Border Crossings
May 2012 
A Newsletter From Brazos Press

 

Greetings from Brazos Press!

 

This is my inaugural issue overseeing Border Crossings, and I am excited to have this opportunity to connect with you each month. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, spring has arrived with warmer weather and plants blossoming into lively colors. As a result, I am feeling particularly optimistic and encouraged--I hope that you are in a similar place as well.

 

I am especially encouraged since we recently acquired a new publicist with years of experience in publishing and a passion for Christian academics. Trinity Graeser is a graduate of Hillsdale College, majoring in philosophy, and has spent the last several years working for our sister division Baker Books. For more information on Trinity, check out our recent post on The Brazos Blog.

 

This month we will have exhibits at the International Congress on Medieval Studies, the North American Patristics Society, the Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit, and the annual convention of the College Theology Society.

 

Our spring academic catalog is now available. You can view it online.

 

Finally, don't forget to stay in touch with our books and authors via The Brazos Blog. This month we are posting an interview with Brazos author Gary Colledge, author of God and Charles Dickens. You won't want to miss it.

 

God bless,

Bryan Dyer, Assistant Marketing Manager

 

Luke (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible) 

Luke

Highly acclaimed professor of literature David Lyle Jeffrey offers a theological reading of Luke in this addition to the well-received Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible. This commentary, like each in the series, is designed to serve the church--providing a rich resource for preachers, teachers, students, and study groups--and demonstrate the continuing intellectual and practical viability of theological interpretation of the Bible.

 

 

Praise for the Book

Markus Bockmuehl (professor of biblical and early Christian studies, Keble College, University of Oxford) says, "With its exciting, theologically vibrant range of reference across twenty centuries of interpretation, this is a terrific contribution. . . . Jeffrey on Luke brings the evangelist to life for us on a brilliant exegetical and theological tour of attentive gospel interpretation down the ages."

 

Hans Boersma (J. I. Packer Professor of Theology, Regent College) says, "Only a genuine 'lover of God' can reflect on Luke's Gospel with the kind of eloquent beauty that David Lyle Jeffrey displays in this commentary. Drawing on a wide range of earlier 'lovers of God' throughout the centuries--commentators, painters, and poets--this book is living testimony that reading in line with faithful readers throughout the centuries makes us enter more deeply into Luke's portrayal of the beauty of divine redemption."

 

John Nolland (director of studies and tutor in New Testament, Trinity College Bristol) says, "Drawing on a rich palette of historic Christian reflection, Jeffrey provides an exposition of Luke that invites one into a spiritually rich engagement with this Gospel. In Jeffrey's hands the giants of the past, the wider context of scripture, and key features of the text itself direct our focus to the Jesus to whom Luke bears testimony."

 

Praise for the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible

Mark A. Noll (University of Notre Dame) says, "The Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible makes a most welcome contribution to the church, the academic world, and the general public at large. By enlisting a wide range of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox theologians who differ on much, but who agree on the truth of the Nicene Creed, the series also represents ecumenical activity of the very best kind. It is always a daunting challenge to expound the church's sacred book both simply and deeply, but this impressive line-up of authors is very well situated for the attempt."

 

Calvin Miller (author of A Hunger for the Holy and Loving God Up Close) says, "Contemporary application of the Bible to life is the preacher's business. But no worthy contemporary application is possible without a thorough understanding of the ancient text. The Brazos Theological Commentary exists to provide an accessible authority so that the preacher's application will be a ready bandage for all the hurts of life. We who serve the pulpit want a commentary we can understand, and those who hear us expect us to give them a usable word. The Brazos Commentary offers just the right level of light to make illuminating the word the joy it was meant to be."

 

[Link to Brazos site]

 

Jesus and Money--Now in Paperback 

Jesus and Money

In the wake of a sobering global recession, many Christians realize they need to rethink their approach to money. Jesus and Money explores what the Bible does--and doesn't--say about money. Ben Witherington III clearly and concisely examines what Jesus and his earliest followers taught about wealth and poverty, money and debt, and tithing and sacrificial giving to help readers understand the proper role of money in modern Christian life. Along the way, he critiques the faith-promise and health-and-wealth approaches to these issues, showing what good stewardship of God's possessions truly looks like. All readers concerned about making sense of money in a world of economic uncertainty will value this book.

 

Praise for the Book

Publishers Weekly says, "In this comprehensive review of statements in the Bible about economics, wealth, and poverty, [Witherington] analyzes canonical texts and their contemporary applications for Christians. . . . From unpacking perplexing gospel stories like 'the dishonest steward' to offering concrete advice on how to separate from a culture of conspicuous consumption (discerning between necessities and luxuries and practicing debt forgiveness are among the practices he advocates), this cogent, accessible, scholarly analysis contributes to the current economic conversation and urgently calls people of faith to review and reform their role as God's stewards. Appendixes include popular Christian myths about money, and a powerful and apt 18th-century sermon on money by John Wesley."

 

Library Journal says, "Sadly pertinent to the current economic situation, this book examines Scripture with diligence and intelligence, seeking the teachings of Jesus and his followers on wealth, poverty, giving, and debt. Best of all, Witherington includes an appendix of ten myths about Christians and money that, rightly understood, are stinging rebukes to the adherents of the so-called Prosperity Gospel. . . . For all Witherington's scholarship, this work should nonetheless be accessible to most readers. It offers ample evidence for Witherington's assertions about what Jesus might have made of our current economic predicament."

 

Journal of Markets & Morality says, "Ben Witherington is a scholar who covers various financial topics well in Jesus and Money. His book is timely as people are distressed about money and are seeking biblical answers. Witherington works to provide those answers. . . . He deals knowledgeably with the Old and New Testament teachings on money and wealth. A strong point of the book is the background he provides so as to add color to the teachings. . . . This context and the biblical principles he derives are accurate and interesting."

 

Table of Contents

Prequel: Reconsidering the Value of Money in Hard Times

1. "In the Beginning God Created . . ." Getting Our Bearings

2. A King's Ransom: Proverbial Wisdom on Wealth

3. Money in the Bartering World of Jesus

4. Jesus and the Treasure Hunt

5. James's Rich Wisdom

6. Luke on Poverty and Wealth

7. Paul on Work, Remuneration, and the Love of Money

8. John of Patmos and the News Flash for the Merchants and Mr. 666  

9. Toward a New Testament Theology of Stewardship, Money, and Giving

10. How to Deprogram Ourselves from a Lifestyle of Conspicuous Consumption and Self-Gratification

Appendix 1: Ten Christian Myths about Money

Appendix 2: John Wesley's Sermon "On the Use of Money"

 

[Link to Brazos site]

 
Table of Contents
Luke (BTCB)
Jesus and Money

 
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