Sexuality in the New Testament


Book Description

Loader looks at hotly contested New Testament passages on sexuality and offers a fair and balanced treatment of what scholars say about them. He also offers an analysis of why interpreters say what they say, and demonstrates how texts may be interpreted specifically to support a preformed opinion. Written in straightforward, non-technical language, this classroom text is also ideal for Bible study groups.




The Septuagint, Sexuality, and the New Testament


Book Description

In this groundbreaking book William Loader shows how the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures created new slants and emphases on sexuality that would leave their mark on the writings of Philo and the New Testament--and ultimately on Christian thought itself. According to Loader, "Some things are lost in translation, others gained." The making of the Septuagint could not help but result in verbal connections, lost emphases, and novel wordplays that opened the door to new interpretations. One particularly important instance of this effect of translation is the Septuagint's treatment of sexuality. In the course of his book Loader explores sexuality as it is presented in the Decalogue, the stories of Creation and the Garden of Eden, and the brief reference to divorce in Deuteronomy 24, looking in turn at their Septuagint translations, their use in Philo, and their possible impact on the New Testament. These fascinating studies have important implications for thinking about gender issues and male-female relations.




Sexuality and Gender


Book Description

This volume brings together essays on the theme of sexuality and gender by William R. G. Loader, one of the leading specialists in the field, arising from his extensive investigation of early Jewish and Christian literature about such issues as marriage, adultery, divorce, celibacy, gender roles, and incest




Sexuality and the Jesus Tradition


Book Description

Discourse related to sex excites passion and debate, partly because sexuality is a central aspect of what it means to be human. Following up on his recent book on sexuality in the Septuagint, William Loader here explores what the Christian Gospels and related writings have to say about sexuality, how they reflect the faith and social values of their day, and what impact they've had on our own. Sexuality and the Jesus Tradition is thorough in its investigation and compelling in its analyses. Loader examines all of the passages that convey views about sexuality in the Gospels and other first-century literature, including the Gospel of Thomas, and the influence in Paul of the Jesus tradition. Among the interesting topics covered are attitudes concerning lust, perspectives on marriage and divorce, and views about celibacy. Loader shows how, despite the passing of two thousand years and massive social change, these ancient texts contain common issues that we still grapple with today.




When God Spoke Greek


Book Description

Most readers do not know about the Bible used almost universally by early Christians, or about how that Bible was birthed, how it grew to prominence, and how it differs from the one used as the basis for most modern translations. Although it was one of the most important events in the history of our civilization, the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek in the third century BCE is an event almost unknown outside of academia. Timothy Michael Law offers the first book to make this topic accessible to a wider audience. Retrospectively, we can hardly imagine the history of Christian thought, and the history of Christianity itself, without the Old Testament. When the Emperor Constantine adopted the Christian faith, his fusion of the Church and the State ensured that the Christian worldview (which by this time had absorbed Jewish ideals that had come to them through the Greek translation) would leave an imprint on subsequent history. This book narrates in a fresh and exciting way the story of the Septuagint, the Greek Scriptures of the ancient Jewish Diaspora that became the first Christian Old Testament.




The New Testament on Sexuality


Book Description

This is the fifth and final installment of William Loader's authoritative, acclaimed series on attitudes toward sexuality in the ancient world. Sexual themes are never far beneath the surface where there are human beings. This was certainly the case for Christians in the first-century world. Some began in a strongly Jewish context and worked out their faith in dialogue with their scriptural heritage. Others had to work out their sexual ethics in a world strongly influenced by Greco-Roman ideals and practices. In The New Testament on Sexuality William Loader explores the relevant cultural contexts and looks at New Testament texts related to sexuality, highlighting both the warnings about sexual wrongdoing and the affirmations of sexual union. He deals with specific themes such as divorce, same-sex relations, women and men in leadership, and celibacy; individual behavior, gender roles and rules, preferences, and hopes also fall under the scope of his investigation. Broad-ranging and thorough, this book engages both the biblical texts and the diverse ways in which they have been interpreted.




Oxford Bibliographies


Book Description

"An emerging field of study that explores the Hispanic minority in the United States, Latino Studies is enriched by an interdisciplinary perspective. Historians, sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, demographers, linguists, as well as religion, ethnicity, and culture scholars, among others, bring a varied, multifaceted approach to the understanding of a people whose roots are all over the Americas and whose permanent home is north of the Rio Grande. Oxford Bibliographies in Latino Studies offers an authoritative, trustworthy, and up-to-date intellectual map to this ever-changing discipline."--Editorial page.




Behind the Scenes of the New Testament


Book Description

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.




Sexuality in the New Testament


Book Description

""Loader has brought together sources from the ancient world and opinions from a wide range of scholarship in many contentious areas concerning sexuality homosexuality, divorce, submission of women, sex outside marriage and celibacy in all of these he avoids leading the witness, letting the texts speak for themeselves He states the opinion of other scholars and occasionally of himself but his aim is to educate and not preach."---Dr. David Instone-Brewer, Senior Research Fellow in Rabbinics and the New Testament, Tyndale House, Cambridge, UK" ""Loader brings an honest and authoritative voice to the discussion of what the New Testament says about human sexuality. He invites his readers to join in a serious engagement with the scriptural texts in their social and historical context, and in so doing he leaves them with the challenge of wrestling with how those texts should be read today"---Dr. Judith Lieu, Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge, UK" "Loader looks at hotly contested New Testament passages on sexuality and offers a fair and balanced treatment of what scholars say about them. He also offers an analysis of why interpreters say what they say and demonstrates how texts may be interpreted specifically to support a preformed opinion" "Written in straightforward nontechnical language this timely and informative text is ideal for college classes as well as Bible study groups."--BOOK JACKET.




Making Sense of Sex


Book Description

This book is about listening to what writers were saying about sex in early Judaism and Christianity -- ancient words surprisingly relevant for today. It functions as both a summary and a conclusion to William Loader's five previous books on sexuality in a form accessible to those who may not have a background knowledge of early Judaism and Christianity. It also contains a useful subject index to those five previous volumes. In examining thoroughly all the relevant writings and related evidence of the Greco-Roman period, Loader dialogues with scholarship related to each writing in order to make his conclusions as objective as possible. By enabling the reader to listen respectfully to these ancient texts, Making Sense of Sex provides a basis for informed discussion of sexual issues today.