The reception of the Gospel of Matthew over two millennia: commentary and interpretation Matthew Through the Centuries offers an overview of the reception history of one of the most prominent gospels in Christian worship. Examining the reception of Matthew from the perspectives of a wide range of interpreters—from Origen and Hilary of Poitiers to Mary Cornwallis and Bob Marley—this insightful commentary explains the major trends in the reception of Matthew in various ecclesial, historical, and cultural contexts. Focusing on characteristically Matthean features, detailed chapter-by-chapter commentary highlights diverse receptions and interpretations of the gospel. Broad exploration of areas such as liturgy, literature, drama, film, hymnody, political discourse, and visual art illustrates the enormous impact Matthew continues to have on Judeo-Christian civilization. Known as ‘the Church’s Gospel,’ Matthew’s text has been the subject of apologetic and theological controversy for hundreds of years. It has been seen as justification for political and ecclesial status quo and as a path to radical discipleship. Matthew has influenced divergent political, spiritual, and cultural figures such as Francis of Assisi, John Ruskin, Leo Tolstoy, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Mahatma Gandhi. Matthew’s interest in ecclesiology provides early structures of ecclesial life, such as resolution of community disputes, communal prayer, and liturgical prescriptions for the Eucharist and baptism. A significant addition to the acclaimed Blackwell Bible Commentaries series, Matthew Through the Centuries is an indispensable resource for both students and experts in areas including religious and biblical studies, literature, history, politics, and those interested in the influence of the Bible on Western culture.

The publication of the King James version of the Bible, translated between 1603 and 1611, coincided with an extraordinary flowering of English literature and is universally acknowledged as the greatest influence on English-language literature in history. Now, world-class literary writers introduce the book of the King James Bible in a series of beautifully designed, small-format volumes. The introducers' passionate, provocative, and personal engagements with the spirituality and the language of the text make the Bible come alive as a stunning work of literature and remind us of its overwhelming contemporary relevance.

The Gospel of Matthew is all about the King-the King of the Jews, the King who came to die to save His subjects, the King who is coming again to establish His millennial kingdom, the King of Kings. That King is Jesus Christ. Matthew focuses on both the first and second comings of Christ, with the assurance that in both cases, indeed the King is coming! Matthew, the tax collector turned disciple, writes to Jewish believers and unbelievers alike. For the believers, he emphasizes the legitimacy of Jesus as the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. For the unbelievers, he portrays the One who is the Savior of all people everywhere. His arguments are cogent, his style is vibrant, and his portrayal of Christ is magnificent. Charles Spurgeon said it best when he proclaimed, "Come just as you are, all guilty, empty, meritless and fall before the great King. And see it He will cast you away. Jesus is ready to pardon you...never tolerate low thoughts of Him. You may study, look and meditate, but Jesus is a greater Savior than you think Him to be, even when your thoughts are at their highest." Throughout Matthew's gospel, he draws our attention to the One who is the rightful King of Israel. Jesus is portrayed as being born a King, living and dying as a King, and coming again as the ultimate King of Kings. As you read this gospel and study this commentary, you will be challenged to become His disciple and follow Him wherever He leads you. A commentary for the twenty-first century, Study questions at the end of each chapter, Challenges you to follow the king wherever he leads you. Book jacket.

In this new collection essays, Matthew Stevenson weaves together a historical tapestry of the last hundred years. From the battlefields of Gallipoli and those around Armenia, to Cold War Washington and modern Beirut, he has written a compelling, yet often humorous and always accessible account of persons and places encountered in his travels.

Winner of the Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Best First Book Prize of the American Society of Church History Society for U. S. Intellectual History Notable Title in American Intellectual History The story of liberal religion in the twentieth century, Matthew S. Hedstrom contends, is a story of cultural ascendency. This may come as a surprise-most scholarship in American religious history, after all, equates the numerical decline of the Protestant mainline with the failure of religious liberalism. Yet a look beyond the pews, into the wider culture, reveals a more complex and fascinating story, one Hedstrom tells in The Rise of Liberal Religion. Hedstrom attends especially to the critically important yet little-studied arena of religious book culture-particularly the religious middlebrow of mid-century-as the site where religious liberalism was most effectively popularized. By looking at book weeks, book clubs, public libraries, new publishing enterprises, key authors and bestsellers, wartime reading programs, and fan mail, among other sources, Hedstrom is able to provide a rich, on-the-ground account of the men, women, and organizations that drove religious liberalism's cultural rise in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Critically, by the post-WWII period the religious middlebrow had expanded beyond its Protestant roots, using mystical and psychological spirituality as a platform for interreligious exchange. This compelling history of religion and book culture not only shows how reading and book buying were critical twentieth-century religious practices, but also provides a model for thinking about the relationship of religion to consumer culture more broadly. In this way, The Rise of Liberal Religion offers both innovative cultural history and new ways of seeing the imprint of liberal religion in our own times.

A monk's chronicle offers a record of life and events in 13th-century England and further afield. Colour reproductions of the original manuscript decorations add to the detail.