F. Gerald Downing explores the teachings of Paul, arguing that the development of Paul's preaching and of the Pauline Church owed a great deal to the views of the vagabond Cynic philosophers, critics of the gods and of the ethos of civic society. F. Gerald Downing examines the New Testament writings of Paul, explaining how he would have been seen, heard, perceived and understood by his culturally and ethnically diverse converts and disciples. He engages in a lucid Pauline commentary and offers some startling and ground-breaking views of Paul and his Word. Cynics, Paul and the Pauline Churches is a unique and controversial book, particularly in its endorsement of the simple and ascetic life proffered in Paul's teachings in comparison with the greedy, consumerist and self-promoting nature of today's society.

Cynic believes in a good time, not a long time; it’s understandable since his wife cheated after twelve years of marriage. Now that he’s single, variety is the spice of life, and he keeps his life spicy. He avoids women looking for commitment. As the Sergeant-at-Arms for the Riot MC, when he’s ordered to protect Fiona Brinkley from her ex-fiancé Cynic battles an almighty attraction. A battle he loses. Fiona thinks Cynic is off-limits. The last time she saw him, he was married to his high school sweetheart. However, that was years ago, and things have changed. When Cynic suggests a good time with him, she jumps at the chance. It’s the best chance she’s ever taken. She falls for Cynic, but he’s the wrong man. He doesn’t want the things she does: commitment and building a family. Can Fiona shift Cynic’s stance, so he’ll take a chance on a long time that promises to be a good time?

A guide written for young ministers by renowned theologian Reinhold Niebuhr during his time as a pastor of Bethel Evangelical Church of Detroit. Written as reflections and insights drawn from what he saw as the most challenging but infinitely rewarding calling of pastoral ministry. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

In Ecclesiastes, the authorial voice of Qohelet presents an identity that has challenged readers for centuries. This book offers a reception history of the different ways readers have constructed Qohelet as an author. Previous reception histories of Ecclesiastes group readings into "premodern" and "critical," or separate Jewish from Christian readings. In deliberate contrast, this analysis arranges readings thematically according to the interpretive potential inherent in the text, a method of biblical reception history articulated by Brennan Breed. Doing so erases the artificial distinctions between so-called scholarly and confessional readings and highlights the fact that many modern academic readings of the authorship of Ecclesiastes travel in well-worn interpretive paths that long predate the rise of critical scholarship. Thus this book offers a reminder that, while critical biblical scholarship is an essential part of the interpretive task, academic readings are themselves indebted to the Bible’s reception history and a part of it.