Dorothy Jean Weaver is Professor Emerita of New Testament at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Harrisonburg, VA, where she was on faculty from 1984 to 2018. She is the author of The Irony of Power: The Politics of God within Matthew's Narrative (Pickwick Publications, 2017), Matthew's Missionary Discourse: A Literary Critical Analysis (Sheffield Academic, 1990 Phone: (540) 432-4276 Address: Eastern Mennonite Seminary 1200 Park Road Harrisonburg, VA 22802-2462
True to the Jewish heritage of Jesus and of Matthew's own community, the evangelist emphasize... more True to the Jewish heritage of Jesus and of Matthew's own community, the evangelist emphasizes that the gospel calls for transformed lives and responsible action. In God 's eyes, status or race or even religious identity means little compared to compassion and justice on behalf of those in need. Here is a remarkable gospel principle that allows Christians to build bridges of unders tanding with people of good will everywhere.
of a "newness" as they move through the volume. The volume is divided into five major s... more of a "newness" as they move through the volume. The volume is divided into five major sections beginning with Paul: the Pauline Letters; the Pauline Tradition; Jesus, the Gospels, and Acts; the General Epistles; and Revelation. The NT letters are treated in canonical rather than historical order. The canonical sequencing invites readers to place open Bibles before themselves, as Cousar intends. Part 1, on the Pauline letters, provides an example of Cousar's method of organization. An introduction to each major unit precedes specific writings within that unit. For example, six observations are shared in Part 1 before Romans and other Pauline letters become the specific subjects. Romans is considered first, followed by 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Philemon, and 1 Thessalonians. The outline and discussion of Romans make it apparent that Cousar's entire volume is intended for use by a wide audience. Romans is carefully presented in a manner that is both integrated and contextual. Cousar suggests that Romans is not primarily a treatise arguing about whether one is saved by works or by faith. In his view, the issues are more theological than soteriological. The letter itself is seen as addressing a specific set of questions. In Rom 3:21-31, Cousar shares a translation which varies from that of the NRSV. It involves the old objective-subjective genitive debate in the Greek "dia písteos Iésou Christou" (3:22). Cousar's book is a fine new study, useful in many ways. For example, the reader will not be disappointed by the eight-page treatment of the historical Jesus following the Synoptics. The last section, "Conclusion—Studying the New Testament," will also be of benefit to readers.
THIS \OLLME evolved out the work of the SBL P r o n o u n c e m e n t Story G r o u p that was fo... more THIS \OLLME evolved out the work of the SBL P r o n o u n c e m e n t Story G r o u p that was formed in 1975 T h e book consists of a collection of brief stories, culled from ancient l i terature, that reach their cli max in a striking saying or action T h e stories are g r o u p e d a r o u n d the life cycle—birth, youth, adult life, old age, a n d d e a t h — a n d various explanatory notes supply n e e d e d addit ional details T h e int roduct ion to the volume suc cinctly d o c u m e n t s such items as the rationale for the book and some statistics on the collection T h r e e indices—of n a m e s a n d places, passages, a n d sub jects—provide easy access to specific ar eas of interest to the reader T h e compilat ion of this volume was n o small task T h e collection itself encom passes approximately 1750 chreiai ("epi grams or anecdotes") but as the editor notes, some i m p o r t a n t l i terature—such as Plato's Dialogues—remains uncatalogued (pp xvi-xvn) Much work re mains to be d o n e , n o t only collecting such stories but analyzing t h e m as well O n e benefit of this volume is that just a brief perusal should make it clear that many chreiai from Greco-Roman litera ture are quite similar in length a n d rhetorical quality to stories found in the Synoptics Parallel stories a m o n g ancient narratives are also listed m this collec tion, which make interesting points of rhetor ica l compar i son with parallels a m o n g the Synoptic Cxospels Another positive aspect of the volume is that it is designed to encourage further reading in the primary sources, instead of be coming a substitute for those sources By design, as m u c h literary context as pos sible is included for each story (ρ xvii), but the structure of the volume does not invite the same kind of abuse that has plagued Strack-Billerbeck's Kommentar Used correctly, the volume is a fascinat ing resource that will pro\e extremely helpful to scholar, pastor, a n d layperson alike
The presentation of Jesus in Matthew's narrative recasts the identity, character, and voc... more The presentation of Jesus in Matthew's narrative recasts the identity, character, and vocation of the Messiah. The Gospel thereby challenges all conventional notions of kingship, power, and social status.
