Showing titles in Commentaries

Können Christen nach Erleuchtung streben? Ja! Da wir heute viel mehr wissen, als noch vor 50 Jahren, braucht niemand mehr den christlichen Glauben zu verlassen, um nach Befreiung seines Geistes zu streben. Die geheimen Lehren Jesu sind in der Gestalt des Thomasevangeliums nach 2000 Jahren zum ersten Mal für jeden Interessierten verfügbar. Dieses Evangelium wurde 1945 in in einer Höhle in der Nähe des Dorfes Nag Hamadi entdeckt.

Depois disto, o homem me fez voltar à entrada do templo, e eis que saíam águas de debaixo do limiar do templo, para o oriente; porque a face da casa dava para o oriente, e as águas vinham de baixo, do lado direito da casa, do lado sul do altar. Ele me levou pela porta do norte e me fez dar uma volta por fora, até à porta exterior, que olha para o oriente; e eis que corriam as águas ao lado direito. (Ezequiel 47:1-2)

Although most people acknowledge that Jesus was a first-century Jew, interpreters of the Gospels often present him as opposed to Jewish law and customs—especially when considering his numerous encounters with the ritually impure. Matthew Thiessen corrects this popular misconception by placing Jesus within the Judaism of his day. Thiessen demonstrates that the Gospel writers depict Jesus opposing ritual impurity itself, not the Jewish ritual purity system or the Jewish law.

Too often when we come to the Bible, we settle for easy answers.

The conversation about the relationship between women and men and their roles in the Christian life and the church has evolved, but the topic continues to inspire debate and disagreement. The third edition of this groundbreaking work brings together scholars firmly committed to the authority of Scripture to explore historical, biblical, theological, cultural, and practical aspects of this discussion.

America's Book shows how the Bible decisively shaped American national history even as that history influenced the use of Scripture. It explores the rise of a strongly Protestant Bible civilization in the early United States that was then fractured by debates over slavery, contested by growing numbers of non-Protestant Americans, and torn apart by the Civil War.

This book explores the concept of prophecy in Judaism as defined by two great figures of Jewish history. Moses Maimonides and Abraham Joshua Heschel are two influential scholars who have impacted the many streams of Judaism. A simplistic dichotomy could be made between their two perspectives labeling Maimonides as a rational philosopher and Heschel as a mystical one. Both the study of Jewish prophecy and the approaches of both of the scholars are complex topics, but not impossible to decipher. The nature of revelation is also part of this discussion.

Many Christians today long to become reacquainted with their ancient ancestors in the faith. They see a deeper worship and devotion in the prayers and hymns of the early church. And they believe that the writings of the early church can shed new light on their understanding of Scripture. But where and how do we begin? Our first encounter with the writings of the church fathers may seem like visiting a far country where the language, assumptions, concerns, and conclusions are completely unfamiliar to us. Author Christopher Hall helps us through this cultural confusion.

Billions of people across the world and across time have followed the words of this ancient book. Countless numbers have died defending it. Even today, in the 21st century heated debates are fought every day over the truth which lies within. Great thinkers and intellectuals have seen something of pure wisdom and truth in it and others simply see it as an historical document, written by people from a different time and place.

A groundbreaking account of the Secret Gospel of Mark, one of the most hotly debated documents in Christian history.