Books by Andrew Perriman

At a time when the Western church is having to come to terms--painfully and often reluctantly--with its diminished social and intellectual status in the world following the collapse of Christendom, we find ourselves, as interpreters of Paul, increasingly impressed by the need to relocate his writings in their historical context. That is not a coincidence. The Future of the People of God is an attempt to make sense of Paul''s letter to the Romans at the intersection of these two developments. It puts forward the argument that we must first have the courage of our historical convictions and read the text before Christendom, from the limited, shortsighted perspective of an emerging community that dared to defy the gods of the ancient world. This act of imaginative, critical engagement with the text will challenge many of our assumptions about Paul''s ""gospel of God,"" but it will also put us in a position to reconstruct an identity and purpose for the people of God after Christendom that is both biblically and historically coherent""The Future of the People of God: Reading Romans Before and After Western Christendom is clearly written and compellingly argued. Andrew Perriman probes the meaning of Romans, Paul''s most important letter, shedding light on the respective places of Jews and Gentiles in the redemptive plan of God. Perriman has captured the apostle''s thought and with impressive skill shows how it unfolds step by step. More impressive still is how the letter to the Romans is read in the light of the political realities of the Roman Empire in the middle of the first century and the dominical prophecy of Jerusalem''s impending doom. This is a great book. Highly recommended.""--Craig A. EvansPayzant Distinguished Professor of New TestamentAcadia Divinity College, Nova Scotia""Andrew Perriman here gives a fresh, highly stimulating reading of Romans rooted in its first century setting. His approach focuses on a soon-to-come historical crisis for Judaism and for the pagan world of Paul''s day, and provides new angles on passage after passage in Romans. This highly original book cannot fail to provoke thought, debate, argument, reflection and re-reading of Romans, both in its first century setting and for today.""-Steve WaltonSenior Lecturer in Greek and New Testament Studies, and Director of ResearchLondon School of Theology, United KingdomAndrew Perriman is a traveler, blogger (www.postost.net), ad hoc teacher and pastor, and independent theologian. He is the author of Speaking of Women: Interpreting Paul (1998), Faith, Health and Prosperity (2003), The Coming of the Son of Man: New Testament Eschatology for an Emerging Church (2005), and Re:Mission: Biblical Mission for a Post-Biblical Church (2007).

At a time when the Western church is having to come to terms--painfully and often reluctantly--with its diminished social and intellectual status in the world following the collapse of Christendom, we find ourselves, as interpreters of Paul, increasingly impressed by the need to relocate his writings in their historical context. That is not a coincidence. The Future of the People of God is an attempt to make sense of Paul's letter to the Romans at the intersection of these two developments. It puts forward the argument that we must first have the courage of our historical convictions and read the text before Christendom, from the limited, shortsighted perspective of an emerging community that dared to defy the gods of the ancient world. This act of imaginative, critical engagement with the text will challenge many of our assumptions about Paul's "gospel of God," but it will also put us in a position to reconstruct an identity and purpose for the people of God after Christendom that is both biblically and historically coherent

Tracing the powerful motif of the "coming of the Son of man" from Daniel through to Revelation, Andrew Perriman provides thought-provoking ideas about eschatological narrative. What was it like to hear the biblical proclamation of this "coming" for the first time in a cultural, political, and religious context very different from our own? How did early Christians think about the imminence of the promised "day of the Lord"? What difference did this message make to how they thought, lived, and spread the gospel message?This book engages the minds of jaded twenty-first-century postmoderns who have "heard it all before." By seeing the fulfilment of much of New Testament apocalyptic in events of the first centuries, Perriman proposes that in some important sense we have moved beyond eschatology--into an age of renewed community and mission that is creational in its scope.The Coming of the Son of Manis important reading for those who want to engage in the debate concerning what church is--and will be.

In Re: Mission: A Vision of Hope for a Post-Eschatological Church Andrew Perriman provides an innovative and radical book where postmodern mission and New Testament studies collide. Andrew Perriman examines the mission of the earliest church in its historical context and argues that our context is very different and so our mission cannot simply be a matter of doing exactly what the earliest church did. The key question at the heart of the book is, "How do we shape a biblical theology of mission for a post-biblical church?" Controversially Perriman maintains that the eschatological crisis faced by the early church - the coming judgment on the enemies that opposed God's people - has now passed with the collapse of the Roman Empire!Eschatology, says Perriman, is about temporary transitions from oppression to deliverance in the history of the people of God. However, creational disorder is with us all the time. The postmodern church does not face an eschatological crisis but a creational crisis. A missiology that is oriented towards a new creation is far more relevant to us now than a missiology oriented, as it was in most of the N¿ew Testament, towards rescue from opposition and persecution. Andrew Perriman lives in Holland and works with Christian Associates seeking to develop open, creative communities of faith for the emerging culture in Europe.