Jesus and the Trojan War looks at ways in which stories are presented and understood; and how story-tellers - and their listeners - may wittingly or unwittingly confuse fact with fiction. This book explores the parallels between four stories (the Trojan war, Moses, King Arthur, and Jesus), and the way their sources relate to their histories and contemporary relevance.
In this groundbreaking book, Dennis R. MacDonald offers an entirely new view of the New Testament gospel of Mark. The author of the earliest gospel was not writing history, nor was he merely recording tradition, MacDonald argues. Close reading and careful analysis show that Mark borrowed extensively from the Odyssey and the Iliad and that he wanted his readers to recognise the Homeric antecedents in Mark's story of Jesus. Mark was composing a prose anti-epic, MacDonald says, presenting Jesus as a suffering hero modeled after but far superior to traditional Greek heroes. