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      • Trusted Partner
        Literature & Literary Studies
        March 2020

        Enacting the Bible in medieval and early modern drama

        by Chanita Goodblatt, Eva von Contzen, David Matthews

        The thirteen chapters in this collection open up new horizons for the study of biblical drama by putting special emphasis on multitemporality, the intersections of biblical narrative and performance, and the strategies employed by playwrights to rework and adapt the biblical source material in Catholic, Protestant and Jewish culture. Aspects under scrutiny include dramatic traditions, confessional and religious rites, dogmas and debates, conceptualisations of performance, and audience response. The contributors stress the co-presence of biblical and contemporary concerns in the periods under discussion, conceiving of biblical drama as a central participant in the dynamic struggle to both interpret and translate the Bible.

      • Trusted Partner
        Literature & Literary Studies
        March 2020

        Enacting the Bible in medieval and early modern drama

        by Chanita Goodblatt, Eva von Contzen, David Matthews

        The thirteen chapters in this collection open up new horizons for the study of biblical drama by putting special emphasis on multitemporality, the intersections of biblical narrative and performance, and the strategies employed by playwrights to rework and adapt the biblical source material in Catholic, Protestant and Jewish culture. Aspects under scrutiny include dramatic traditions, confessional and religious rites, dogmas and debates, conceptualisations of performance, and audience response. The contributors stress the co-presence of biblical and contemporary concerns in the periods under discussion, conceiving of biblical drama as a central participant in the dynamic struggle to both interpret and translate the Bible.

      • Trusted Partner
        The Arts
        January 2020

        The Bible onscreen in the new millennium

        New heart and new spirit

        by Wickham Clayton

        The remarkable commercial success of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ in 2004 came as a surprise to the Hollywood establishment, particularly considering the film's failure to find production funding through a major studio. Since then the Biblical epic, long thought dead in terms of mainstream marketability, has become a viable product. This collection examines the new wave of the genre, which includes such varied examples as Darren Aronofsky's Noah (2014) and Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014), along with the telenovelas of Latin America. Such texts follow previous traditions while appearing distinct both stylistically and thematically from the Biblical epic in its prime, making academic consideration timely and relevant. Featuring contributions from such scholars as Mikel J. Koven, Andrew B. R. Elliott and Martin Stollery, and a preface from Adele Reinhartz, the book will be of interest to students and scholars of film, television and religion.

      • Trusted Partner
        Literature & Literary Studies
        March 2020

        Enacting the Bible in medieval and early modern drama

        by Chanita Goodblatt, Eva von Contzen, David Matthews

        The thirteen chapters in this collection open up new horizons for the study of biblical drama by putting special emphasis on multitemporality, the intersections of biblical narrative and performance, and the strategies employed by playwrights to rework and adapt the biblical source material in Catholic, Protestant and Jewish culture. Aspects under scrutiny include dramatic traditions, confessional and religious rites, dogmas and debates, conceptualisations of performance, and audience response. The contributors stress the co-presence of biblical and contemporary concerns in the periods under discussion, conceiving of biblical drama as a central participant in the dynamic struggle to both interpret and translate the Bible.

      • Humanities & Social Sciences
        September 2021

        Post-Apocalyptic Era The King Of Kings

        by Disciples of the Creation Fa

        IntroductionAll the ancient predestined affinities are linked together,By the grace of the “Creator” and the “King of Kings”.The time has finally come for mankind to rise again.Thousands of years of waiting… During the countless reincarnations and refining of everyone,Favor and Vengeance...Repaying kindness and taking revenge,All will be reconciled today.To and fro in heaven and hell, it’s not just the countless autumns.After the lives full of twists and turns, ups and downs, the one who can still read this:It is a blessing in a thousand, because of the care of the divine covenant!The lives of innumerable beings are bound up in the "Holy King",To ensure the safety of lives in the universe.After thousands of years of waiting, it's finally time to go home.Startled to hear! Someone is "in search of the Wandering King in the mortal world".Who's the King that hasn't woken up yet?The beings of his world long for the return of their King.If you wake up, you mustn't forget of:Those unawakened Kings by your side.Urge them,To find the truth. The truth will bring back memories.You are the luckiest person,For you are also the King of Heaven!This is a book that cannot be bought with human wealth.It's because of your origin and your predestined affinity with Fa,That qualifies you for a glimpse into the billions of years of unexplained heavenly secrets.Therefore,No matter who you are, what your religion or social status is,This book will reveal to you the truth about life and the universe.Delivering this book to you,That was our covenant before we even descended to the human world!I have fulfilled my vow!Pointing you to the "Cosmic Truth" that originally belonged to you.Here's a poem that has been passed down among men:In Search of the Wandering King in the Mortal WorldBy opening the curtain on this return of life to your origin,Perhaps a flicker of your ancient memories will come back to you.

