Seminary

What was it like to be an ordinary Christian in the beginning decades of the Roman Empire? In this absorbing and authoritative book, Meeks analyzes the earliest extant documents of Christianity—the letters of Paul—to describe the tensions and the texture of life of the first urban Christians.

Hanson and Oakman's award-winning and illuminating volume has become a widely used and cited introduction to the social context of Jesus and the early Jesus movement. This second edition updates all the discussions in light of more recent scholarship, improves clarity and readability of diagrams and maps, provides additional diagrams and images to enhance the book for student use, and includes new classroom resources, for professors and students, on a Companion Web site. Along with an overview of the ancient Mediterranean worldview, Palestine in the Time of Jesus explores major domains and institutions of Roman kinship, politics, economy, and religion.

How did ancient Israelites live? What did they eat, and what affected their health? How did the family function? To answer these and similar questions, Borowski describes the natural setting and the people who occupied the land as well as the rural and urban economic activities in which ancient Israelites engaged, especially as they related to the family and social-political structure. The book addresses cultural, social, and religious activities as well as art, music, and the place of writing in Israelite society. Drawing on textual and archaeological evidence and written in nontechnical language, this will be a standard text for undergraduate Hebrew Bible courses and of particular interest to scholars, graduate students, pastors, rabbis, and nonspecialists.

This volume addresses the most important issues related to the study of New Testament writings. Two respected senior scholars have brought together a team of distinguished specialists to introduce the Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman backgrounds necessary for understanding the New Testament and the early church. Contributors include renowned scholars such as Lynn H. Cohick, David A. deSilva, James D. G. Dunn, and Ben Witherington III. The book includes seventy-five photographs, fifteen maps, numerous tables and charts, illustrations, and bibliographies. All students of the New Testament will value this reliable, up-to-date, comprehensive textbook and reference volume on the New Testament world.

For churches and religious nonprofits, the business of business is not business - it is ministry. However, these organizations still have to plan. Because organization is needed to accomplish specific tasks, leadership must train and motivate workers for progress and effectiveness. Church Administration will assist pastors and church administrators in becoming effective and efficient leaders, managers, and administrators. Twelve chapters deal with the following vital