Welcome to our book review site go-pdf.online!
You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
Property and Riches in the Early Church
What should be the Christian attitude toward money and possessions? Have our own possessions left us blind to the utopian vision of the first Christians? Is anything short of a complete renunciation of possessions a compromise with Christian teaching? In this brief and lucid study, esteemed New Testament scholar and historian Martin Hengel examines the views of property and riches to be found in the teachings of Jesus, the early Christian communities, and the church fathers down to the fourth century. He compares Christian ideals with those to be found in Judaism and ancient philosophy, and sets what was taught alongside what was achieved in practice. A final chapter summarizes the relevance of these findings for Christianity today, and an annotated reading list indicates suggestions for further study.
Judaism and Hellenism
Martin Hengel gathers an encyclopedic amount of material, ancient and modern, to present an exhaustive survey of the early course of Hellenistic civilization as it related to developing Judaism. The result is a highly readable account of a largely unfamiliar world which is indispensable for those interested in Judaism and the birth of Christianity alike. An extensive section of notes and bibliography is included.
Saint Peter
Many biblical scholars treat the apostle Peter as a vague figure in the early church and regard the early tradition as something that cannot be trusted. In Saint Peter: The Underestimated Apostle Martin Hengel rejects the common minimalist view about Peter s role in the Scriptures and in the early church. Arguing that Peter is wrongly underappreciated, Hengel shows that Peter was, in fact, central to developing both the Jewish and Gentile Christian missions. / Though Hengel s work rests on meticulous scholarship, it is written in a manner that any interested reader will find clear and enlightening.
Studies in Early Christology
An important collection of Martin Hengel's studies on early Christology, including previously unpublished work.The essays include 'Jesus the Messiah of Israel', 'Jesus as Messianic Teacher of Wisdom and the Beginnings of Christology', 'Sit at My Right Hand', 'The Song about Christ in Earliest Worship', 'The Dionysiac Messiah', 'The Kingdom of Christ in John', 'Christological Titles in Early Christianity'.A substantial foreword describes the context of the essays in contemporary scholarship.
Studies in the Gospel of Mark
Here Professor Hengel argues with a wealth of documentation that the traditional views of the origin and tradition of the Gospel of Mark have far more to be said for them than has been usually allowed by modern New Testament scholars. He argues that the tradition contained in the Gospel is that handed down by Peter through Mark, and that the Gospel was written in Rome in AD 69. The famous note by Papias quoted in Eusebius' 'Church History' is not to be dismissed, but has every appearance of being reliable. Further evidence in support of this view can be found in a detailed consideration of the titles of the Gospels, which must have been attached to the Gospels at a very early stage, if only to identify them. An appendix, by the distinguished classical philologist Wolfgang Schadewaldt, on 'The Reliability of the Synoptic Tradition,' is used to add further weight to the case. With his customary learning, Professor Hengel has produced a powerful argument which those who have held more radical views than his own will have to consider very carefully indeed if they are to continue to carry conviction.
The Johannine Question
Characteristically scholarly examination of the origin and authorship of the Fourth Gospel, within the context of the community to which it relates. Skilful detective work traces the trail back to a figure who witnessed the death of Jesus in Jerusalem.
Between Jesus and Paul
More happened in the period between Jesus and Paul, Professor Hengel argues, than in the whole of the next seven centuries, up to the time when the doctrine of the early church was completed. Certainly these decades are crucial to our understanding of the development of earliest Christianity. However, they are very much a ÒtunnelÓ period, and there is little to shed light on it. This volume does something to pierce the darkness. Among other issues, it considers the origins of the Christian mission, the role of the Hellenists, the reliability of Luke as a geographer when he is dealing with events in Palestine in the Acts of the Apostles, and the development of christological belief, particularly in Christian worship. Those familiar with Professor Hengel's work will know that they will find here a wealth of valuable insight based on painstaking examination of all available sources.
Crucifixion in the Ancient World and the Folly of the Message of the Cross
In a comprehensive and detailed survey on its remarkably widespread employment in the Roman empire, Dr. Hengel examines the way in which "the most vile death of the cross" was regarded in the Greek-speaking world and particularly in Roman-occupied Palestine. His conclusions bring out more starkly than ever the offensiveness of the Christian message: Jesus not only died an unspeakably cruel death, he underwent the most contemptible abasement that could be imagined. So repugnant was the gruesome reality, that a natural tendency prevails to blunt, remove, or deomesticate its scandalous impact. Yet any discussion of a "theology of the cross" must be preceded by adequate comprehension of both the nature and extent of this scandal.
The Atonement
In the wake of suggestions that the doctrine of the atoning death of Christ did not come into being in the earliest stages of Christianity, Martin Hengel forcefully argues with impeccable scholarship that the doctrine can be traced back to the earliest church, indeed to the sayings of Jesus himself. In the first part of this examination, Hengel explores a wide area of classical antiquity. Would it have made sense to Greeks and Romans of the first century to say that Jesus had died for them? Were there points of contact in their traditions? Surveying Greek and Latin literature, Hengel shows just how widespread the theme "dying for actually was, from Homer, through the Greek tragedians and orators, to Plutarch, Livy, and Caesar. The second part of the book is devoted to tracing the doctrine of atonement, moving back from the letters of Paul, through the pre-Pauline tradition, to Jesus.