      • Humanities & Social Sciences
        November 2021

        Faith to Rise: A Journey to Joy and Centering

        by Julie Fitz-Gerald

        Faith to Rise: A Journey to Joy and Centering  offers 52 weekly devotionals that are honest, relatable, and will inspire readers to embrace life – curveballs and all. Along with journaling prompts and discussion points inviting readers to go deeper, each weekly chapter features stunning photographs of landscapes in various seasons, showcasing the natural beauty of the world that surrounds us.

      • Humanities & Social Sciences
        August 2014

        Seriously Dangerous Religion

        What the Old Testament Really Says and Why It Matters

        by Iain Provan

        The Old Testament is often maligned as an outmoded and even dangerous text. Best-selling authors like Richard Dawkins, Karen Armstrong, and Derrick Jensen are prime examples of those who find the Old Testament to be problematic to modern sensibilities. Iain Provan counters that such easy and popular readings misunderstand the Old Testament. He opposes modern misconceptions of the Old Testament by addressing ten fundamental questions that the biblical text should--and according to Provan does--answer: questions such as "Who is God?" and "Why do evil and suffering mark the world?" By focusing on Genesis and drawing on other Old Testament and extra-biblical sources, Seriously Dangerous Religion constructs a more plausible reading. As it turns out, Provan argues, the Old Testament is far more dangerous than modern critics even suppose. Its dangers are the bold claims it makes upon its readers. ; 1 Of Mice, and Men, and HobbitsStories, Art, and Life2 The Up Quark, the Down Quark, and Other Cool Stuff What Is the World?3 Slow to Anger, Abounding in Love, and (Thankfully) Jealous Who Is God?4 Of Humus and Humanity Who Are Man and Woman?5 It Isn't Natural Why Do Evil and Suffering Mark the World?6 On Living in a Blighted World What Am I to Do about Evil and Suffering?7 Even the Stork Knows That How Am I to Relate to God?8 Love All, Trust a Few, Do Wrong to None How Am I to Relate to My Neighbor?9 On Keeping the Earth How Am I to Relate to the Rest of Creation?10 I Saw the New Jerusalem Which Society Should I Be Helping to Build?11 A Bird Perched in the Soul What Am I to Hope For?12 Further Up and Further In New Dimensions in the Old Story13 On the Judicious Closing of the Mind The Question of Truth14 Risk Assessment Is the Story Dangerous?Postscript: Biblical Faith for a New AgeNotesBibliographyScripture IndexIndex of AuthorsSubject Index

      • Humanities & Social Sciences
        August 2016

        Reading Backwards

        Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness

        by Richard B. Hays

        In Reading Backwards Richard B. Hays maps the shocking ways the four Gospel writers interpreted Israel's Scripture to craft their literary witnesses to the Church's one Christ. The Gospels' scriptural imagination discovered inside the long tradition of a resilient Jewish monotheism a novel and revolutionary Christology.Modernity's incredulity toward the Christian faith partly rests upon the characterization of early Christian preaching as a tendentious misreading of the Hebrew Scriptures. Christianity, modernity claims, twisted the Bible they inherited to fit its message about a mythological divine Savior. The Gospels, for many modern critics, are thus more about Christian doctrine in the second and third century than they are about Jesus in the first.Such Christian "misreadings" are not late or politically motivated developments within Christian thought. As Hays demonstrates, the claim that the events of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection took place "according to the Scriptures" stands at the very heart of the New Testament's earliest message. All four canonical Gospels declare that the Torah and the Prophets and the Psalms mysteriously prefigure Jesus. The author of the Fourth Gospel puts the claim succinctly: "If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me" (John 5:46).Hays thus traces the reading strategies the Gospel writers employ to "read backwards" and to discover how the Old Testament figuratively discloses the astonishing paradoxical truth about Jesus' identity. Attention to Jewish and Old Testament roots of the Gospel narratives reveals that each of the four Evangelists, in their diverse portrayals, identify Jesus as the embodiment of the God of Israel. Hays also explores the hermeneutical challenges posed by attempting to follow the Evangelists as readers of Israel's Scripture—can the Evangelists teach us to read backwards along with them and to discern the same mystery they discovered in Israel's story?In Reading Backwards Hays demonstrates that it was Israel's Scripture itself that taught the Gospel writers how to understand Jesus as the embodied presence of God, that this conversion of imagination occurred early in the development of Christian theology, and that the Gospel writers' revisionary figural readings of their Bible stand at the very center of Christianity. ; Introduction1. "The Manger in Which Christ Lies": Figural Readings of Israel’s ScriptureThe Fourfold Witness2. Figuring the Mystery: Reading Scripture with Mark3. Torah Transfigured: Reading Scripture with Matthew4. The One Who Redeems Israel: Reading Scripture with Luke5. The Temple Transfigured: Reading Scripture with JohnConclusion6. Retrospective Reading: The Challenges of Gospel-Shaped Hermeneutics

