Biblical Studies

The Mind in Another Place

My Life as a Scholar Luke Timothy Johnson e memoir of one of the best-known and most in uential New Testament scholars of recent decades—with re ections on the scholarly life and how it has changed over the years.

“It is so important for biblical scholars to give an account of their own formation—the social, racial, and educational contexts that led to their work. is is what we nd, in accessible prose, in Luke Timothy Johnson’s memoir. Readers will nd a rich resource for studying the historical context of New Testament studies in the United States in the mid-twentieth century to the turn of the twenty- rst century.”

— LAU SALAH NAS LLAH

Yale Divinity School

“Biblical scholars rarely write books of the ‘I couldn’t put it down’ variety. But Johnson has done so. It is entertaining. It is informative (documenting, among other things, a eld’s changes over the last half century). And it is wise, above all regarding the moral and intellectual virtues. If you aspire to be a historian of early Christianity or an exegete of its texts and cannot nd yourself in this book, you need to pursue another line of work.”

— DALE C. ALLISON JR.

Princeton Theological Seminary

“Memories of another America, a monastic and seminary culture long gone, and even universities themselves could be a cabinet of curiosities. Not as Johnson tells it. e Mind in Another Place takes readers into the ‘passionate detachment’ of a life devoted to what the author admits is scholarship with a contrarian streak. A great read for anyone discerning if scholarship is the Mount Everest to climb.”

— PHEME PERKINS

Boston College

Luke Timothy Johnson is the Robert W. Woodru Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Christian Origins at Candler School of eology, Emory University. He won the 2011 Grawemeyer Award in Religion for his Among the Gentiles: Greco-Roman Religion and Christianity. Johnson’s many other books include e Revelatory Body; Brother of Jesus, Friend of God; e Writings of the New Testament; and the two-volume work e Canonical Paul.

978-0-8028-8011-6 • Jacketed Hardcover • 278 pages • $27.99 US • $37.99 CAN • £21.99 UK

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How We Read the Bible

A Guide to Scripture’s Style and Meaning Karolien Vermeulen and Elizabeth R. Hayes

rough accessible explanations of twelve key stylistic elements that have been central to biblical scholarship in recent decades, How We Read the Bible provides all who study Scripture with the tools to understand what happens when we read and draw meaning from biblical texts. Rather than problematizing the divide between authors from the ancient world and a modernday audience, Karolien Vermeulen and Elizabeth Hayes bridge the gap by utilizing recent research on language and the mind to explore the interaction between the cues of the text and the context of the reader. With numerous examples from the Old and New Testaments and helpful suggestions for further study, How We Read the Bible can be used within any framework of biblical study—historical, theological, literary, and others—as a pathway to meeting Scripture on its own terms.

“Reading the Bible is anything but straightforward. In this marvelous li le book, focusing on both the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and the New Testament, the two authors share many insights concerning the language and literary conventions of the Bible. As a result, anyone who reads it will become a more careful, accurate, and sophisticated Bible reader.” — MARC ZVI BRE LER

Duke University

“How We Read the Bible is an accessible introduction to reading Scripture with help om cognitive stylistics. Vermeulen and Hayes welcome the reader to consider how they read the Bible by shedding light on the experience of reading itself. In the process, they have gi ed their readers with a lucid and approachable handbook that provides plenty of diagrams, examples, and case studies. I highly recommend this book.”

— JEANNINE K. BROWN

Bethel Seminary

Karolien Vermeulen is FWO (Research Foundation—Flanders) Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of Jewish Studies, University of Antwerp. Elizabeth R. Hayes is a liate assistant professor of Old Testament at Fuller eological Seminary.

978-0-8028-7809-0 • Paperback • 208 pages • $24.99 US • $33.99 CAN • £19.99 UK

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The Word of a Humble God

The Origins, Inspiration, and Interpretation of Scripture Karen R. Keen

Foreword by Michael Graves “Scripture is a spring of life-giving, life-altering truth, but when we don’t understand how and why it came to us, we end up misusing it.”

How did we get the Bible? And why does it ma er? History reveals that Scripture can be used for both life-giving and destructive purposes. Discovering the Bible’s origins makes all the di erence for fostering redemptive interpretation of Scripture. Bringing together both historical criticism and theology, this investigation examines ancient scribal culture through the lens of faith. What we nd is a divine-human collaboration that points to the character of God and the value of human agency.

In a concise presentation of a breadth of scholarship usually only found across multiple volumes, Karen Keen o ers a vital introduction to the material origins of the Bible, theories of inspiration, and the history of biblical interpretation—with re ections on what this all means for us as we read Scripture today. rough the ins and outs of these important topics, and with the aid of thought-provoking questions and learning activities at the end of each chapter, Keen argues that the Bible and its origins reveal a humble God who invites us to imitate that humility—a humility that is itself the most powerful antidote to the misinterpretation and abuse of Scripture.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword by Michael Graves Introduction

Part One: The Making of the Bible

1. Context: People, Places, and Times 2. A Community Project 3. Dynamic, Not Static 4. Bible Variety and Canonization

Part Two: Inspiration

5. God and People Working Together 6. Inspiration and the Humility of God 7. Does God Speak Literally?

Part Three: Interpretation

8. Interpretive Variety 9. Beyond Chronological Snobbery 10. Who You Are Matters 11. Learning Humility Together

Karen R. Keen ( M, Duke Divinity School) is a biblical scholar, author, and spiritual care provider who has taught biblical and theological studies in both academic and church se ings. She currently teaches classes and leads retreats through the Redwood Center for Spiritual Care and Education.

978-0-8028-7869-4 • Paperback • 240 pages • $20.00 US • $26.99 CAN • £15.99 UK

AVAILABLE OCTOBER 2022

The Bible in the Early Church

Justo L. González A concise history of the Bible: its creation, use, and interpretation.

In this book, celebrated church historian Justo González provides an overview of the composition and use of the Bible in the early church. He then brie y surveys the interpretation of the Bible throughout the ensuing centuries, giving readers a holistic sense of the Bible’s emergence as the keystone of Christian life, from its beginnings to present times.

“González wears his considerable erudition lightly and shares it with readers all along the way. . . . e result is a short work ideally suited for classrooms, whether in congregations or seminaries, but equally suited to anyone interested in the development of the Bible within the context of Christianity’s earliest days.”

— PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“ is is the best introduction to the Bible in the early church currently available. . . . Both conversational and dependable, hallmarks of González’s scholarship over the decades.”

— PETER W. MARTENS

professor of early Christianity at Saint Louis University

“Finally. A book on the Bible in early Christianity that answers the important questions that everyone asks and does it in a way that everyone will want to read. is is González at his best.”

— D. JEFFREY BINGHAM

professor of historical theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Reading e Bible in the Early Church is like being transported across time to experience Scripture the way the rst believers would have encountered it. . . . is book is a wonderful introductory resource that fosters gratitude for the generations that preserved and passed down the Bible to us.”

— REN R. KEEN

founder of the Redwood Center for Spiritual Care and Education, Garland, Texas

“Justo L. González has gi ed us in e Bible in the Early Church with a very personal, clear, and erudite introduction to the writing, use, and transmission of the biblical text for the life of the church.” — ALBERTO L. GARCÍA

professor emeritus of theology at Concordia University Wisconsin

Justo L. González is a retired United Methodist minister and professor of historical theology. His more than one hundred books include e Story of Christianity, A History of Christian ought, Teach Us to Pray, Knowing Our Faith, and A Brief History of Sunday.

978-0-8028-8174-8 • Paperback • 204 pages • $19.99 US • $26.99 CAN • £15.99 UK

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