Ancient Apologetic Exegesis

Ancient Apologetic Exegesis
Author: Stuart E Parsons
Publisher: James Clarke & Company
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2015-07-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0227904842

Taking a radical new approach to second-century theology, 'Ancient Apologetic Exegesis' examines the work of Saint Theophilus of Antioch, with a full understanding of the man and his times. The second century is often dismissed by theologians, despite a near-living memory of Jesus and his apostles from only a generation or two prior, but Stuart E. Parsons shows that a distinctive biblical exegesis was used by those second-century apologists who challenged Greco-Roman pagan religionists. Currentliterature misunderstands second-century exegetical approaches, but by looking behind anachronistic views of ancient genre, literacy, and rhetoric, we can rediscover a forgotten form of early Christian exegesis.

Ancient Apologetic Exegesis

Ancient Apologetic Exegesis
Author: Stuart Parsons
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2015-02-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 162564809X

New Testament scholarship uncovers much about first-century Christianity. Early Christian masters such as Origen and Augustine draw great attention to the third and following centuries. Yet oddly, despite this flood of attention to both the first century and to the third and later centuries, the second century often escapes notice, this despite its almost living memory of Jesus and his apostles from only a generation or two prior. A distinctive biblical exegesis was used by those second-century apologists who challenged Greco-Roman pagan religionists. Along with introducing the general shape of this ancient apologetic exegesis, Ancient Apologetic Exegesis aims at its recovery as well. Current literature often misunderstands or dismisses second-century exegetical approaches. But by looking behind anachronistic views of ancient genre, literacy, and rhetoric, we can rediscover a forgotten form of early Christian exegesis.

A Pledge of the Truth

A Pledge of the Truth
Author: Taylor Evan Walls
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 154
Release: 2024-04-12
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Persecution, false accusations, and philosophical criticisms were all a common part of the life of the church in the second century. Many Christian writers took up the mighty pen to defend the Christian faith. Though often overlooked, Theophilus of Antioch was one of these apologetic writers who boldly identified himself as a Christian and a believer in God’s word. In his only remaining work, Ad Autolycum, Theophilus shows the irrationality of the pagan worldview and defends the Christian faith with a firm commitment to the authority of Scripture. The Scriptures are foundational to his defense of the Christian faith. He presents the Scriptures, both from the Old and New Testaments, as a faithful guide and guarantee of truth on the nature of God, the world, and ethics. The Scriptures were efficacious in his own conversion to Christianity, and so he uses those same divine words in order to call his pagan friend from idolatry to the truth of the one God. In this book, Taylor Evan Walls offers a systematic presentation of Theophilus’ understanding of the nature of Scripture, and shows how this doctrine provided the foundation and structure for his defense of Christianity.

Tradition, Scripture, and Interpretation

Tradition, Scripture, and Interpretation
Author: D. H. Williams
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2006-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0801031648

"While the patristic age is marked by the development of the Apostle's and the Nicene creeds, D. H. Williams contends we must not neglected the lesser known yet just as significant theological texts and expressions of worship that were seminal in shaping early Christian identity. In this sourcebook, Williams gathers key writings from the first through sixth centuries that illustrate the ways in which the church's confessions, teaching, and worship were expressed during that time. More than an anthology, this sourcebook introduces the primary sources of Christian antiquity."--BOOK JACKET.

Recruiting the Ancients for the Creation Debate

Recruiting the Ancients for the Creation Debate
Author: Andrew J. Brown
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2023-10-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1467467626

A careful and unbiased analysis of how thinkers from church history interpreted the creation narrative in Genesis How literally are we meant to take the creation week of Genesis 1? In this polarizing debate, contemporary interpreters invoke great theologians from history to support their own side, whether that be a young Earth or theistic evolution. The problem lies in trying to force ancient authors into contemporary boxes, as Andrew J. Brown shows in this thought-provoking volume. Covering Philo, Basil, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, and more, Brown carefully interprets great thinkers’ readings of Genesis 1 in their intellectual contexts. He then assesses how these authors have been subject to cherry-picking and misappropriation in the trenches of the modern creation debate. By studying the intellectual history of the church in this way—to revisit rather than recruit the ancients—we can enrich our own biblical interpretation. Irenic and magisterial, Brown’s guide will interest both scholars of historical theology and anyone invested in the creation debate.

Worshipping a Crucified Man

Worshipping a Crucified Man
Author: Jeremy Hudson
Publisher: James Clarke & Company
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2021-08-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0227907345

By the mid-second century Christian writers were engaging in debates with educated audiences from non-Jewish Graeco-Roman cultural backgrounds. A remarkable feature of some of the texts from this period is how extensively they refer to the Jewish scriptures, even though those scriptures were unfamiliar to non-Jewish Graeco-Romans. In Worshipping a Crucified Man, Jeremy Hudson explores for the first time why this should have been so by examining three works by Christian converts originally educated in Graeco-Roman traditions: Justin Martyr's First Apology, Tatian's Oratio and Theophilus of Antioch's Ad Autolycum. Hudson considers their literary strategies, their use of quotations and allusions and how they present the Jewish scriptures; all against the background of the Graeco-Roman literary culture familiar to both authors and audiences. The scriptures are presented as a critically defining feature of Christianity, instrumental in shaping the way the new religion presented itself, as it strove to engage with, and challenge, the cultural traditions of the Graeco-Roman world.

