Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels: A Compendium Of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship (Black Dictionaries) - Tapa dura

Today, New Testament students are inundated with a virtual flood of research on Jesus and the Gospels. What does it mean for Jesus to be called God's Son? Why did Jesus have to die? Did Jesus have female followers; if he did, what is their significance? What is a 'Gospel'?

In recent decades some traditional viewpoints have been transformed, some overturned, others confirmed. New methodologies and approaches have been championed, some becoming commonplace. New studies have helped us to appreciate better the perspectives of the Gospel writers, and they have brought into sharper relief the challenge of Jesus life and message.

Those studies have also grown more numerous and, in many cases, more technical. How can undergraduate students, seminarians, people in professional ministry, leaders in local churches and other Christian organizations, even academic scholars, stay abreast of the range of contemporary study of Jesus and the Gospels? How can the fruit of vital study of Jesus and the Gospels in recent years help to animate our reading of and interaction with the Gospels?

When it first appeared some twenty years ago, the 'Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels' was concerned to address exactly these kinds of needs. This revision of the Dictionary follows the same path, though now with new content and up-to-date bibliographies, as well as a host of new contributors. Some ninety percent of the original material has been replaced, with most previous entries assigned to a fresh list of scholars. A number of new articles have been introduced, and a handful of articles from the first edition have been updated in light of ongoing research.

Like its predecessor, this revision of the 'Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels' provides students with introductory discussions, comprehensive surveys and convenient bibliographies. For pastors and teachers it provides reliable and readable information. For theologians and biblical scholars it provides up-to-date reviews. People interested in Jesus and the Gospels can start here and from here they will be led back with new insights and questions to the biblical texts themselves. And they may find themselves turning from one article to the next, and on to further studies, as they pursue their questions.