"Non-canonical" Religious Texts in Early Judaism and Early Christianity

Author: Lee Martin McDonald
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567251756
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
This volume draws attention to ancient religious texts, especially the so-called 'non-canonical' texts, by focusing on how they were used or functioned in Early Judaism and Early Christianity. The contributors are biblical scholars who have chosen one or more Jewish or Christian apocryphal or pseudepigraphical texts, with the aim of describing their ancient functions in their emerging social settings. These show the fluidity of the notion of scripture in the early centuries of the Church and in Judaism of late antiquity, but they also show the value of examining the ancient religious texts that were not included in the Jewish or Christian biblical canons. These chapters show that there is much that can be learned from examining and comparing these texts with canonical literature and evaluating them in their social context. No ancient text was created in a vacuum, and the non-canonical writings aid in our interpretation not only of many canonical writings, but also shed considerable light on the context of both early Judaism and early Christianity.

"Non-canonical" Religious Texts in Early Judaism and Early Christianity

Author: Lee Martin McDonald
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567251756
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 266

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume draws attention to ancient religious texts, especially the so-called 'non-canonical' texts, by focusing on how they were used or functioned in Early Judaism and Early Christianity. The contributors are biblical scholars who have chosen one or more Jewish or Christian apocryphal or pseudepigraphical texts, with the aim of describing their ancient functions in their emerging social settings. These show the fluidity of the notion of scripture in the early centuries of the Church and in Judaism of late antiquity, but they also show the value of examining the ancient religious texts that were not included in the Jewish or Christian biblical canons. These chapters show that there is much that can be learned from examining and comparing these texts with canonical literature and evaluating them in their social context. No ancient text was created in a vacuum, and the non-canonical writings aid in our interpretation not only of many canonical writings, but also shed considerable light on the context of both early Judaism and early Christianity.

Sacra Scriptura

Sacra Scriptura PDF Author: James H. Charlesworth
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567296687
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
Many of the writings deemed 'apocryphal' and 'pseudepigraphical'were in circulation in the early centuries of Judaism and Christianity. Their influences and impacts on the development of early communities, and the development of Jewish and Christian thoughts, have not yet been sufficiently examined. While this judgment is especially true for the so-called Christian Apocrypha, it also applies for other writings that were not included in the Jewish and Christian Bibles and nor in other sacred collections of Scripture,like Rabbinics and Patristics. Most of these ancient writings functioned, to some degree, as sacred texts or scripture-sacra scriptura-in the communities in which they were produced and in others to which they circulated.This volume focuses on how some of these forgotten voices were heard within numerous early religious communities, helping to remove the distressing silence in many areas of the ancient world.

'Noncanonical' Religious Texts in Early Judaism and Early Christianity

'Noncanonical' Religious Texts in Early Judaism and Early Christianity PDF Author: Lee Martin McDonald
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 0567124193
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
Discusses ancient religious texts, especially the so-called 'non-canonical' texts, by focusing on how they were used or functioned in Early Judaism and Early Christianity.

Jewish and Christian Scriptures

Jewish and Christian Scriptures PDF Author: James H. Charlesworth
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567372588
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
Over the past four decades, many scholars have focused on the expanding collection of alleged "extra-canonical" documents that were deemed inspired by God in numerous early Jewish and Christian groups. Eventually, these texts ceased to have an authoritative role in Judaism and Christianity and were branded "extra-canonical." Now, these documents, once considered sacred, are recognized as fundamental in understanding antiquity, and the development of the canon. Many scholars are now according an authority to some of these texts This volume draws attention to these ancient religious texts, especially the so-called "non-canonical" texts, by focusing on how they were used or functioned in early societies. The contributors also warn us about the assumed barriers between "canon" and "extra-canon," "texts" and "traditions," and they suggest that we should be careful with labels such as "Jewish" and "Christian." The contributors also indicate, intermittently or implicitly, the importance of combining disciplines that had been isolated, especially the study of texts, the exploration of the canonical process, and the relevance of sociology in studying ancient groups.

Ancient Jewish and Christian Scriptures

Ancient Jewish and Christian Scriptures PDF Author: John J. Collins
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN: 161164982X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Ancient Jewish and Christian Scriptures examines the writings included in and excluded from the Jewish and Christian canons of Scripture and explores the social settings in which some of this literature was viewed as authoritative and some was viewed either as uninspired or as heretical. John J. Collins, Craig A. Evans, and Lee Martin McDonald examine how those noncanonical writings demonstrate the historical, literary, and religious aspects of the culture that gave rise to the writings. They also show how literature excluded from the Jewish and Christian canons of Scripture remains valuable today for understanding the questions and conflicts that early Jewish and Christian faith communities faced. Through this discussion, contemporary readers acquire a broader understanding of biblical Scripture and of Jewish and Christian faith inspired by Scripture.