      • Christianity
        November 2023

        A Three-Dimensional Jesus

        An Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels

        by C. Clifton Black

        Clifton Black offers a fresh reading of the New Testament’s first three Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—and helps readers consider basic questions of interpretation. Throughout Black’s clear and engaging presentation, he makes use of topical sidebars, charts, and illustrations as well as wit and good humor to draw readers into these Gospels’ interpretations. This concise, approachable study examines the Gospels from multiple angles—historical, sociological, literary, theological—and invites readers to better understand and appreciate the Synoptics, while guiding them to learn even more.

      • Ancient history: to c 500 CE

        The First Evangelization in Earliest Christianity

        New Revised and Expanded Edition

        by Santiago Guijarro

        When during the spring of 50 AD Paul arrived at Corinth in the company of Silvanus and Timothy, he met Prisca and Aquila, expelled from Rome on account of their faith. Since that moment, the Roman couple joined Paul’s group and supported him on his mission. The letters written by the apostle and his collaborators, as well as the book of the Acts of the Apostles, offer much information regarding this missionary group, yet very scarce data about other groups, giving us the impression they were the leading and almost exclusive actors of the first evangelization. We know, nonetheless, there were other groups as well as a series of anonymous individual witnesses who carried out an intense missionary activity during the apostolic era. That first and diverse mission was a singular historical event, part of the collective memory on what Christian churches founded and keep founding their identity and their evangelizing task throughout the ages.

      • Biblical studies & exegesis

        The Way of the Disciple

        Following Jesus according Mark's Gospel

        by Santiago Guijarro

        The originality of this work is the invitation to read the Gospel in light of the experience of Jesus’ discipleship. The circumstances of today’s readers are certainly different from those of the first disciples. Nowadays, possibly no one makes a living by fishing with rudimentary techniques in a small lake and no one speaks the language of those fishermen...  Yet, today’s readers can easily share with them the experience of being called by Jesus and the joy of being by His side. They may even know first hand how difficult it is sometimes to persevere in following Jesus. We must remember today the founding experiences of our faith, discipleship being one of them.

      • Christianity

        Declaring His Glory among the Nations: Daily Scripture Meditations from Pastors around the World

        by The Master's Academy International

        The book you hold in your hands is a remarkable collection of daily Scripture meditations by more than 200 church leaders representing 15 countries. But more than that, it is testimony of how these faithful leaders--and many others like them--are fulfilling the Great Commission. As faculty and graduates of TMAI's training centers, these authors have been equipped to rightly handle God's truth and shepherd Christ's flock, making disciples in their local churches who are rooted and grounded in the truth of God's word. As you read each devotional, you'll see and be reminded that no matter the need or issue--whether it's witchcraft in Malawi, gang violence in Honduras, or persecution in the Middle East--God's word has the answers. Scripture alone is supreme and sufficient--its truth transcends location, language, culture, and worldview. Journey each day through Scripture with these shepherds from around the world as your guide. Be encouraged and challenged as God's truth is faithfully explained and applied. Watch your faith be strengthened and your prayer life revitalized. Above all, give praise to God as you hear many voices declare His glory among the nations.

