Böcker av Joel B. Green

There is often an unfortunate division between the technical work of biblical scholars and the practical work of preachers who construct sermons each week. These two fields of study, which ought to be mutually informed and supportive, are more often practically divided by divergent methods, interests, and goals. Narrative Reading, Narrative Preaching aims to bridge that divide. Using narrative as an organizing theme, the contributors work through the New Testament offering examples of how interpretation can rightly inform proclamation. Three pairs of chapters feature an exemplary reading by a New Testament scholar followed by a sermon informed by that reading. Introductory and concluding chapters provide guidance for application of the model. Pastors and seminarians will find here a uniquely practical work that will help them with both the reading and preaching of Scripture.

The Gospel of Luke, often mined for information about the life of Jesus, is also one of the earliest Christian examples of narrative theology. Unlike some writers of New Testament books, Luke has engaged in the theological task by shaping a narrative representation of the coming and mission of Jesus. In doing so, he goes to great lengths to ground the work of Jesus in the continuing story of God's redemptive plan, especially witnessed in the Scriptures, and he also emphasises the ongoing character of that story, with the result that Luke's audience is challenged to discern the purpose of God in order that they may embrace it and order their lives around it. This exploration of the way in which Luke accomplishes his theological task in the first century is both informative and illuminating for contemporary readers seeking approaches to cultural criticism and constructive theology today.

Repentance and conversion are key topics in New Testament interpretation and in Christian life. However, the study of conversion in early Christianity has been plagued by psychological assumptions alien to the world of the New Testament. Leading New Testament scholar Joel Green believes that careful attention to the narrative of Luke-Acts calls for significant rethinking about the nature of Christian conversion. Drawing on the cognitive sciences and examining key evidence in Luke-Acts, this book emphasizes the embodied nature of human life as it explores the life transformation signaled by the message of conversion, offering a new reading of a key aspect of New Testament theology.

Everyone knows about the rocky relationship between science and theology brought about by the revolutionary proposals of Copernicus and Darwin. Fewer people know about an equally revolutionary scientific innovation that is currently under way among neurobiologists. This revolution in brain research has completely rewritten our understanding of who we are. It poses fundamental challenges to traditional Christian theology. According to the sceintific worldview that now dominates, it is no longer necessary to speak of a soul or spirit as distinct from the functions of the brain. Nor is it possible from the scientific point of view to biologically distinguish humans from animals. How then, are we to answer the fundamental theological question? Who am I? What am I doing here? Why do I do what I do? In more classical theological terms, what does it mean to be saved? How am I responsible for my behavior? What is the meaning of resurrection? What happens when I die?

A team of distinguished specialists introduces the Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman backgrounds necessary for understanding the New Testament and the early church.

A widely recognized biblical scholar demonstrates both the practice of theological interpretation and the fruitfulness of this approach to biblical texts.

This textbook utilizes material from the acclaimed Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics to introduce students to the use of the Old Testament for moral formation.

This highly original commentary, part of the New International Commentary, is unique for the way it combines concerns with first-century culture in the Roman world with understanding the text of Luke as a wholistic, historical narrative.