Forgotten Scriptures

Forgotten Scriptures PDF Author: Lee Martin McDonald
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN: 0664233570
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
The early Christian church had a variety of Scriptures and other source material that informed their faith and shaped their thinking. But after a few centuries the church decided to keep the twenty-seven books of our present New Testament and to treat them as a canonical in faith and practice. But what of the other books? Many of them have survived and remain valuable for understanding the diversity of the early Christian church and the astounding claims of faith on which it was founded. Learning about these ancient documents need not threaten the church's current orthodoxy and authority; in fact, learning about these texts can help today's Christians form a deeper understanding of the early church.

Corpus Christologicum

Corpus Christologicum PDF Author: Gregory Lanier
Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers
ISBN: 1683071808
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 737

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Book Description
"A compendium of approximately three hundred texts-in Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, Ethiopic, Syriac, Coptic, and other languages-that are important for the study of Jewish messianism and early Christology, with a critical apparatus and translation for each text, thematic tagging that enables textual cross-referencing, and bibliography"--

Early Jewish Writings and New Testament Interpretation

Early Jewish Writings and New Testament Interpretation PDF Author: Casey Deryl Elledge
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780190274610
Category : Bible
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Early Jewish writings pose important implications for understanding the nature of "scripture" in ancient times, prior to the later formation of biblical canons. A review of early "non-canonical" literary collections unveils the diverse assumptions about "scripture" that existed within ancient Judaism. In their formative contexts, many of these writings present their religious claims as extensions of divine revelation, not merely as secondary, post-biblical compositions. Others endeavor to present themselves as essential complements to earlier scriptural books. Such high esteem for their authority appears to have been shared among some of their earliest audiences. Carefully studying the literature of this era, thus, reveals the extended horizon of authoritative traditions prevalent during the period of Christian origins. This realization arises from the modern study of literary collections known as Apocrypha (Deuterocanonical Books), Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls, and the writings of Philo and Josephus"--

Social Memory and Social Identity in the Study of Early Judaism and Early Christianity

Social Memory and Social Identity in the Study of Early Judaism and Early Christianity PDF Author: Samuel Byrskog
Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
ISBN: 3647593753
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
The concepts of social memory and social identity have been increasingly used in the study of ancient Jewish and Christian sources. In this collection of articles, international specialists apply interdisciplinary methodology related to these concepts to early Jewish and Christian sources. The volume offers an up-to-date presentation of how social memory studies and socio-psychological identity approach have been used in the study of Biblical and related literature. The articles examine how Jewish and Christian sources participate in the processes of collective recollection and in this way contribute to the construction of distinctive social identities. The writers demonstrate the benefits of the use of interdisciplinary methodologies in the study of early Judaism and Christianity but also discuss potential problems that have emerged when modern theories have been applied to ancient material.In the first part of the book, scholars apply social, collective and cultural memory approaches to early Christian sources. The articles discuss philosophical aspects of memory, the formation of gospel traditions in the light of memory studies, the role of eyewitness testimony in canonical and non-canonical Christian sources and the oral delivery of New Testament writings in relation to ancient delivery practices. Part two applies the social identity approach to various Dead Sea Scrolls and New Testament writings. The writers analyse the role marriage, deviant behaviour, and wisdom traditions in the construction of identity in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Other topics include forgiveness in the Gospel of Matthew, the imagined community in the Gospel John, the use of the past in Paul's Epistles and the relationship between the covenant and collective identity in the Epistle to the Hebrews and the First Epistle of Clement.

Access Behind the Veil

Access Behind the Veil PDF Author: Dr. Michael Petro
Publisher: First Edition Design Pub.
ISBN: 1506900674
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
Many in the Church are waiting with expectation for the second coming of Christ. The parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22 tells us that the Church, the Bride, was invited to the wedding but didn’t come. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul warns that the second coming would be preceded by a “great falling away” and Matthew 24 says that if these days were not cut short then even the elect could be deceived. With thousands of Christian denominations preaching a different gospel, let us examine Scripture from the earliest perspective, which is that of the Early Church. The Early Church Fathers were the spiritual sons of the apostles, who learned directly from Jesus. They tell us what the end would be like and unlock the deeper meanings of Scripture. While many today are waiting to be “raptured,” these apostolic men believed that the glory of God would first manifest in His Church. The apocalypse, often misunderstood to mean the end of the world, is simply two Greek words put together: apo (to destroy) and kalypto (the veil). The Book of Revelation is about destroying the veil to enter back into the glory of God. These revelatory teachings were passed down and preserved for hundreds of years, yet for the most part the opposite is being taught in the body of Christ today. Jesus tells us in Matthew 17 that “Elijah is coming and will restore all things.” This Elijah spirit is upon us now to make the way straight through revelatory teaching of Scripture and to bring the fear of the Lord back to wake up the sleeping Church while there’s still time. The Early Church taught that without Elijah preparing and sealing the Church not one would be saved. At the same time, under the leadership of the Catholic Church, a second sealing is taking place, with all major Christian denominations coming into covenant with Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, saying there are many ways to God. The great apostasy is here, but nothing will stop this final move of God. The world will see a full restoration of His glory on Earth as it is in heaven. Through revelation, or an apocalypse, let us step behind the veil to have full access to the glory of God and His redemptive plan for us as His children. For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14).