The Importance of Outsiders to Pauline Communities

The Importance of Outsiders to Pauline Communities PDF Author: Emma Louise Parker
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567713830
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
This book argues that, despite Paul's often dramatic and critical descriptions of non-Christians, his letters reveal a deep concern for the presence of outsiders and for their opinion of Christians. Parker suggests that outsiders are enormously important to Paul: they determine whether Christian communities dwindle or thrive, while also playing a key role in helping such communities to understand and shape their purpose as missional disciples, develop their thinking and practice around normal daily events and relationships - and even shape how they understand God. Parker offers a careful exegesis of the main texts within the Pauline corpus, revealing a sensitivity to the outsider; including 1 Thessalonians, Romans, 1 Corinthians and the Pastoral Epistles. By using Social Identity Theory she explores key concepts of group boundaries, identity and inter-group relations, highlighting a theme which is significant in Paul's own thought: the importance of similarity between groups. Whilst not denying the counter-cultural identity of the new Christian communities, Parker concludes that Paul reveals the areas of overlap between insiders and outsiders, since these areas not only create opportunities for positive opinions and relationships but also point to a greater understanding of God.

The Importance of Outsiders to Pauline Communities

The Importance of Outsiders to Pauline Communities PDF Author: Emma Louise Parker
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567713830
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 364

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book argues that, despite Paul's often dramatic and critical descriptions of non-Christians, his letters reveal a deep concern for the presence of outsiders and for their opinion of Christians. Parker suggests that outsiders are enormously important to Paul: they determine whether Christian communities dwindle or thrive, while also playing a key role in helping such communities to understand and shape their purpose as missional disciples, develop their thinking and practice around normal daily events and relationships - and even shape how they understand God. Parker offers a careful exegesis of the main texts within the Pauline corpus, revealing a sensitivity to the outsider; including 1 Thessalonians, Romans, 1 Corinthians and the Pastoral Epistles. By using Social Identity Theory she explores key concepts of group boundaries, identity and inter-group relations, highlighting a theme which is significant in Paul's own thought: the importance of similarity between groups. Whilst not denying the counter-cultural identity of the new Christian communities, Parker concludes that Paul reveals the areas of overlap between insiders and outsiders, since these areas not only create opportunities for positive opinions and relationships but also point to a greater understanding of God.

Outsider Designations and Boundary Construction in the New Testament

Outsider Designations and Boundary Construction in the New Testament PDF Author: Paul Raymond Trebilco
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108314325
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
What terms did early Christians use for outsiders? How did they refer to non-members? In this book-length investigation of these questions, Paul Trebilco explores the outsider designations that the early Christians used in the New Testament. He examines a range of terms, including unbelievers, 'outsiders', sinners, Gentiles, Jews, among others. Drawing on insights from social identity theory, sociolinguistics, and the sociology of deviance, he investigates the usage and development of these terms across the New Testament, and also examines how these outsider designations function in boundary construction across several texts. Trebilco's analysis leads to new conclusions about the identity and character of the early Christian movement, the range of relations between early Christians and outsiders, and the theology of particular New Testament authors.

Christianity in the Greco-Roman World

Christianity in the Greco-Roman World PDF Author: Moyer V. Hubbard
Publisher: Baker Academic
ISBN: 1441237097
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 381

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Book Description
Background becomes foreground in Moyer Hubbard's creative introduction to the social and historical setting for the letters of the Apostle Paul to churches in Asia Minor and Europe. Hubbard begins each major section with a brief narrative featuring a fictional character in one of the great cities of that era. Then he elaborates on various aspects of the cultural setting related to each particular vignette, discussing the implications of those venues for understanding Paul's letters and applying their message to our lives today. Addressing a wide array of cultural and traditional issues, Hubbard discusses: • religion and superstition • education, philosophy, and oratory • urban society • households and family life in the Greco-Roman world This work is based on the premise that the better one understands the historical and social context in which the New Testament (and Paul's letters) was written, the better one will understand the writings of the New Testament themselves. Passages become clearer, metaphors deciphered, and images sharpened. Teachers, students, and laypeople alike will appreciate Hubbard's unique, illuminating, and well-researched approach to the world of the early church.

