The New Testament

Cultic Practices Prescribed by the Law; Jesus Rejected by the Jewish Leaders; Matthew and His Readers; 9. JESUS, THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE; The Comparative Method and the Gospel of Luke; A Comparative Overview of the Gospel; The Preface to Luke's Gospel; Luke's Birth Narrative in Comparative Perspective; From Jew to Gentile: Luke's Portrayal of Jesus the Rejected Prophet; Luke's Distinctive Emphases throughout His Gospel; Conclusion: Luke in Comparative Perspective; 10. LUKE'S SECOND VOLUME: THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES; The Genre of Acts and Its Significance; The Thematic Approach to Acts; From Gospel to Acts: The Opening Transition; Themes in the Speeches in Acts; Excursus: The Author of Luke-Acts and His Audience; Conclusion: The Author and His Themes in Context; 11. JESUS, THE MAN SENT FROM HEAVEN: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN; The Gospel of John from a Literary-Historical Perspective; The Gospel of John from a Thematic Perspective; The Gospel of John from a Comparative Perspective; The Gospel of John from a Redactional Perspective; The Socio-Historical Method; The Gospel of John from a Socio-Historical Perspective; The Author of the Fourth Gospel; 12. FROM JOHN'S JESUS TO THE GNOSTIC CHRIST: THE JOHANNINE EPISTLES AND BEYOND; The Questions of Genre and Author; The New Testament Epistolary Literature and the Contextual Method; The Johannine Epistles from a Contextual Perspective; Reflections on the Contextual Method; Beyond the Johannine Community: The Rise of Christian Gnosticism; Gnostics and the Johannine Community; 13. JESUS FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES: OTHER GOSPELS IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY; Narrative Gospels; Box 13.1 The Gospel of the Ebionites and Early Gospel Harmonies; Sayings Gospels; Box 13.3 The Older Sayings of the Gospel of Thomas; Infancy Gospels; Passion Gospels; Conclusion: The Other Gospels; 14. THE HISTORICAL JESUS: SOURCES, PROBLEMS, AND METHODS; Problems with Sources; Non-Christian Sources; Christian Sources; Using Our Sources: Some of the Basic Rules of Thumb; Specific Criteria and Their Rationale; Conclusion: Reconstructing the Life of Jesus; 15. EXCURSUS: THE HISTORIAN AND THE PROBLEM OF MIRACLE; Miracles in the Modern World and in Antiquity; The Historian and Historical Method; 16. JESUS IN CONTEXT; Popular Modes of Resistance to Oppression; An Ideology of Resistance; Jesus in His Apocalyptic Context; 17. JESUS, THE APOCALYPTIC PROPHET; The Apocalyptic Deeds of Jesus; The Apocalyptic Death of Jesus; 18. FROM JESUS TO THE GOSPELS; The Beginning of Christianity; Jesus' Resurrection from an Apocalyptic Perspective; Jesus' Death, according to the Scriptures; The Emergence of Different Understandings of Jesus; 19. PAUL THE APOSTLE: THE MAN AND HIS MISSION; The Study of Paul: Methodological Difficulties; The Life of Paul; 20. PAUL AND HIS APOSTOLIC MISSION: 1 THESSALONIANS AS A TEST CASE; The Founding of the Church in Thessalonica; The Beginnings of the Thessalonian Church: A Socio-Historical Perspective; The Church at Thessalonica after Paul's Departure; Conclusion: Paul the Apostle; 21. PAUL AND THE CRISES OF HIS CHURCHES: 1 AND 2 CORINTHIANS, GALATIANS, PHILIPPIANS, AND PHILEMON; 1 Corinthians; 2 Corinthians; Galatians; Philippians; Philemon; 22. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PAUL: THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS; The Occasion and Purpose of the Letter; The Theme of the Epistle; Pauline Models for Salvation; The Flow of Paul's Argument; Conclusion: Paul and the Romans; 23. DOES THE TRADITION MISCARRY? PAUL IN RELATION TO JESUS, JAMES, THECLA, AND THEUDAS; Paul in Relation to What Came Before; Paul in Relation to What Came After; Conclusion: Pauline Christianities; 24. IN THE WAKE OF THE APOSTLE: THE DEUTERO-PAULINE AND PASTORAL EPISTLES; Pseudonymity in the Ancient World; The Deutero-Pauline Epistles; The Pastoral Epistles; The Historical Situation and Authorship of the Pastoral Epistles; Conclusion: The Post-Pauline Pastoral Epistles; 25. FROM PAUL'S FEMALE COLLEAGUES TO THE PASTOR'S INTIMIDATED WOMEN: THE OPPRESSION OF WOMEN IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY; Women in Paul's Churches; Women Associated with Jesus; Paul's Understanding of Women in the Church; Women in the Aftermath of Paul; Ancient Ideologies of Gender; Gender Ideology and the Pauline Churches; 26. CHRISTIANS AND JEWS: HEBREWS, BARNABAS, AND LATER ANTI-JEWISH LITERATURE; Early Christian Self-Definition; Continuity and Superiority: The Epistle to the Hebrews; Discontinuity and Supremacy: The Epistle of Barnabas; Box 26.6 The Epistle of Barnabas; Conclusion: The Rise of Christian Anti-Judaism; 27. CHRISTIANS AND PAGANS: 1 PETER, THE LETTERS OF IGNATIUS, THE MARTYRDOM OF POLYCARP, AND LATER APOLOGETIC LITERATURE; The Persecution of the Early Christians; Christians in a Hostile World: The Letter of 1 Peter; Christians Sentenced to Death: The Letters of Ignatius; Christians before the Tribunal: The Martyrdom of Polycarp; Christians on the Defense: The Later Apologetic Literature; 28. CHRISTIANS AND CHRISTIANS: JAMES, THE DIDACHE, POLYCARP, 1 CLEMENT, JUDE, AND 2 PETER; The Epistle of James; The Didache; Polycarp's Letter to the Philippians; Jude; 2 Peter; Conclusion: Conflicts within the Early Christian Communities; 29. CHRISTIANS AND THE COSMOS: THE REVELATION OF JOHN, THE SHEPHERD OF HERMAS, AND THE APOCALYPSE OF PETER; Introduction: The End of the World and the Revelation of John; The Content and Structure of the Book of Revelation; The Book of Revelation from a Historical Perspective; Apocalyptic Worldviews and Apocalypse Genre; The Revelation of John in Historical Context; The Shepherd of Hermas; Box 29.6 The Shepherd of Hermas and the Muratorian Canon; The Apocalypse of Peter; 30. EPILOGUE: DO WE HAVE THE ORIGINAL NEW TESTAMENT?; The Manuscripts of the New Testament; Kinds of Changes in Our Manuscript; Criteria for Establishing the Original Text; Conclusion: The Original Text of the New Testament