      • History of religion

        The Bible, from the Beginning to the End

        A Reading Guide for Today

        by Alberto de Mingo Kaminouchi

        No literary work has exerted more influence on Western culture than the Bible. None has been more studied by archaeologists, historians, philologists, anthropologists, philosophers or theologians across the centuries. For anyone interested in this work, true heritage of the world, this book is an indispensable introduction to the main contents and to the discoveries that have been done in recent decades, usually restricted to specialists’ circles. The author offers a vast overview of each one of the books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Characters, geographical settings, historical events, cultures, literary genres and numberless complementary data help the reader to think about the present in light of a past that has configured the mindset of whole generations. “The author combines a simple, yet rigorous, scientific vision of the problems, with a believing reading and an extraordinary pedagogical ability to reach today’s readers.”

      • The historical Jesus

        The Four Gospels

        Third Revised Edition

        by Santiago Guijarro

        Towards the end of the second century A.D., the apostolic Church accepted the fourfold Gospel, that is, the four versions of the one Gospel preached from the beginning, the versions which were credited with being a true reflection of Jesus’ Good News. The present book is founded upon a simple premise: all four Gospels must be read and studied together. In the introduction, the author deals with the context (the books about Jesus written at that time) and explains why the Church chose exclusively these four books. Next, the author goes on to present the formation process of the Gospels, to study the relationship between them, and to analyze the oral tradition and the material used by the evangelists. Finally, the book offers an in-depth analysis of each Gospel: process of formation, literary structure and existential context. Essay, reference book, encyclopaedia, handbook on the four Gospels… all these titles are a accurate definition of this work.

      • Ancient history: to c 500 CE

        Christianity as a Lifestyle

        The Early Followers of Jesus in Ponto and Bithynia

        by Santiago Guijarro

        Christianity’s initial expansion was a phenomenon of the apostolic generation (30-70 AD). However, the first evangelization would not have had a lasting effect if the Christian beliefs and lifestyle had not been rooted in the communities of Jesus’ followers. The work of consolidation was the mission of the following generation (70-110), which continued the task started by the first missionaries.  By analyzing a concrete case, the author studies the role played by the second Christian generation, who can be traced thanks to two complementary, yet very different pieces of evidence: the First Letter of Peter and one of the letters of Pliny the Young to Trajan.

      • Jewish studies
        November 2015

        Esau, My Brother: Father of Edom and Rome

        Esau – Father of Edom and Rome - hero of Palestinian Talmud – the Yerushalmi - and Midrashic sources in the Tannaic and Amoraic period under Roman rule

        by Dr. Irit Aminoff

        For two thousand years, Jews educated in their people`s traditions, have perceived Jacob and Esau as depictions of good versus evil, truth versus falsehood, purity versus impurity, and so on. Any Jewish child over the age of three, could depict Esau as that wicked personage who pursued his brother Jacob and wanted to destroy him in his fiery hatred. Esau whose blessing was denied him, rose against his brother to whom it was transferred. Indeed, Esau, in the form of the nations among whom Israel`s exile dwell, lays in wait for Jacob to this day, though, due to Esau moral and ethical inferiority, he will never realize his schemes. * The Christian, however, at mention of Jacob and Esau, immediately envisions the figures of the Genesis account [portions: Toledot & Vayishlah] as they are depicted according to the Biblical narrative form of diametrical opposites. * Esau and Jacob, heroes of the biblical account, portrays two opposite sets of fundamental traits: basic simplicity and fairness against cunning, treachery and sophistication. Through a process they become in the writings of the sages, contradictory figures who scarcely resemble the Biblical heroes. * The purpose of this book is to delineate this alternative Esau figure, the one created by Aggadic literature, and to try and understand the motivations behind this weighty shift of perspective. This is the book of Esau – Father of Edom and Rome - hero of Palestinian Talmud – the Yerushalmi - and Midrashic sources in the Tannaic and Amoraic period under Roman rule.