True to the Jewish heritage of Jesus and of Matthew's own community, the evangelist emphasize... more True to the Jewish heritage of Jesus and of Matthew's own community, the evangelist emphasizes that the gospel calls for transformed lives and responsible action. In God 's eyes, status or race or even religious identity means little compared to compassion and justice on behalf of those in need. Here is a remarkable gospel principle that allows Christians to build bridges of unders tanding with people of good will everywhere.
of a "newness" as they move through the volume. The volume is divided into five major s... more of a "newness" as they move through the volume. The volume is divided into five major sections beginning with Paul: the Pauline Letters; the Pauline Tradition; Jesus, the Gospels, and Acts; the General Epistles; and Revelation. The NT letters are treated in canonical rather than historical order. The canonical sequencing invites readers to place open Bibles before themselves, as Cousar intends. Part 1, on the Pauline letters, provides an example of Cousar's method of organization. An introduction to each major unit precedes specific writings within that unit. For example, six observations are shared in Part 1 before Romans and other Pauline letters become the specific subjects. Romans is considered first, followed by 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Philemon, and 1 Thessalonians. The outline and discussion of Romans make it apparent that Cousar's entire volume is intended for use by a wide audience. Romans is carefully presented in a manner that is both integrated and contextual. Cousar suggests that Romans is not primarily a treatise arguing about whether one is saved by works or by faith. In his view, the issues are more theological than soteriological. The letter itself is seen as addressing a specific set of questions. In Rom 3:21-31, Cousar shares a translation which varies from that of the NRSV. It involves the old objective-subjective genitive debate in the Greek "dia písteos Iésou Christou" (3:22). Cousar's book is a fine new study, useful in many ways. For example, the reader will not be disappointed by the eight-page treatment of the historical Jesus following the Synoptics. The last section, "Conclusion—Studying the New Testament," will also be of benefit to readers.
THIS \OLLME evolved out the work of the SBL P r o n o u n c e m e n t Story G r o u p that was fo... more THIS \OLLME evolved out the work of the SBL P r o n o u n c e m e n t Story G r o u p that was formed in 1975 T h e book consists of a collection of brief stories, culled from ancient l i terature, that reach their cli max in a striking saying or action T h e stories are g r o u p e d a r o u n d the life cycle—birth, youth, adult life, old age, a n d d e a t h — a n d various explanatory notes supply n e e d e d addit ional details T h e int roduct ion to the volume suc cinctly d o c u m e n t s such items as the rationale for the book and some statistics on the collection T h r e e indices—of n a m e s a n d places, passages, a n d sub jects—provide easy access to specific ar eas of interest to the reader T h e compilat ion of this volume was n o small task T h e collection itself encom passes approximately 1750 chreiai ("epi grams or anecdotes") but as the editor notes, some i m p o r t a n t l i terature—such as Plato's Dialogues—remains uncatalogued (pp xvi-xvn) Much work re mains to be d o n e , n o t only collecting such stories but analyzing t h e m as well O n e benefit of this volume is that just a brief perusal should make it clear that many chreiai from Greco-Roman litera ture are quite similar in length a n d rhetorical quality to stories found in the Synoptics Parallel stories a m o n g ancient narratives are also listed m this collec tion, which make interesting points of rhetor ica l compar i son with parallels a m o n g the Synoptic Cxospels Another positive aspect of the volume is that it is designed to encourage further reading in the primary sources, instead of be coming a substitute for those sources By design, as m u c h literary context as pos sible is included for each story (ρ xvii), but the structure of the volume does not invite the same kind of abuse that has plagued Strack-Billerbeck's Kommentar Used correctly, the volume is a fascinat ing resource that will pro\e extremely helpful to scholar, pastor, a n d layperson alike
The presentation of Jesus in Matthew's narrative recasts the identity, character, and voc... more The presentation of Jesus in Matthew's narrative recasts the identity, character, and vocation of the Messiah. The Gospel thereby challenges all conventional notions of kingship, power, and social status.
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