The essays by Heikki Raisanen (1941-2015) collected in this volume deal with a broad array of topics, ranging from early Christian identities to bibliodrama and other modern-day approaches to the scriptures. The exegetical studies in the first part explore issues related to early Christian eschatology, virginal conception, and Paul's complex argumentation about the Jews and their salvation in Romans 9-11. The essays on ancient and modern interpretations of the Bible in the second part pay special attention to ethical issues, address the "dark sides" of its reception, and discuss the biblical interpretations of Marcion and Joseph Smith. The third section comprises studies on the Bible and Qur'an, while the concluding chapter provides a comprehensive description of the Bible as scripture from a comparative perspective.

Inspired by the work of prolific biblical scholar Stephen D. Moore, the contributors in this book argue for the necessity and benefits of using queer theory, literary criticism, cultural theory, postmodernism and the like to critique biblical texts.

This important volume focuses on the contribution of excavated material to the interpretation of biblical texts. Here, both practicing archaeologists and biblical scholars who have been active in field work demonstrate through their work that archaeological data and biblical accounts are complementary in the study of ancient Israel, early Judaism, and Christianity. Illustrations.

The essays in this volume aim to contribute to the newly developing academic subject of biblical spirituality. It is prompted by the belief that, although the Christian tradition has always nurtured an emphasis on spirituality rooted in the Bible and its interpretation, few biblical scholars, until recently, have pursued their work by making connections with either this religious tradition or present-day interest in the broader phenomenon of spirituality. Spiritual interpretation has overlaps with theological interpretation but is distinctive because of its focus on the wisdom of lived experience and practice. The essays therefore attempt, from within the context of the academy, responsible readings of Scripture that have as a major focus the study of how particular texts might contribute to a spirituality in which individual and communal flourishing is a major feature. The essays began as papers produced for an international symposium on the Bible and Spirituality in May 2012, hosted by the Centre for the Study of the Bible and Spirituality in the School of Humanities at the University of Gloucestershire.

The sixteen essays assembled in this volume, four of them co-authored, chart the successive phases of a professional life lived in the interstices of Bible and "theory." Engaging such texts as the Song of Songs, 4 Maccabees, Mark, Luke-Acts, John, and Romans, and such themes as the quest for the historical Jesus, the essays simultaneously traverse postmodernism, deconstruction, New Historicism, autobiographical criticism, cultural studies, postcolonial studies, masculinity studies, queer theory, and "posttheory." Individual essay introductions and periodic annotated bibliographies make the volume an advanced introduction to biblical literary criticism. --From publisher's description.

Dick Popkin and James Force have attended a number of recent conferences where it was apparent that much new and important research was being done in the fields of interpreting Newton's and Spinoza's contributions as biblical scholars and of the relationship between their biblical scholarship and other aspects of their particular philosophies. This collection represents the best current research in this area. It stands alone as the only work to bring together the best current work on these topics. Its primary audience is specialised scholars of the thought of Newton and Spinoza as well as historians of the philosophical ideas of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

In Defense of the Bible gathers exceptional articles by accomplished scholars (Paul Copan, William A. Dembski, Mary Jo Sharp, Darrell L. Bock, etc.), addressing and responding to all of the major contemporary challenges to the divine inspiration and authority of Scripture. The book begins by looking at philosophical and methodological challenges to the Bible—questions about whether or not it is logically possible for God to communicate verbally with human beings; what it means to say the Bible is true in response to postmodern concerns about the nature of truth; defending the clarity of Scripture against historical skepticism and relativism. Contributors also explore textual and historical challenges—charges made by Muslims, Mormons, and skeptics that the Bible has been corrupted beyond repair; questions about the authorship of certain biblical books; allegations that the Bible borrows from pagan myths; the historical reliability of the Old and New Testaments. Final chapters take on ethical, scientific, and theological challenges— demonstrating the Bible’s moral integrity regarding the topics of slavery and sexism; harmonizing exegetical and theological conclusions with the findings of science; addressing accusations that the Christian canon is the result of political and theological manipulation; ultimately defending the Bible as not simply historically reliable and consistent, but in fact the Word of God.