Jesus, the Galilean Exorcist

Jesus, the Galilean Exorcist PDF Author: Amanda Witmer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567427560
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
Amanda Witmer presents an investigation of exorcism in the activities of the historical Jesus, particularly the connection between spirit possession and exorcism on the one hand and the socio-political context of first-century Galilee on the other. Witmer draws on research from the areas of sociology, anthropology, archaeology and biblical studies to illuminate this aspect of Jesus' career, as well as the broader social implications of spirit possession in those he treated and the exorcisms themselves. Evidence found in the strands underlying the Synoptic Gospels is evaluated using the criteria of authenticity and comparative analysis in order to establish early and historical material. Questions posed and answered concern the historical plausibility of Jesus' role as exorcist, the possibility that his own career began with a period of spirit possession, and the meaning that his exorcisms conveyed to his first-century audience. Thus, the methodology includes textual analysis, sociological analysis of general cultural patterns within which first-century Palestine can be fitted, and anthropological analysis of the plausible functions of both spirit possession and exorcism in agrarian societies.

Jesus, the Galilean Exorcist

Jesus, the Galilean Exorcist PDF Author: Amanda Witmer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567427560
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 266

Get Book Here

Book Description
Amanda Witmer presents an investigation of exorcism in the activities of the historical Jesus, particularly the connection between spirit possession and exorcism on the one hand and the socio-political context of first-century Galilee on the other. Witmer draws on research from the areas of sociology, anthropology, archaeology and biblical studies to illuminate this aspect of Jesus' career, as well as the broader social implications of spirit possession in those he treated and the exorcisms themselves. Evidence found in the strands underlying the Synoptic Gospels is evaluated using the criteria of authenticity and comparative analysis in order to establish early and historical material. Questions posed and answered concern the historical plausibility of Jesus' role as exorcist, the possibility that his own career began with a period of spirit possession, and the meaning that his exorcisms conveyed to his first-century audience. Thus, the methodology includes textual analysis, sociological analysis of general cultural patterns within which first-century Palestine can be fitted, and anthropological analysis of the plausible functions of both spirit possession and exorcism in agrarian societies.

Gods of this World

Gods of this World PDF Author: Shandon L. Guthrie
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 153263305X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
Philosophers of religion have focused almost exclusively on the existence and nature of God and the nature and destiny of human beings. But these philosophers have been remiss in engaging discussions about the possibility of there being adverse gods of this world (demonic beings) despite being a doctrine that comprises a significant part of the Christian confession. This drought in the literature has left a number of questions unaddressed, including: Hasn't science buried the demonic? Are there any successful philosophical arguments for the existence of Satan? What kind of being is Satan? Is he the fallen angel of lore? Is it reasonable for Christians to say that demons are purely immaterial spirits? Can demons causally interact with the physical world and its inhabitants? Can demons perform diabolical miracles? Shandon Guthrie broaches new territory beginning with a rigorous defense for the existence of Satan and his cohorts. He then advances and defends a model for how to understand their nature in terms of their ontology and causal powers. No other book has attempted a full-fledged natural diabology on behalf of Christian orthodoxy. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the dark side of Christian theology and metaphysics.

The Things that Make for Peace

The Things that Make for Peace PDF Author: Jesse P. Nickel
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110703874
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 406

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Book Description
This study offers fresh insight into the place of (non)violence within Jesus' ministry, by examining it in the context of the eschatologically-motivated revolutionary violence of Second Temple Judaism. The book first explores the connection between violence and eschatology in key literary and historical sources from Second Temple Judaism. The heart of the study then focuses on demonstrating the thematic centrality of Jesus’ opposition to such “eschatological violence” within the Synoptic presentations of his ministry, arguing that a proper understanding of eschatology and violence together enables appreciation of the full significance of Jesus’ consistent disassociation of revolutionary violence from his words and deeds. The book thus articulates an understanding of Jesus’ nonviolence that is firmly rooted in the historical context of Second Temple Judaism, presenting a challenge to the "seditious Jesus hypothesis"—the claim that the historical Jesus was sympathetic to revolutionary ideals. Jesus’ rejection of violence ought to be understood as an integral component of his eschatological vision, embodying and enacting his understanding of (i) how God’s kingdom would come, and (ii) what would identify those who belonged to it.

Healing in the Gospel of Matthew

Healing in the Gospel of Matthew PDF Author: Walter T. Wilson
Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers
ISBN: 1451470371
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
Walter Wilson adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the healing narratives in the Gospel of Matthew, combining the familiar methods of form, redaction, and narrative criticisms with insights culled from medical anthropology, feminist theory, disability studies, and ancient archaeology to understand the New Testament's longest and most systematic account of healing, Matthew chapters 8 and 9. Close exegetical readings culminate in a final synthesis of Matthew's understanding of healing, how Matthew's narratives of healing expose the distinctive priorities of the evangelist, and how these priorities relate to the theology of the Gospel.

