検索キーワード： 聖書の歴史・文化

Is Christianity the White Man's Religion? affirms that ethnic diversity has played a powerful role in the formation of the Old and New Testaments and that the Bible is a book of justice, promoting equality for all people. Contrary to popular Eurocentric conceptions, biblical Christianity is not just for White Westerners. It's good news for all of us. 

God has a plan for your life. More often than not, it's a detour - one that can leave you feeling temporarily stalled and slowed down. Which nobody likes. But detours are necessary if any improvements are going to be made on the paths we travel. Or if any wreck is going to be cleaned up or a hazard avoided. Detours are designed for our own good, regardless of how we view or feel about them. Detours are a good thing that often feels bad. Tony knows a thing or two about detours.

Mary Magdalene is one of the most influential symbols in the history of Christianity - yet, if you look in the Bible, you'll find only a handful of verses that speak of her. How did she become such a compelling saint in the face of such paltry evidence? In her effort to answer that question, Cynthia Bourgeault examines the Bible, church tradition, art, legend, and newly discovered texts to see what's there.

As we all know, and as many of our well-established textbooks have argued for decades, the Inquisition was one of the most frightening and bloody chapters in Western history, Pope Pius XII was anti-Semitic and rightfully called "Hitler's Pope", the Dark Ages were a stunting of the progress of knowledge to be redeemed only by the secular spirit of the Enlightenment, and the religious Crusades were an early example of the rapacious Western thirst for riches and power. But what if these long-held beliefs were all wrong?

 Womanist Midrash is an in-depth and creative exploration of the well- and lesser-known women of the Hebrew Scriptures. Using her own translations, Gafney offers a midrashic interpretation of the biblical text that is rooted in the African American preaching tradition to tell the stories of a variety of female characters, many of whom are often overlooked and nameless. Gafney employs a solid understanding of womanist and feminist approaches to biblical interpretation and the sociohistorical culture of the ancient Near East.  

Combining research from Asian scholars with his many years of experience living and working in East Asia, Brad directs our attention to Paul's letter to the Romans. He argues that some traditional East Asian cultural values are closer to those of the first-century biblical world than common Western cultural values. In addition, he adds his voice to the scholarship engaging the values of honor and shame in particular and their influence on biblical interpretation.

 Encountering Jesus in the Real World of the Gospels draws listeners into a deeper understanding of ancient Israel and first-century Judaism to better understand Jesus' ministry. Instead of viewing the Gospels through 21st-century eyes, author Cyndi Parker introduces listeners to the larger context with the weight of the Old Testament behind them. 

Millions are getting lost in the evangelical maze: inerrancy, indifference to the environment, deterministic Calvinism, purity culture, racism, LGBTQ discrimination, male dominance, and Christian nationalism. They are now conscientious objectors, deconstructionists, perhaps even "none and done". As one of America's leading academics speaking to the issues of religion today, David Gushee offers a clear assessment and a new way forward for disillusioned post-evangelicals. 

Best-selling author and national radio host Dr. Andrew Farley is known to challenge legalistic and lifeless interpretations with his discerning take on controversial scriptures. In Twisted Scripture, Andrew skewers sacred cows and shatters destructive lies, bringing the undiluted truth about God's love and grace in a colorful and conversational look at the most controversial passages in the New Testament.

Rumors of war boil angrily within the Middle East at this present hour. Just as Egyptian dictator Gamal Abdel Nasser vowed to push all Jews into the Mediterranean, so have today's Israel-haters proclaimed they will push all of God's chosen people into the sea, erasing all traces of the Jewish state from the land. Iran is on the brink of producing atomic weaponry with which to accomplish that avowed threat. Many fear World War III could begin if the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) attacks Iran's nuclear production facilities.

The history of the Roman Empire is often told through the clashing of swords, the expansion of borders, and the ego of emperors, yet some of its most profound transformations occurred in the quiet, intellectual spaces of a governor’s court. To understand the transition of the Mediterranean world from a tapestry of pagan cults to a landscape dominated by the Christian faith, one must look closely at the figure of Sergius Paulus.

In an age of growing skepticism, many demand hard evidence before believing anything is true—especially when it comes to Jesus and the Bible. A kind of "artifacts or it didn't happen" attitude. Perhaps nowhere is this attitude more prevalent than when considering the claims of Christianity...

In Ancient Israel and Judah, Beth Tanner takes listeners on a compelling journey through the historical and cultural landscapes of ancient Israel and Judah, bringing the Hebrew Bible to life in an approachable manner yet to be achieved. An essential guide for anyone new to biblical study, this...

There’s absolutely no doubt you would not have heard of the Bible. But where did it come from? And when did it first appear? Chances are that you will find these two questions a little trickier to answer. The truth is that the history of the Bible is not well-known and well-recorded, and yet it involves a rich list of stories and information that add even more clarity to this sacred book. But I decided to change that.

Bloomsbury presents Paul, Democracy, and the Corinthians by L. L. Welborn. Read by Richard Littledale. In this short and remarkable book L.L. Welborn outlines the complex and contested nature of ‘democracy’ in the Greek cities of the Roman East, where the apostle Paul established Christ...

Discover the true story of one of history's most fascinating and complex figures with this definitive biography of King David. From the dramatic confrontation with Goliath in the Valley of Elah to the political intrigue of King Saul's court, this book traces David's rise from shepherd boy to the mighty King of Israel. Explore the years of exile and fugitive life in the Judean wilderness, his unification of the Twelve Tribes, and the establishment of Jerusalem as his eternal capital.

La Bible est au cœur de la foi chrétienne. Ceci soulève inévitablement la question suivante : pourquoi devrions-nous croire la Bible ? Ce petit livre, qui s'adresse autant aux non-chrétiens qu'aux chrétiens, nous aide à comprendre pourquoi la Parole de Dieu est fiable en explorant les...

Believers today are facing a profound spiritual poverty—an ignorance of the women who shaped their faith and an incomplete understanding of the God those women faithfully served. The inspired writers of the Old Testament mention over one hundred women by name and countless others in passing. Yet, how many of us know the stories of these women and the God who wrote them?

The sixteenth-century Reformation is a monumental period in church history. The gospel of Jesus Christ, which had been obscured in darkness for centuries by the Roman Catholic Church, was brought to light by a powerful act of God. The core doctrines of the Christian faith that had been lost were rediscovered in God’s Word by Martin Luther and the Reformers. But sadly, the church today has drifted once again from these bedrock truths back to dangerous error and ignorance.

Paul the Pharisee celebrates not just the New-Paul as Jew but the New-New-Paul as Jewish Pharisee. Granted past Christian, Jewish, and Roman matrices of interpretation, this book explores the historical Paul through the fourth matrix of Evolution. (Think of those matrices as four Russian nesting Matryoshka dolls.) We are not on the Titanic; we are the iceberg. What, then, does Pauline “resurrection” have to do with human evolution?