Synopses & Reviews
In this book, respected Old Testament scholar Ronald Clements explores and elucidates a much-debated subject the place and significance of the Old Testament wisdom writings in Jewish and Christian theology.Based on the Didsbury Lectures delivered by Clements at British Isles Nazarene College in October 1989, 'Wisdom in Theology' first looks at the wisdom tradition in terms of its ancient Near Eastern background, it distinctiveness in Israelite life, and its historical development. Clements then discusses major wisdom themes under various headings: (1) wisdom and the world, (2) wisdom and health, (3) wisdom and politics, (4) wisdom and the household, and (5) wisdom and the divine realm.In explicating the unique role of the wisdom tradition, particularly in post-exilic Israel, Clements shows how wisdom, as opposed to the torah and prophecy, provided the Jews of the dispersion with the basis for a new, noncultic, universalistic worldview. Clements's scholarly discussion demonstrates to modern readers how much is yet to be learned regarding the inheritance of wisdom from the ancient world.
Synopsis
It is plain even from Pauls own writings that other presentations of the Christian message than his own were current during his apostolic career. With some of these other presentations he is quite happy; against others he found it necessary to put his readers on their guard.In these four studies originally presented as the inaugural series of Didsbury Lectures at the British Isles Nazarene College Manchester F.F. Bruce discusses what we know about the history of nonPauline Christianity in the first century. Judiciously drawing upon material from the whole of the New Testament he relates it to other early Christian literature in order to provide a highly readable outline of an important area.But as he warns this book does not study the literature for its own sake. Instead it focuses on the leaders of early nonPauline Christianity with their associates from whom the literature provides indispensable evidence.The topics covered areChapter 1 Peter and the ElevenChapter 2 Stephen and Other HellenistsChapter 3 James and the Church of JerusalemChapter 4 John and his Circle