This volume draws attention to ancient religious texts, especially the so-called 'non-canonical' texts, by focusing on how they were used or functioned in Early Judaism and Early Christianity. The contributors are biblical scholars who have chosen one or more Jewish or Christian apocryphal or pseudepigraphical texts, with the aim of describing their ancient functions in their emerging social settings. These show the fluidity of the notion of scripture in the early centuries of the Church and in Judaism of late antiquity, but they also show the value of examining the ancient religious texts that were not included in the Jewish or Christian biblical canons. These chapters show that there is much that can be learned from examining and comparing these texts with canonical literature and evaluating them in their social context. No ancient text was created in a vacuum, and the non-canonical writings aid in our interpretation not only of many canonical writings, but also shed considerable light on the context of both early Judaism and early Christianity.

Product Description: A leading New Testament scholar provides an introduction to the study of the historical Jesus that takes both scholarship and Christian faith seriously.

Product Description: This volume addresses the most important issues related to the study of New Testament writings. Two respected senior scholars have brought together a team of distinguished specialists to introduce the Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman backgrounds necessary for understanding the New Testament and the early church...read more

Product Description: This volume deals with a significant issue in light of the many and significant discoveries of ancient sacred or religious texts that were not included in the Jewish or Christian Bibles. Because of the focus in the news media in recent years on those "extra-canonical" books that have come to light in the last century-and even more recently, there is need for clarification of the processes involved in the formation of the Jewish and Christian Bibles...read more

Product Description: We know that the early Christian church had a variety of scriptures and other source material that informed their faith and shaped their thinking. We also know that after a few centuries the church decided to keep the twenty-seven books of our present New Testament and to treat them as canonical in faith and practice...read more

Product Description: This comprehensive examination of the sacred literature of early Christianity introduces the literature and world of the early followers of Jesus. It explores fundamental issues such as the relationship between history and faith, the place of critical methodology, the transmission of the New Testament writings, the historical context of early Christianity, and the formation of the canon...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

"Lee McDonald has written a lucid and accessible account of the formation of the Christian Bible, clearly marshalling the major evidence, working through the main problems, and reaching persuasive conclusions. Treating separately the canons of the Old and New Testaments, he provides translations of most of the ancient primary sources, good summaries of scholarly debates, and a useful guide to the extensive scholarly literature on the subject. This book will find an appreciative readership among students, pastors, and inquiring laypersons."" Harry Gamble, Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, University of Virginia"This is a remarkable book in that it tackles the question of the formation of the Christian biblical canon in its full sense, that is, both testaments. . . . McDonald has produced a timely study, considerably improved in the sections of the OT canon and generally more comprehensive for both testaments than in his first edition, that should command wide attention for years to come. He has, in my opinion, come to the right conclusions on the essential questions."" James A. Sanders, Professor of Biblical and Intertestamental Studies, School of Theology at Claremont