"A stunning new gospel--in the words of Jesus' beloved disciple, a woman."--Dust jacket.

"The Gospel of John refers five times to "the disciple whom Jesus loved." From the second through the present century, scholars have sought to identify this "disciple," traditionally concluding that he is the author of the Gospel and is indeed none other than John the son of Zebedee." "In recent phases of research, however, the identification of the Beloved Disciple with John the son of Zebedee has been exposed as weak and unpersuasive. Yet, according to James Charlesworth, even this new research is problematic in that it tends to ascribe priority in discerning the meaning of the Gospel of John to documents other than the Gospel itself. Moreover, this research tends to impute historical accuracy to documents that were not primarily intended to present histories." "Based on extensive research, then, Professor Charlesworth has concluded that the primary texts in the Gospel of John and the reflections of modern scholars indicate that any identification of the Beloved Disciple - whether with one of the disciples specified in the Gospel, with one who is anonymous in this Gospel, or with some symbolic theme - must provide credible answers to eight questions."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Song of the beloved is a provocative retelling of the Jesus story from the perspective of Mary Magdalene. After fourteen years of suffering the debilitating effects of trauma, Mary is healed by Jesus. She then becomes his most enthusiastic and devoted disciple; later becoming his companion, co-minister, beloved and wife. Designated the Magdalene, Mary is appointed to carry on Jesus' ministry after his death.

You're not what you do. You're not what you have. You are not what others say about you. You are God's beloved. Are you ever concerned that you don’t deserve to love and be loved because you are continually having to prove yourself? In You Are Beloved, Bobby Schuller shows you how to let go of these fears and put your trust in the One who sees you for who you really are. Here is an easy to follow, proven path to personal dignity for all those who think they are not good enough no matter how much they achieve. This path is illuminated by the truths that it is not about what you accomplish, but what has already been accomplished for you; not about what you have, but what has already been provided; and not about who others say you are, but who God says you are. Know that you are valued, cared for, and embraced. You Are Beloved will help you rebuild your life as a response to that assurance.

Meet Jesus is a picture book that introduces young children (ages 4-8) to Jesus and his lessons of love, kindness, forgiveness and peace. Meet Jesus emphasizes the humanity rather than the divinity of Jesus, giving the story broad appeal for liberal or progressive Christians and non-Christians alike. The text includes Bible references with corresponding Bible passages in the back of the book.

Second-century Christians had a significant role in shaping the import of the literary sources that they inherited from the first century through their editorial revisions and the church traditions that they appended to them. Michael J. Kok critically investigates the supposed clues that encouraged select Christian intellectuals to infer that John, one of Jesus’ chosen twelve apostles, was the mysterious “disciple whom Jesus loved” and to ascribe the fourth canonical Gospel as well as four other New Testament books back to him. Kok outlines how the image of Saint John of Ephesus was constructed. Not all early Christians approved of the fourth canonical Gospel and some expressed strong reservations about its theology, preferring to link it with a heretical adversary rather than with an authoritative Christian founder figure. Discover how the moves made in the second century were crucial for determining whether this Gospel would be preserved at all for posterity, much less as part of the scriptural collection of the developing Orthodox Church.