Description: Why did the Gentile church keep Old Testament commandments about sex and idolatry, but disregard many others, like those about food or ritual purity? If there were any binding norms, what made them so, and on what basis were they articulated?In this important study, Markus Bockmuehl approaches such questions by examining the halakhic (Jewish legal) rationale behind the ethics of Jesus, Paul and the early Christians. He offers fresh and often unexpected answers based on careful biblical and historical study. His arguments have far-reaching implications not only for the study of the New Testament, but more broadly for the relationship between Christianity and Judaism.
Review Quotes: Reviewed in: Church Times, 23 March 2001 Highlights: "This is a densely packed and erudite book with many themes, by a scholar for scholars. It needs to be read slowly, with a Bible at hand and a some knowledge of Greek, Hebrew, and even Latin and German The book breaks fresh ground by providing, through the use of Jewish texts, a Jewish background of NT ethics. The author writes modestly, admitting that many of his themes need more investigation It will become required reading for those taking an honours degree in NT theology."