another look. If we could recover them and live by them, we could change ourselves and the world for the better. We could bring God up to date.




Russian Bible Wars


Book Description

Although biblical texts were known in Church Slavonic as early as the ninth century, translation of the Bible into Russian came about only in the nineteenth century. Modern scriptural translation generated major religious and cultural conflict within the Russian Orthodox church. The resulting divisions left church authority particularly vulnerable to political pressures exerted upon it in the twentieth century. Russian Bible Wars illuminates the fundamental issues of authority that have divided modern Russian religious culture. Set within the theoretical debate over secularization, the volume clarifies why the Russian Bible was issued relatively late and amidst great controversy. Stephen Batalden's study traces the development of biblical translation into Russian and of the 'Bible wars' that then occurred in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Russia. The annotated bibliography of the Russian Bible identifies the different editions and their publication history.




The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity


Book Description

"The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity investigates the various ways in which Orthodox Christian, i.e., Eastern and Oriental communities have received, shaped, and interpreted the Christian Bible. The handbook is divided into five parts, including the introduction ("Balancing Tradition with Modernity") that sets the tone and scope of the volume. Part I: Text The Orthodox Church has never codified the Septuagint or any other textual witnesses as its authoritative text. Textual fluidity and pluriformity, a characteristic of Orthodoxy, is demonstrated by the various ancient and modern Bible translations such as, Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopian, Armenian, etc. Part II: Canon Unlike the Protestant and Roman-Catholic situations where the canon of the Bible, specifically the Old Testament canons which are "closed" and limited to 39 and 46 books, respectively, the Orthodox canon is "open-ended" consisting of 39 canonical books and 10 or more (e.g., Ethiopian canon) anaginoskomena "readable" books (Septuagint additions). Part III: Scripture within Tradition Unlike the classical Protestant view of sola scriptura and the Roman Catholic way of placing Scripture and Tradition on par as sources / means of divine revelation, the Orthodox view accords a central role to Scripture within Tradition, with the latter conceived not as a deposit of faith but rather as the Church's life through history. Part IV: Towards an Orthodox Hermeneutics and Part V: Looking to the Future The last two parts survey Orthodox "traditional" hermeneutics consisting mainly of patristic commentaries and liturgical interpretations found in hymnography and iconography, and the ways by which Orthodox biblical scholars balance these traditional hermeneutics with modern historical-critical approaches to the Bible"--







THE OLD TESTAMENT


Book Description

"THE OLD TESTAMENT: Commentary, Background, & Bible Difficulties - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges - VOLUME I" is an extensive guide that ventures deep into the study of the Old Testament, providing comprehensive commentary, historical and cultural background, and exploration of Bible difficulties for the books of Genesis through Judges. This book begins with a detailed examination of the foundations of the Old Testament, covering a range of topics such as the Inspiration of the Old Testament, archaeology's role in unveiling Biblical history, the significance of chronology, the textual criticism of the Old Testament, and much more. It dissects the origin and evolution of Hebrew manuscripts, the history of Hebrew writing, and how these documents became the Canon of the Old Testament. The book also presents an in-depth study of the Documentary Hypothesis theory and provides a thorough exploration of God's name, debunking common misconceptions. Following the Old Testament studies, the book embarks on a thorough analysis of the first seven books of the Old Testament—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, and Judges. Each book review commences with the identification of the author, place and time of writing, followed by highlights of the book. A comprehensive commentary for each book is provided, that carefully unpacks the text and context. In addition, each review provides an extensive analysis of the historical and cultural background and sheds light on the Bible difficulties associated with each book, assisting the reader in resolving and understanding these perceived contradictions. Finally, the value of each book is discussed, drawing out the underlying principles for contemporary application. Designed for theologians, scholars, students of the Bible, and anyone with a keen interest in understanding the Old Testament, this guide is a vital resource. It is not merely a commentary but a tool for study, reflection, and deepening faith.




Orthodox Russia in Crisis


Book Description

A pivotal period in Russian history, the Time of Troubles in the early seventeenth century has taken on new resonance in the country's post-Soviet search for new national narratives. The historical role of the Orthodox Church has emerged as a key theme in contemporary remembrances of this time—but what precisely was that role? The first comprehensive study of the Church during the Troubles, Orthodox Russia in Crisis reconstructs this tumultuous time, offering new interpretations of familiar episodes while delving deep into the archives to uncover a much fuller picture of the era. Analyzing these sources, Isaiah Gruber argues that the business activity of monasteries played a significant role in the origins and course of the Troubles and that frequent changes in power forced Church ideologues to innovate politically, for example inventing new justifications for power to be granted to the people and to royal women. These new ideas, Gruber contends, ultimately helped bring about a new age in Russian spiritual life and a crystallization of the national mentality.




Christian Russia in the Making


Book Description

The present collection of studies by Andrzej Poppe in many ways represents a continuation of the research brought together a quarter century ago in the author's previous Variorum volume. The focal themes are the political circumstances of the 'baptism of Russia' and the processes by which Rus' became a Christian country, an era marked by the emergence of indigenous saints in royal and monastic garb. Relations with the Byzantine world, both political and ecclesiastical, are often to the fore, but as Poppe shows, those with the West, from the Carolingians onwards, were important too. Many of the articles are provided with additional notes, and the volume includes three pieces previously unpublished in English, including an introductory survey of the Rurikid dynasty, and a major new study of the process by which Vladimir the Great became a saint.




The Oxford Handbook of Russian Religious Thought


Book Description

The Oxford Handbook of Russian Religious Thought is an authoritative new reference and interpretive volume detailing the origins, development, and influence of one of the richest aspects of Russian cultural and intellectual life - its religious ideas. After setting the historical background and context, the Handbook follows the leading figures and movements in modern Russian religious thought through a period of immense historical upheavals, including seventy years of officially atheist communist rule and the growth of an exiled diaspora with, e.g., its journal The Way. Therefore the shape of Russian religious thought cannot be separated from long-running debates with nihilism and atheism. Important thinkers such as Losev and Bakhtin had to guard their words in an environment of religious persecution, whilst some views were shaped by prison experiences. Before the Soviet period, Russian national identity was closely linked with religion - linkages which again are being forged in the new Russia. Relevant in this connection are complex relationships with Judaism. In addition to religious thinkers such as Philaret, Chaadaev, Khomiakov, Kireevsky, Soloviev, Florensky, Bulgakov, Berdyaev, Shestov, Frank, Karsavin, and Alexander Men, the Handbook also looks at the role of religion in aesthetics, music, poetry, art, film, and the novelists Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. Ideas, institutions, and movements discussed include the Church academies, Slavophilism and Westernism, theosis, the name-glorifying (imiaslavie) controversy, the God-seekers and God-builders, Russian religious idealism and liberalism, and the Neopatristic school. Occultism is considered, as is the role of tradition and the influence of Russian religious thought in the West.




History: fiction or science?. Chronology 1


Book Description

The author contends that all generaly accepted historical chronology prior to the 16th century is inaccurate, often off by many hundreds or even thousands of years. Volume 1 of a proposed seven volumes.