Description:
In this thoroughly revised and expanded edition of a milestone study, a careful explanation of four essential cultural themes offers readers a window into how early Christians sustained commitment to distinctly Christian identity and practice, andwith it, a new appreciation of the New Testament, the gospel, and Christian discipleship.
Brief description:
David A. deSilva (PhD, Emory University) is Trustees' Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary. He is the author of over thirty books, including An Introduction to the New Testament, Discovering Revelation, Introducing the Apocrypha, and commentaries on Galatians, Ephesians, and Hebrews. He is also an ordained elder in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Review Quotes:
"Searching through the great moral teachers of the ancient world--from Aristotle to Seneca, from Musonius Rufus to the Wisdom of Ben Sira, and to so many others--David deSilva guides us through the distinct cultural assumptions of antiquity (i.e., honor, patronage, kinship, and purity). With his sharp exegetical mind, deSilva wisely and carefully encourages interpreters to become more sensitive to the social dynamics of ancient cultural assumptions informing the literature of the New Testament. There is no finer contemporary guide to this vital area of research."
Emerson B. Powery, professor of biblical studies at Messiah University and author of The Genesis of Liberation