Leon Morris - Böcker

This work is not a history of New Testament times, nor an account of New Testament religion. Nor does it proceed from a view that the New Testament was written as theology. We must bear in mind that the writers of the New Testament books were not writing set theological pieces. They were concerned with the needs of the churches for which they wrote. Those churches already had the Old Testament, but these new writings became in time the most significant part of the Scriptures of the believing community. As such, they should be studied in their own right, and these questions should be asked: What do these writings mean? What is the theology they express or imply? What is of permanent validity in them? We read these writings across a barrier of many centuries and from a standpoint of a very different culture. We make every effort to allow for this, but we never succeed perfectly. In this book I am trying hard to find out what the New Testament authors meant, and this not as an academic exercise, but as the necessary prelude to our understanding of what their writings mean for us today. -- From the Introduction

From time to time in the study of theology it becomes necessary to evaluate what Scripture has to say on certain crucial doctrines of the faith. Leon Morris, one of this generation's most respected evangelical scholars, here offers a survey of the vast subject of atonement as it is presented in the New Testament. The Cross in the New Testament explores in turn Matthew and Mark, and Lukan writings, John, the Pauline epistles, Hebrews, the catholic epistles, and Revelation, showing what each New Testament scripture contributes to our understanding of atonement. Atonement for Morris is not merely expiation i.e. a covering over of sins but propitiation i.e. also a turning aside of wrath, this was the contention he had with his doctoral supervisor C.H.Dodd. While Morris emphasizes the need to appreciate the many strands woven into this doctrine, he criticizes the views of modern scholars that do not square with the biblical teaching. At the heart of the doctrine of atonement is the idea of substitution, Morris believes, and his thorough examination and defense of substitutionary atonement make this volume a theological apologetic of great significance. Trusted as an exhaustive and reliable work of scholarship for the past thirty-five years and available now in this new paperback edition, The Cross in the New Testament remains an invaluable text for serious students of the Bible.

Among Paul's letters, Galatians burns like a firestorm of apostolic rebuke, persuasion and passion for the truth of the gospel. Against those who would preach 'another gospel', Paul deploys an arsenal of biblical-theological reasoning and rhetoric of contrasting images that have seldom sailed failed to arrest readers of every succeeding era.Freedom in Christ is set against bondage to the law, adopted children of God are contrasted with slaves of elemental spirits, and justification by faith is opposed to works of the law. But what are these 'works of the law' good works by which people assert their self-achieved righteousness, or practices of the Jewish law that defined social boundaries and thus stood as a barrier to Gentiles from entering the new covenant?Astute readers will recognize this question as central to the recent scholarly debate over the "new perspective" on Paul. Leon Morris clearly stands in the tradition of Martin Luther and the reformers. With seasoned insight and deft simplicity, he explores the complexities and bold affirmations of Galatians, laying bare its essential lines and message. Never diverted by interpretive fashion or speculation, he represents a classic exegetical tradition that focuses on the plain meaning of the biblical text and the apostolic truth of the gospel.Readers who have puzzled over the twists, turns and compressed arguments of Galatians will be delighted to have Morris as their guide. The text that through the centuries has stirred and ignited the embers of gospel faith speaks with clarity again in our day.