Books in the International Studies in Christian Origins series

Unlike literature in the modern western world, ancient documents were typically crafted for the ear rather than the eye. This investigation of the structure of "1 John's Prologue" analyzes the oral patterning and resulting soundscape reflected in this key New Testament passage.

The Q-Hypothesis has functioned as a mainstay of study of the synoptic gospels for many years. Increasingly it comes under fire. In this volume leading proponents of Q, as well as of the case against Q, offer the latest arguments based on the latest research into this literary conundrum. The contributors to the volume include John Kloppenborg, Christopher Tuckett, Clare Rothschild, Mark Goodacre, and Francis Watson. The Q-Hypothesis is examined in depth and the discussion moves back and forth over Q''s strengths and weaknesses. As such the volume sheds light on how the gospels were composed, and how we can view them in their final literary forms.

The problem of evil has preoccupied world religions for centuries. The Old Testament contained no uniform dogma on evil powers, launching a fierce debate that has dominated theological and philosophical thought through the centuries to this day. Evil and the Devil brings together contributions from leading inter national scholars to chart that debate, tracing the history of evil from its origins in the Old Testament through early Judaism and the New Testament to the thought of Origen and one of the topic's most influential theologians, Augustine. What role did evil adopt in ancient Judaism? What impact did the association of miracles with demons have upon Matthew's Gospel? Evil and the Devil examines such questions, resulting in a fascinating and comprehensive exploration of portrayals of evil and its power and influence on religious thought.

A combination of two classic discussions in New Testament scholarship, the contributions in this volume shed light on the still unsolved synoptic problem by using the well-coined concept of rewriting to describe the relationship between the synoptic gospels. The contributions work with the hypothesis that the synoptic tradition can be conceived of as a process of rewriting: Matthew rewrote Mark and Luke rewrote Mark and Matthew. This approach to the synoptic problem dismantles the grounds for the otherwise widely accepted two-source theory. If it can be shown that Luke knew Matthew''s Gospel the Q-hypothesis is superfluous. One group of articles focuses on the general question of Luke''s literary relation to the other gospels. In these essays, the concept of rewriting describes Luke''s use of his sources. The second part of the collection examines a number of texts in order to shown how Luke rewrites specific passages. In the final section the contributions concern Luke''s relation to Roman authorities. It is shown that Luke''s literary creativity is not limited to his predecessors in the gospel tradition. Rewriting is his literary strategy.