Matthew’s Non-Messianic Mapping of Messianic Texts

Matthew’s Non-Messianic Mapping of Messianic Texts PDF Author: Bruce Henning
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004444181
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
Scholars often explain Matthew’s practice of applying non-messianic texts to the messiah by postulating a Christological hermeneutic. In Matthew’s Non-Messianic Mapping of Messianic texts, Bruce Henning raises the question of how Matthew appliesmessianic texts to non-messianic figures. This neglected category challenges the popular view by stretching Matthew’s paradigm to a broadly eschatological one in which disciples share in the mission of Jesus so as to fulfill Scriptural hopes. Using Cognitive Linguistics, this volume explores four case studies to demonstrate Matthew’s non-messianic mapping scheme: the eschatological shepherd, the vineyard care-giver, temple construction imagery, and the Isaian herald. These reveal how Matthew’s theology of discipleship as participating in Jesus’ own vocation extends even to his hermeneutical paradigm of fulfillment.

And There Was No Poor Among Them

And There Was No Poor Among Them PDF Author: Ryan D. Ward
Publisher: Greg Kofford Books
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has expanded many fundamental Christian doctrines, salvation is still understood as pertaining exclusively to the next life. How should we understand salvation and what does the timing of the Restoration reveal about God’s vision of salvation for a suffering world? To answer these questions, author Ryan Ward traces the theological evolution of salvation from the liberation of Israel from oppression to the Western Christian development of salvation as an individualistic, transactional atonement. This evolution corresponded with the shift of Christianity from a covenant community to an official state religion aligned with imperial power structures. Ward also explores the economic and social movements in the centuries leading up to the Industrial Revolution, which solidified the power of propertied elites at the expense of the poor, plundered entire continents, and killed millions. Synthesizing these theological and historical threads, And There Was No Poor Among Them: Liberation, Salvation, and the Meaning of the Restoration asserts that the Restoration is God's explicit rejection of social and economic systems and ideologies that have led to the globalization of misery. Instead, Ward shows how the Restoration and the gospel of Christ is an invitation to a participatory salvation realized in Zion communities where “there are no poor among us.”

God, Faith and the New Millennium

God, Faith and the New Millennium PDF Author: Keith Ward
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 178074482X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
Does being a Christian in the modern scientific age require intellectual suicide? What future for Christianity in the Third Millennium? In God, Faith and the New Millennium Keith Ward has produced a powerful and upbeat study of Christian belief that tackles questions such as these head on. In what he describes as a summary of his life’s work on Christianity, religion and science, Ward’s new and positive interpretation presents a Christian faith in harmony with the scientific worldview while remaining true to its traditions. This is a cutting-edge study that will provoke and inspire every Christian and anyone interested in the debate on the role of faith in the modern world. Through his examination of key issues such as Creation, evolution and the divine purpose, Ward demonstrates that there is a ‘natural fit’ between the scientific worldview and mainstream Christian beliefs – Christian faith gives insight into the meaning and purpose of the universe, the physical structure of which modern science has marvellously discovered.

What Did Jesus Look Like?

What Did Jesus Look Like? PDF Author: Joan E. Taylor
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567671518
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
Jesus Christ is arguably the most famous man who ever lived. His image adorns countless churches, icons, and paintings. He is the subject of millions of statues, sculptures, devotional objects and works of art. Everyone can conjure an image of Jesus: usually as a handsome, white man with flowing locks and pristine linen robes. But what did Jesus really look like? Is our popular image of Jesus overly westernized and untrue to historical reality? This question continues to fascinate. Leading Christian Origins scholar Joan E. Taylor surveys the historical evidence, and the prevalent image of Jesus in art and culture, to suggest an entirely different vision of this most famous of men. He may even have had short hair.

Thaumaturgic Prowess

Thaumaturgic Prowess PDF Author: Andrew J. Kelley
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
ISBN: 3161559479
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
Back cover: Andrew J. Kelley offers an interesting survey of miracle narratives in the Second Temple period and a thorough comparison, specifically of the means by which miracle-workers perform miracles, between other miracle-workers and the Markan Jesus. In this work, he has implications for Mark's view of Jesus as well as the significance of miracle working in general.

The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1

The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1 PDF Author: Walter T. Wilson
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN: 1467464279
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 513

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Book Description
What was the original purpose of the Gospel of Matthew? For whom was it written? In this magisterial two-volume commentary, Walter Wilson interprets Matthew as a catechetical work that expresses the ideological and institutional concerns of a faction of disaffected Jewish followers of Jesus in the late first century CE. Wilson’s compelling thesis frames Matthew’s Gospel as not only a continuation of the biblical story but also as a didactic narrative intended to shape the commitments and identity of a particular group that saw itself as a beleaguered, dissident minority. Thus, the text clarifies Jesus’s essential Jewish character as the “Son of David” while also portraying him in opposition to prominent religious leaders of his day—most notably the Pharisees—and open to cordial association with non-Jews. Through meticulous engagement with the Greek text of the Gospel, as well as relevant primary sources and secondary literature, Wilson offers a wealth of insight into the first book of the New Testament. After an introduction exploring the background of the text, its genre and literary features, and its theological orientation, Wilson explicates each passage of the Gospel with thorough commentary on the intended message to first-century readers about topics like morality, liturgy, mission, group discipline, and eschatology. Scholars, students, pastors, and all readers interested in what makes the Gospel of Matthew distinctive among the Synoptics will appreciate and benefit from Wilson’s deep contextualization of the text, informed by his years of studying the New Testament and Christian origins.