Heralds and Community

Heralds and Community PDF Author: Bo Young Kang
Publisher: Langham Publishing
ISBN: 1783680636
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Book Description
This book is part of the ongoing debate about Paul’s understanding of the relationship between his own mission and the church’s. While this study endorses some previous scholarship on Paul’s silence about the church’s proactive evangelism in his letters, it argues that explanations for such silence cannot be adequately made from exegetical conclusions on related texts alone. Rather, this study suggests that constructing a plausible conception of mission as understood by Paul, influenced by the impact of the Jesus-tradition and Jewish restoration eschatology, is essential for explaining Paul’s thinking. Dr Kang proposes that Paul’s silence regarding congregational evangelism is due to his unique two-pronged conception of mission – one being the event of eschatological heralds, the other being the event of eschatological community.

Experientia, Volume 2

Experientia, Volume 2 PDF Author: Colleen Shantz
Publisher: Society of Biblical Lit
ISBN: 1589836707
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
This collection of essays continues the investigation of religious experience in early Judaism and early Christianity begun in Experientia, Volume 1, by addressing one of the traditional objections to the study of experience in antiquity. The authors address the relationship between the surviving evidence, which is textual, and the religious experiences that precede or ensue from those texts. Drawing on insights from anthropology, sociology, social memory theory, neuroscience, and cognitive science, they explore a range of religious phenomena including worship, the act of public reading, ritual, ecstasy, mystical ascent, and the transformation of gender and of emotions. Through careful and theoretically informed work, the authors demonstrate the possibility of moving from written documents to assess the lived experiences that are linked to them. The contributors are István Czachesz, Frances Flannery, Robin Griffith-Jones, Angela Kim Harkins, Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte, John R. Levison, Carol A. Newsom, Rollin A. Ramsaran, Colleen Shantz, Leif E. Vaage, and Rodney A. Werline.

The Social Role of Liturgy in the Religion of the Qumran Community

The Social Role of Liturgy in the Religion of the Qumran Community PDF Author: Russell Arnold
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047409159
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
"This volume investigates the layers of meaning of the Qumran community's liturgical practice as prayer (communication with the divine), ritual (actions that establish and reinforce the social and ideological structures of the community), and speech (containing both verbal and non-verbal communication)."--Jacket.

The New Testament Interpreted

The New Testament Interpreted PDF Author: Cilliers Breytenbach
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047410599
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
This volume contains a collection of essays in honour of Bernard C. Lategan, a renowned specialist on the modern reception of the New Testament. Besides offering anayses of Lategan’s own contribution to New Testament scholarship, the essays present and discuss interpretations of the New Testament from antiquity through contemporary critical scholarship. Topics covered include hermeneutical issues of historical Jesus research, intertextuality in antiquity, the interpretation of the New Testament in Africa, and the New Testament as literature. The collection thus provides a representative perspective on the diversity of New Testament scholarship in South Africa and elsewhere.

Researching with Communities

Researching with Communities PDF Author: Ruth DeSouza
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 0955694108
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 421

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Book Description
Researching with communities presents a range of personal and grounded perspectives from academics, researchers and practitioners on undertaking research in ways that promote and privilege the voice of the community, is respectful of local or indigenous practices and is culturally safe. Most definitely not a 'tick list' for approaching community-inclusive research, this book provides grounded exemplars, guides and discussion about the experiences of doing research respectfully and inclusively. It does this by drawing on the perspectives of researchers and community practitioners and by providing a range of reflective chapters that explore what community-based research means in a range of settings and for a range of people. Like the communities in which they are grounded, undertaking research in this way is always a unique experience.