The Apologists and Paul

The Apologists and Paul
Author: Todd D. Still
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2024-06-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567715469

This volume examines the use of Paul's writing within the work of ante-Nicene apologetic writers. It takes apologetics as a broad genre in which many early Christian writers participated, offering rhetorical defenses for emerging aspects of doctrine, rooted in understanding of the scriptures, and often specifically the writings of Paul. The volume interacts with the writings of many significant 'apologetic' writers, including: Melito of Sardis, Clement of Alexandria, Tatian, Tertullian, Hippolytus and Cyprian. The chapters examine how these early Christian writers used the letters of Paul to develop their own philosophical ideas and defenses of aspects of the emerging Christian faith. The internationally renowned contributors have all been specially commissioned for this volume, and an afterword by Todd D. Still considers the question of whether or not Paul was an 'apologist' himself.

Ancient-Future Faith

Ancient-Future Faith
Author: Robert E. Webber
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 240
Release: 1999-11
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 080106029X

In a world marked by relativism, individualism, pluralism, and the transition from a modern to a postmodern worldview, evangelical Christians must find ways to re-present the historic faith. In his provocative new work, Ancient-Future Faith, Robert E. Webber contends that present-day evangelicalism is a product of modernity. Allegiance to modernity, he argues, must be relinquished to free evangelicals to become more consistently historic. Empowerment to function in our changing culture will be found by adapting the classical tradition to our postmodern time. Webber demonstrates the implications in the key areas of church, worship, spirituality, evangelism, nurture, and mission. Webber writes, The fundamental concern of Ancient-Future Faith is to find points of contact between classical Christianity and postmodern thought. Classical Christianity was shaped in a pagan and relativistic society much like our own. Classical Christianity was not an accommodation to paganism but an alternative practice of life. Christians in a postmodern world will succeed, not by watering down the faith, but by being a counter cultural community that invites people to be shaped by the story of Israel and Jesus. A substantial appendix explores the development of authority in the early church, an important issue for evangelicals in a society that shares many features with the Roman world of early Christians. Students, professors, pastors, and laypeople concerned with the churchs effective response to a postmodern world will benefit from this paradigmatic volume. Informative tables and extensive bibliographies enhance the books educational value. - Amazon.

Aspects of Doctoral Research at the Maryvale International Catholic Institute (Volume Four)

Aspects of Doctoral Research at the Maryvale International Catholic Institute (Volume Four)
Author: Catherine Knowles
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2023-05-16
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1527507068

This collection of extracts from students who successfully defended their doctoral thesis highlights the breadth of research in Catholic Studies. The fourth book in a series of volumes, it shines new light on age old issues and, in many ways, offers solutions to and opportunities for dialogue with the contemporary world. These essays, from the students of Maryvale International Catholic Institute, with doctorates accredited by Liverpool Hope University, truly reflect the philosophy underpinning academic life at Maryvale, that of St. John Henry Newman. In essence, his vision for education involves an extension of knowledge, a cultivation of reason, an insight into the “relation of truth to truth”, learning to view things as they are and understanding “how faith and reason stand to each other”. These students have achieved that. This volume presents work covering the areas of moral theology, ethics, bioethics, textual analysis, theology, philosophy, history and literature, crossing in places, into the territory of pastoral theology, evangelisation and catechesis.

An Old Testament Theology

An Old Testament Theology
Author: Bruce K. Waltke
Publisher: Zondervan Academic
Total Pages: 1042
Release: 2011-04-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310863325

The Old Testament is more than a religious history of the nation of Israel. It is more than a portrait gallery of heroes of the faith. It is even more than a theological and prophetic backdrop to the New Testament. Beyond these, the Old Testament is inspired revelation of the very nature, character, and works of God. As renowned Old Testament scholar Bruce Waltke writes in the preface of this book, the Old Testament’s every sentence is “fraught with theology, worthy of reflection.” This book is the result of decades of reflection informed by an extensive knowledge of the Hebrew language, the best of critical scholarship, a deep understanding of both the content and spirit of the Old Testament, and a thoroughly evangelical conviction. Taking a narrative, chronological approach to the text, Waltke employs rhetorical criticism to illuminate the theologies of the biblical narrators. Through careful study, he shows that the unifying theme of the Old Testament is the “breaking in of the kingdom of God.” This theme helps the reader better understand not only the Old Testament, but also the New Testament, the continuity of the entire Bible, and ultimately, God himself.