Course Reserves

With clarity and verve, Mark Allen Powell introduces the beginning student to the contents and structure of the Gospels, their distinctive characteristics, and their major themes. An introductory chapter surveys the political, religious, and social world of the Gospels, methods of approaching early Christian texts, the genre of the Gospels, and the religious character of these writings. This second edition has been updated to take fuller account of different theories regarding the Gospels, with new chapters on the historical Jesus and on gospel literature not included in our New Testament, and with a pleasing new format. Special features include illustrations and more than two dozen special topics.

In this revised and updated biography of Jesus of Nazareth, best-selling author Jean-Pierre Isbouts examines the man behind the legend by marrying biblical accounts with archaeological and historical documentation in a compelling and comprehensive reference. A pivotal era of history comes to life in this fascinating biography of Jesus of Nazareth. The scrupulous account of Jesus' life spans his birth in Bethlehem to his trial and death in Jerusalem along with an emphasis on the characters and events that shaped his journey and his enduring legacy. This revised and updated edition features new images from Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the latest information from the groundbreaking work to expose the original surface of Jesus' tomb. Renowned religious historian and best-selling author Jean-Pierre Isbouts combines the latest historical and archaeological discoveries with enthralling storytelling to illustrate what is known and speculated about Jesus' youth, life, and work. This expert text is presented in an enjoyable, reader-friendly format sure to inspire both newcomers to biblical history as well as the devoted.

The renowned biblical scholar, author of The Misunderstood Jew, and general editor for The Jewish Annotated New Testament interweaves history and spiritual analysis to explore Jesus' most popular teaching parables, exposing their misinterpretations and making them lively and relevant for modern readers. Jesus was a skilled storyteller and perceptive teacher who used parables from everyday life to effectively convey his message and meaning. Life in first-century Palestine was very different from our world today, and many traditional interpretations of Jesus' stories ignore this disparity and have often allowed anti-Semitism and misogyny to color their perspectives. In this wise, entertaining, and educational book, Amy-Jill Levine offers a fresh, timely reinterpretation of Jesus' narratives. In Short Stories by Jesus, she analyzes these "problems with parables," taking readers back in time to understand how their original Jewish audience understood them. Levine reveals the parables' connections to first-century economic and agricultural life, social customs and morality, Jewish scriptures and Roman culture. With this revitalized understanding, she interprets these moving stories for the contemporary reader, showing how the parables are not just about Jesus, but are also about us--and when read rightly, still challenge and provoke us two thousand years later.

What Tom Vanderbilt did for traffic and Brian Wansink did for mindless eating, Jonathan Bloom does for food waste. The topic couldn't be timelier: As more people are going hungry while simultaneously more people are morbidly obese,American Wasteland sheds light on the history, culture, and mindset of waste while exploring the parallel eco-friendly and sustainable-food movements. As the era of unprecedented prosperity comes to an end, it's time to reexamine our culture of excess. Working at both a local grocery store and a major fast food chain and volunteering with a food recovery group, Bloom also interviews experts--from Brian Wansink to Alice Waters to Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen--and digs up not only why and how we waste, but, more importantly, what we can do to change our ways.

Whet your appetite for exploring the beauty and awe of God's creation. This easily digestible book brings together the writings of the Magisterium and the words of Sacred Scripture, and offers prayers for creation and in praise of the Creator.Get a brief but comprehensive overview of Church teaching on the environment with this book. Discover how the Magisterium expands on its rich teaching on creation. This includes a short survey of the writings of recent popes, the writings of Vatican II, the Catechism, the Roman Curia, and the US Catholic bishops. Then read through the essentials of what Scripture itself says about creation. Conclude with the Church's tradition of prayers related to creation-including prayers to care for creation, prayers in honor of the Creator, and prayers to bless the works of creation!This book will be a compelling read for parents, high school and college students, young people, parish ministers, pastors, and people of all ages with a love for creation and the Creator! Pick up this new book in honor of the 5th anniversary Laudato Si'!

This new edition of Religion in American Life, written by three of the country's most eminent historians of religion, offers a superb overview that spans four centuries, illuminating the rich spiritual heritage central to nearly every event in our nation's history. Beginning with the state of religious affairs in both the Old and New Worlds on the eve of colonization and continuing through to the present, the book covers all the major American religious groups, from Protestants, Jews, and Catholics to Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, Buddhists, and New Age believers. Revised and updated, the book includes expanded treatment of religion during the Great Depression, of the religious influences on the civil rights movement, and of utopian groups in the 19th century, and it now covers the role of religion during the 2008 presidential election, observing how completely religion has entered American politics.

ETHICS: A PLURALISTIC APPROACH TO MORAL THEORY, FIFTH EDITION provides a comprehensive yet clear introduction to the main traditions in ethical thought, including virtue ethics, utilitarianism, and deontology. Additionally, the book presents a conceptual framework of ethical pluralism to help readers understand the relationship among various theories. Lawrence Hinman, one of the most respected and accomplished professionals in ethics and philosophy education today, presents a text that gives readers plentiful opportunities to explore ethical theory and their own responses to them, using fascinating features such as the "Ethical Inventory" sections that appear at the beginning and the end of the text. End-of-chapter discussion questions, and the use of current issues and movies help students retain what they've learn and truly comprehend the subject matter.