John Riches - Böcker

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, InspiringThe Bible is one of the world's most read and most influential books. It has provided many rules for people to live by, and has shaped our language and our shared beliefs in ways that have both drawn communities together and fueled bitter disputes and conflicts. Having played a major role in the development of Western culture, the Bible continues to exert an enormous influence over millions of lives.This Very Short Introduction explores the material, cultural, and religious history of the Bible. Looking first at how the books of the Bible came to be written down and collected as authoritative sacred texts, John Riches goes on to show how they were produced and distributed across the world, and how they have been read and interpreted by differing communities in different languages. Riches compares how Jewish and Christian communities have interpreted the same passage of the Bible, and looks at some of the strikingly varied readings a very short book like Galatians has received over 2,000 years. Finally, he explores post-colonial and feminist readings of the Bible, and concludes by surveying the uses of the Bible in art, music, poetry, and politics.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Contextual Bible Study (CBS) by John Riches is an exciting approach to group Bible study for beginners, experienced readers and people of all ages and from every walk of life.Contextual Bible Study allows people to shape their understanding of the burning issues of the day. It is a method of Bible Study that both established Christians and those new to the Bible find empowering, insightful and even life-changing.John Riches offers a wealth of practical guidance on how to make CBS work for you, and how to start a CBS group in your local area. It also provides accessible Bible reading material and stimulating questions to use during Lent and Advent, along with inspiring stories of Contextual Bible Study in action.By reading and applying the guidance in this book group Bible study will never be the same again.

This book examines the social, economic, political, and cultural context of first-century Judaism. Precipitated by the coming of the Romans during the previous century, Judaism experienced a crisis of cultural erosion in the first century A.D. The author first describes the ways in which foreign domination threatened the Jewish community - for example, by causing a migration away from the countryside into cities. He then discusses how various groups of Jews tried to preserve their cultural identity through their definitions of Jewishness and through the ethical codes they devised. Groups examined include the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Zealots, the Essenes, and John the Baptist and his followers. The author locates Jesus' teaching in relation to the teachings of these groups, arguing that Jesus was deeply committed to the values of the Jewish tradition even while he proposed radical change that he believed would bring renewal.

This volume examines the Bible's role in the modern world - beginning with a treatment of its production and distribution that discusses publishers, printers, text critics, and translators and continuing with a presentation of new methods of studying the text that have emerged, including historical, literary, social-scientific, feminist, postcolonial, liberal, and fundamentalist readings. There is a full discussion of the changes in understandings of and approaches to the Bible in various faith communities. The dissemination of the Bible throughout the globe has also produced a host of new interpretations, and this volume provides a comprehensive geographical survey of its reception. In the final chapters, the authors offer a thematic overview of the Bible in relation to literature, art, film, science, and other disciplines. They demonstrate that, in spite of challenges to the Bible's authority in western Europe, it remains highly relevant and influential, not least in the Americas, Africa, and Asia.

In what sense does Matthew's Gospel reflect the colonial situation in which the community found itself after the fall of Jerusalem and the subsequent humiliation of Jews across the Roman Empire? To what extent was Matthew seeking to oppose Rome's claims to authority and sovereignty over the whole world, to set up alternative systems of power and society, to forge new senses of identity? If Matthew's community felt itself to be living on the margins of society, where did it see the centre as lying? In Judaism or in Rome? And how did Matthew's approach to such problems compare with that of Jews who were not followers of Jesus Christ and with that of others, Jews and Gentiles, who were followers? This is volume 276 in the Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement series and is also part of the Early Christianity in Context series.

This commentary on Paul’s highly autobiographical letter to the Galations traces the history of the book’s reception through the ages. Explores the influence and history of this important New Testament bookDemonstrates the crucial role that Galatians has played in the development of very diverse forms of Christian spiritualityConsiders the influence of Galatians on a wide range of theological figures, including Chrysostom, Augustine, and LutherExamines the ways in which Galatians has influenced images of Paul, suggesting that it is the indeterminacy and complexity of his text that cause it to be interpreted in such widely differing waysFocuses on verses, themes or arguments that have been the subject of particularly influential readingsPublished in the innovative and stimulating Wiley-Blackwell Bible Commentaries reception history series, which focuses on the broad spectrum of interpretations rather than the traditional verse by verse analysis typically found in commentaries.

The New Cambridge History of the Bible comprises four volumes that take into account the considerable advances in scholarship made in almost all biblical disciplines during the previous forty years. The volumes respond to shifts in scholarly methods of study of the Old and New Testaments, look closely at specialized forms of interpretation, and address the new concerns of the twenty-first century. Attention is paid to biblical studies in eastern Christian, Jewish, and Islamic contexts, rendering the series of interest to students of all Abrahamic faiths. The entire New Cambridge History of the Bible offers a comprehensive account of the development of the Bible from its origins to the present day, but each volume can also be read independently, proving a substantial contribution to the scholarship of the period it covers. This New Cambridge History will provide an invaluable resource for scholars, researchers, and students alike.

This commentary on Paul’s highly autobiographical letter to the Galations traces the history of the book’s reception through the ages. Explores the influence and history of this important New Testament bookDemonstrates the crucial role that Galatians has played in the development of very diverse forms of Christian spiritualityConsiders the influence of Galatians on a wide range of theological figures, including Chrysostom, Augustine, and LutherExamines the ways in which Galatians has influenced images of Paul, suggesting that it is the indeterminacy and complexity of his text that cause it to be interpreted in such widely differing waysFocuses on verses, themes or arguments that have been the subject of particularly influential readingsPublished in the innovative and stimulating Wiley-Blackwell Bible Commentaries reception history series, which focuses on the broad spectrum of interpretations rather than the traditional verse by verse analysis typically found in commentaries.

Adjudication has been the main means of settling construction disputes since it was first introduced by the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, and a substantial body of case law has now built up.This book established itself as the key authority on adjudication when it was first published. It has now been revised to reflect the authors' experience of adjudication in practice and to cover the large number of court decisions. It features useful appendices on adjudication materials.