Bücher veröffentlicht von Pickwick Publications

Eighty years ago, Walter Bauer promulgated a bold and provocative thesis about early Christianity. He argued that many forms of Christianity started the race, but one competitor pushed aside the others, until this powerful ""orthodox"" version won the day. The victors re-wrote history, marginalizing all other perspectives and silencing their voices, even though the alternatives possessed equal right to the title of normative Christianity. Bauer's influence still casts a long shadow on early Christian scholarship. Were heretical movements the original forms of Christianity? Did the heretics outnumber the orthodox? Did orthodox heresiologists accurately portray their opponents? And more fundamentally, how can one make any objective distinction between ""heresy"" and ""orthodoxy""? Is such labeling merely the product of socially situated power? Did numerous, valid forms of Christianity exist without any validating norms of Christianity? This collection of essays, each written by a relevant authority, tackles such questions with scholarly acumen and careful attention to historical, cultural-geographical, and socio-rhetorical detail. Although recognizing the importance of Bauer's critical insights, innovative methodologies, and fruitful suggestions, the contributors expose numerous claims of the Bauer thesis (in both original and recent manifestations) that fall short of the historical evidence.With contributions from:Rodney DeckerCarl SmithWilliam VarnerRex ButlerBryan LitfinBrian SheltonDavid AlexanderEdward SmitherGlen Thompson

Continuing the discussion initiated in volume one, volume two of Evangelical Calvinism further articulates the central motifs of this mood within Reformed theology by examining themes having to do with dogmatics and devotion. After further clarifying the methodological and dogmatic aspects common to an Evangelical Calvinism, the heart of the present volume is an explication of the vicarious ministry of Christ as it is worked out in its diverse theological dimensions. The volume offers constructive accounts of various aspects of liturgy, sacraments, and doxology, showing the vitality and lived spirituality of this Christian vision of faith and practice. Both advocates and critics of Evangelical Calvinism now have an extended and thorough body of work with which to interact. As with volume 1, this volume promises to set the agenda for contemporary and constructive Reformed studies in a way that provides an alternative to neo-Calvinism and Westminster Calvinism alike.""Beamishly kerygmatic, instinctively pastoral, and warmly accessible, this stimulating second set of essays dedicated to Evangelical Calvinism embodies a generous and expansive style of Reformed theology and spirituality. A welcome and enriching read!"" --Kenneth Oakes, University of Notre Dame""Evangelical Calvinism offers a practical, Trinitarian, Reformed Christology that frames what it means to ''live out the divine life on earth.'' It provides an essential reorientation toward the basis of truly authentic theological praxis, or ''doctrine and devotion''--participation in Jesus''s life grounded in the Triune life of God. With gracious dialogue and theological rigor, Evangelical Calvinism offers a well-rounded and informative approach in ultimate service to Christ and his church.""--Cherith Fee Nordling, Associate Professor of Theology, Northern SeminaryMyk Habets is Professor of Theology and Dean of Faculty at Carey Baptist College and Graduate School, Auckland, New Zealand. He is the author of numerous books including Theology in Transposition: A Constructive Appraisal of T. F. Torrance (2013).Bobby Grow holds an MA in Biblical and Theological Studies from Multnomah Biblical Seminary.

First Corinthians 15:56, "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law," is both puzzling and neglected. It is puzzling since there appears to be no precursor in 1 Corinthians to the law-critical statement found there. It is neglected because of its size. Nevertheless, the short verse offers the opportunity to analyze in a rudimentary state Paul's law-sin notion that appears full-blown in Romans, and the absence of a polemical setting allows scholars to examine a law-critical statement issued during a polemical lull. In The Law and Knowledge of Good and Evil, Vlachos weighs attempts to explain the presence of 1 Cor 15:56 in 1 Corinthians and argues that the Genesis Fall narrative, where the tempter plied his seductions by way of the commandment, provides the theological substructure to Paul's understanding of the law's provocation of sin. In doing so, Vlachos contends that Paul reaches the historical high water mark of his polemic against the salvific efficacy of the law by locating a law-sin nexus in Eden, and, contrary to some recent perspectives on Paul, he argues that the edenically informed axiom in 1 Cor 15:56 suggests that Paul's fundamental concern with the law was rooted in primordial rather than ethnic soil. While studies of Paul and the law have tended to bypass Eden, The Law and Knowledge of Good and Evil breaks ground by moving the argument beyond Second Temple Judaism to the Genesis Fall account, where the prohibition against partaking of the knowledge of good and evil led to the knowledge of sin.

Pittsburgh Theological Monograph - New Series General Editor - Dikran Y. Hadidian

Pittsburgh Theological Monograph - New Series General Editor - Dikran Y. Hadidian

This book includes historical and literary studies arising from a seminar on Biblical History in the Near Eastern Setting sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The seminar director, William W. Hallo of Yale University, has contributed the introductory essay on the comparative method. Other essays address biblical topics in the patriarchal narratives, prophetic literature, historical literature, and apocalyptic. The topics are investigated against the background of Near Eastern itineraries, chronicles, mythological texts, prophecies, and other relevant contextual literature.