      • Jewish studies
        June 2015

        Amos – The Prophet of Teqo'a

        The early prophecies of Amos against the local nations

        by Dr. Refael Levin

        The prophet Amos, one of the earliest prophets whose prophecies were collated into an independent book in the Bible, lived and was active during the 8th century BC. At that time, the Israelites who lived in the southern kingdom of Judah were ruled by King Uzziah, and those in the northern kingdom of Israel were ruled by King Jeroboam, son of Joash. The early prophecies of Amos against the local nations are relevant even today, since they speak of crimes being committed in the locale nowadays. The material success of Amos’s time caused the moral corruption against which the prophet rails. The prophecies of Amos and his words to his people sound as if he is directing them to our ears. His call to fix the social injustices is relevant to the evils of our generation just as much as it was to the era of the prophet. Most of his reproach touches upon social classes, inequality, and the need to provide protection to the poor and the weak. The book Amos - The Prophet from Teko'a explains and illuminates Amos’s prophecies, his fascinating speech techniques and his messages, doing so while referencing old scholars, traditional commentators and modern biblical scholars, and suggesting many original solutions to the difficulties that rise from the text. The textual analysis and the solutions use modern logic. The author suggests that Amos’s prophecies are edited into an elegant literary structure that demonstrates a progression in the prophet’s rhetorical capabilities. On this basis, the author brings original explanations to the prophecies’ structure and meaning - explanations that solve many of the difficulties that were raised from modern Biblical scholarship. The conclusions are that the prophet Amos’s message is one of social justice only (“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” Amos 5:24), that the prophecies presented to us are original and are brought in the order they were spoken. The book opens in a general overview of the era and the beliefs of the time, based also on the books of three other contemporary prophets - Hosea, Isaiah and Micah - and on Biblical, historical and archaeological sources. It goes on to explain the prophet’s words chronologically. In addition, the book discusses additional topics, such as the question of the precision of the Masoretic text; the appearance and frequency of God’s names in the Bible and the meaning behind them; the place of the earthquake as part of God’s punishment policy; the meaning of the End of Times; and more. Even though these topics are not connected directly to the prophecies of Amos, they arise while studying the Biblical text and are important for understanding it, as well as contributing to our understanding of other Biblical books. This book is meant for Biblical scholars, students, people who want to know and understand Amos’s words and his messages, and to Bible fans in general. Rafael Levin, PhD, acquired his PhD from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in Physics. For many years he worked in research, development and management in the semiconductor industry. He served as the CEO of Tower Semiconductor LTD. Since his retirement he has been studying the Bible.

      • Jewish studies
        June 2015

        Temple of Time

        Genealogy, chronology and numerology Bible Creation to the dedication of Solomon's Temple

        by Dr. Gabriel Zeldin

        Dr. Zeldin's groundbreaking research in the Torah is considered as required reading for anyone seeking a thorough understanding of this major piece of the human culture. In his first book: Bereshit Haderech – The Biblical Festivals of the Seventh Month, and based upon a new system of biblical language analysis, Dr. Zeldin succeeded in revealing and demonstrating that the fascinating earlier stage of the Biblical Festivals of the Seventh Month is imbedded in the Book of Genesis, going back to the era of the Hebrew Fathers. By doing so, Dr. Zeldin revives long forgotten stories that influence the Bible entirely, namely: The Opening Day of the Hebrew Cycle of Time and Life; the Day of Jacob's Vow and the consequences thereof; Josef as a representative of The Assif Festival and his son Menashe as a representative of the Feast of Atzereth. Disappointed at the skepticism and indifference with which his above book was received, Dr. Zeldin concluded that only by introducing a mathematical proof he can break the routine of thinking when interpreting and researching biblical studies, and thereby corroborates and validates his conclusions. As topics for his next research were chosen three recurring age data in the dynasty of central leaders in the Torah: the number of years of age till fatherhood; the years after birth of the successor and the entire life span of the father - his age at death. These data, of which logic has not been deciphered until now, are scattered in many sections of the Torah, in such manner that their numerical integrity, is tightly interwoven in the narrative range that was identified in the book Bereshit Haderch, and thus establish its correct interpretation. Indeed, in his second book: Temple of Time – biblical genealogy, chronology and numerology since the period of creation up until the dedication of Solomon's Temple, Dr. Zeldin brings mathematical proof to the integrity of the structure of the age data in the Torah and goes on to resolve, with the same method of thinking, two additional ancient questions for the study of the Torah: Logic of the dates of the Flood, and the duplicity of the data given in the Torah on the exile duration of the Children of Israel in in Egypt. Dr. Zeldin is now writing his third book of this series, which elaborates on and corroborates his unique interpretation and provides in it, among others, valid solutions of mathematical certainty in regards to contributions to the Temple of Congregation, and the total number of the Children of Israel on all their tribes, upon their Exodus from Egypt.

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