Sacra Pagina: Colossians and Ephesians

Sacra Pagina: Colossians and Ephesians PDF Author: Margaret Y. MacDonald
Publisher: Liturgical Press
ISBN: 0814669913
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 406

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Book Description
No two works in the Pauline Epistles resemble each other as closely as Colossians and Ephesians. Often recognized for their majestic tone and powerful theological statement, Colossians and Ephesians also present many challenges of interpretation. Most commentaries on these letters seem preoccupied with the same few issues, particularly the question of authorship. As MacDonald addresses these classic questions, she offers a fresh perspective on Colossians and Ephesians by making use of insights from the social sciences. Moreover, by paying attention to subtle differences between the two letters, she brings their distinct perspectives into sharp relief. MacDonald highlights the interplay between Colossians and Ephesians and the social life of New Testament communities. She illustrates how the texts reflect ancient cultural values and are influenced by particular aspects of community life such as worship and household existence. In particular, she reflects on the issues faced by these communities as they formed institutions and interacted with the society around them. She shows the struggles of the New Testament communities to survive and maintain a distinct identity in first-century society. Chapters under Colossians are "Greeting (1:1-2)," "Thanksgiving for the Colossians (1:3-8)," "Prayer on Behalf of the Colossians (1:9-14,)" "The Christ-Hymn (1:15-20)," "Application of Hymn to the Situation in Colossae (1:21-23)," "Paul's Authority in Colossae and Laodicea (1:24-2:7)," "Debate with the Opponents: The Power of the Risen Christ (2:8-15)," "Debate with the Opponents: Warnings Against Ascetic Practices (2:16-23)," "New Life in Light of the Resurrection (3:1-4)," "Ethical Guidelines for a New Life (3:5-17)," "The Households of Believers (3:18-4:1)," "Prayer, Mission, and Contact with Outsiders (4:2-6)," "Conclusion: Personal Notes and Greetings (4:7-18)." Chapters under Ephesians are "Greeting (1:1-2)," "Blessing (1:3-14)," "Thanksgiving and Prayer (1:15-23)," "The Consequences of Life Together with Christ (2:1-10)," "The Unity of Jews and Gentiles Created by Christ (2:11-22)," "The Apostle as Interpreter of the Divine Mystery (3:1-13)," "Prayer and Doxology (3:14-21)," "The Unity of the Spirit (4:1-16)," "The Sons of Disobedience and the Children of Light (4:17-5:20)," "The Households of Believers (5:21-6:9)," "Doing Battle with Evil (6:10-20)," "Conclusion: Personal Matters and Final Blessing (6:21-24)."

A Pauline Theology of Church Leadership

A Pauline Theology of Church Leadership PDF Author: Andrew D. Clarke
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 0567045609
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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Book Description
Scholarly studies consider Paul's views on leadership tend to fall into one of three camps: 1) the historical development view, which in large measure identifies developments in church practice with developments in Pauline and deutero-Pauline ecclesiology; 2) the synchronic, historical reconstruction, typically making use of Graeco-Roman, social context sources, or social-scientific modelling, focusing on a single congregation, and sometimes distinguishing between the situation to which Paul was responding and the pattern he sought to impose; and 3) the theological/hermeneutical analysis, identifying Paul's particular approach to power and authority, often independently of any detailed reconstruction of the situations to which Paul was responding. Andrew Clarke has explored in an earlier work, Serve the Community of the Church (Eerdmans, 2000), the distinctive, local and historical situations in the various Pauline communities and concluded that there is no evidence that they organised themselves according to a common set of governmental structures which clearly developed with the passage of time. Rather each community was influenced by its own localized, social and cultural context. The present project builds on this, and necessarily focuses on leadership style rather than church order. It seeks to recover from Paul's critical responses, his generic ethos of church leadership, including the ideal qualities, characteristics and task of leaders and the nature of appropriate interaction and engagement with church members. In the light of current, theoretical discussions about power and gender, the study focuses particularly on Paul's attitude towards hierarchy, egalitarianism, authority, responsibility and privilege.