Bonnie Bowman Thurston – författare

All the Fullness of God: The Christ of Colossians focuses on the Christology of Colossians and its implications by examining the canonical text and answering the questions: What was the author''s purpose in writing the letter? What is the letter''s primary concern? How do its contents reflect or deviate from Paul''s thought in his uncontested letters? The author of Colossians is favorably disposed toward the letter''s recipients who have received the gospel from Epaphras, but now encounter alternative teachings. The author finds that church''s Christology inadequate and writes to expand their understanding of the meaning of baptism into Jesus Christ and its implications. This study introduces Greco-Roman letter and literary forms; the geography, history, and demographics of Colossae; and provides excurses on several scholarly matters. It is comprised of five chapters (Part I) which set forth the argument and explain the text in its historical context, followed by nine reflections (Part II) which place each text in its context, then elucidate the meaning and application of the passage for contemporary readers.

Bonnie Thurston examines the personalities, place, and power of women in the New Testament. She provides a cultural and religious context for them by briefly outlining the position of women in the Greco-Roman world. The aim is to reveal the ways in which early Christianity attempted to liberate people from oppression (particularly patriarchy), as well as to point out the places and ways in which the early Christian community compromised with the dominant society.

The fruit of her determined prayer for a way to give her spirit time to catch up, this pithy reflection on the qualities of time will introduce highly respected biblical scholar, professor, pastor, widow, friend, and author Bonnie Thurston to a wider audience - everyone who is time-pressed and deadline pressured. The news is good: Time is the creation of a generous God who always provides not only the bare essentials, but usually a feast. As the writer of Ecclesiastes mused: For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. It is with her trust in this abundance that Thurston explores the mystery of time and the rediscovery of the Judeo-Christian understanding of time as God's sacred and bountiful gift. She looks at time from both a historical and a theological perspective; she studies seasons as measured by the liturgical cycle, the monastic day, the jubilee year, and the Sabbath; and she ponders the meaning of time participles - familiar phrases such as finding time, making time, spending time, and marking time. With her encouragement, the reader will discover that there is enough time - if we redeem the time by reclaiming the Sabbath, the time built into the rhythm of creation by God for rest and re-creation. 'To Everything a Season' offers reflection exercises to help us understand both how we think about and how we use time, as well as suggestions for ways of making Sabbath in the midst of our own crowded lives. The result is an invitation and a recipe for living in the present moment, in God's eternal Now.

Here a New Testament scholar combines a study of the Greek text of Matthew 26-28 with devotional reflections that help us understand and appreciate the Lord's Supper. The book may be used to prepare communion meditations and Lenten sermons. It is especially useful for devotional reading by both clergy and laypersons. An excerpt:Many innocent people have been undone by conspiracy in high places. Jesus and the martyrs of the church have faced what many face today: injustice, oppression, the jealousy of petty officials, conspiracy. Only one act in all of human history could overcome such littleness. In only one place will we find consolation and solace in the face of overwhelming injustice. Only one table is large enough to accommodate a meal for both the oppressors and the oppressed. And we gather there in this moment.