Charles H. Talbert - Böcker

In this concise and clearly written commentary, Charles H. Talbert brings to mainline Christians a fresh reading of the book of Revelation, demonstrating that it is not only accessible but relevant for the modern-day Christian. According to Talbert, the primary causes of the marginalized status of the book of Revelation by mainline Christians are threefold--the apparent inaccessibility of its meaning, the seeming impossibility of its pastoral application, and its demonstrated susceptibility to abuse. Talbert ably demonstrates that the book of Revelation was written to help the early Christians avoid assimilation into the larger pagan culture. Talbert also gives full attention to the literature of the Greco-Roman, early Christian, and early Jewish worlds as he examines the more mystical components of the narrative.

Ephesians and Colossians is the first of eighteen volumes in the new Paideia commentary series. This series approaches each text in its final, canonical form, proceeding by sense units rather than word-by-word or verse-by-verse. Each sense unit is explored in three sections: (1) introductory matters, (2) tracing the train of thought, (3) key hermeneutical and theological questions. The commentaries shed fresh light on the text while avoiding idiosyncratic readings, attend to theological meaning without presuming a specific theological stance in the reader, and show how the text uses narrative and rhetorical strategies from the ancient educational context to form and shape the reader. Professors, graduate and seminary students, and pastors will benefit from this readable commentary, as will theological libraries.

The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most familiar passages in the New Testament. In this concise and clearly-written introduction to and commentary on the Sermon, Charles Talbert pays particular attention to its role in character formation and ethical decision making. After introductory chapters on reading the Sermon on the Mount, the book offers a section-by-section commentary. Talbert points out structural highlights, provides illuminating cross-references to Jewish and Greco-Roman literature, and concludes each section with a consideration of how it contributes to character formation and how it can be used with the rest of Scripture for ethical decision-making. The book is packed with insights that will be of great use to students as well as those who preach and teach the Sermon.

In this fresh commentary, the fourth of eighteen volumes in the Paideia series, a leading New Testament scholar examines cultural context and theological meaning in Matthew. Paideia commentaries explore how New Testament texts form Christian readers by • Attending to the ancient narrative and rhetorical strategies the text employs• Showing how the text shapes theological convictions and moral habits• Commenting on the final, canonical form of each New Testament book• Focusing on the cultural, literary, and theological settings of the text• Making judicious use of maps, photos, and sidebars in a reader-friendly format

From the various biblical explanations of suffering, this volume chooses to focus on one: suffering sometimes possesses an educational value. It explores the differing versions of this view in Paul, James, 1 Peter, Hebrews, and Luke-Acts, and sets these Christian perspectives against the backdrop of similar explanations in Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures.

From the various biblical explanations of suffering, this volume chooses to focus on one: suffering sometimes possesses an educational value. It explores the differing versions of this view in Paul, James, 1 Peter, Hebrews, and Luke-Acts, and sets these Christian perspectives against the backdrop of similar explanations in Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures.