Hermann Gunkel was a scholar in the generation of the origins of Assyriology, the spectacular discovery by George Smith of fragments of the “Chaldean Genesis,” and the Babel-Bibel debate. Gunkel’s thesis, inspired by materials supplied to him by the Assyriologist Heinrich Zimmern, was to take the Chaoskampf motif of Revelation as an event that would not only occur at the end of the world but had already happened at the beginning, before Creation. In other words, in this theory, one imagines God in Genesis 1 as first having battled Rahab, Leviathan, and Yam (the forces of Chaos) in a grand battle, and only then beginning to create. The problem with Gunkel’s theory is that it did not simply identify common elements in the mythologies of the ancient Near East but imposed upon them a structure dictating the relationships between the elements, a structure that was based on inadequate knowledge and a forced interpretation of his sources. On the other hand, one is not entitled to insist that there was no cultural conversation among peoples who spent the better part of several millennia trading with, fighting, and conquering one another. Creation and Chaos attempts to address some of these issues. The contributions are organized into five sections that address various aspects of the issues raised by Gunekl’s theories.

This is a reprint of a classic horror novel, Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco with a new introduction and artwork.

When we sit down to coffee with friends as a weekday morning routine, there’s no predicting what weighty subject will emerge for the airing of opinions. Could be anything suggested by the local paper, morning radio or last night’s TV newscast. What you and I would like to contribute to the conversation usually occurs to us later in the day. That’s why this book is called, “What I meant to say was . . .” George Epp ponders the weighty questions we all ponder, and writes down his take on them in 109 readable, short essays, written too late for coffee time.

A 52-week devotional for ministry leaders and worship teams to prepare their hearts and minds for the service and make the worship experience of their church more meaningful. Anyone involved in organized worship has probably seen what worship can be, and they've wondered: How can we tap into that transformative spirit more often? How can we overcome the problems of urgency, fatigue, and the temptation to just go through the motions? How can we gather before God, consistently ready to receive his presence? In Before We Gather, Zac Hicks—author of the best-selling book The Worship Pastor—provides a unique, year-long devotional that focuses the attention of worship teams and individuals on God. This book offers biblical reflection in a simple, engaging style, helping worship teams set the tone of a gathering by developing a rich theology of worship through the practice of prayer. Full of field-tested devotionals specifically designed for pre-service prayer times, each entry has a simple, three-part format: read a passage, reflect on it, and then spend time in focused prayer that will propel worshipers into the service. The 52 entries can be used once a week over the course of an entire year and are also indexed according to themes, individual Scripture verses, and the church calendar, allowing you to adapt and use this resource in the way that best fits your context.

The Asia Bible Commentary Series empowers Christian believers in Asia to read the Bible from within their respective contexts. Holistic in its approach to the text, each exposition of the biblical books combines exegesis and application. The ultimate goal is to strengthen the Body of Christ in Asia by providing pastoral and contextual exposition of every book of the Bible. The book of Leviticus has a two-fold mission. Leviticus 1–16 symbolizes the order of the world through sacrifices, purity law, and sacred boundaries, so that God’s people can acknowledge his presence and lordship in their different aspects of life. The second part of the book, from Leviticus 17–27, extends the belief of holiness through moral laws of sex and social justice, so that God’s people can be holy, as he is holy. This commentary helps believers to integrate God’s holiness into their daily lifestyle with particular attention to Asian contexts.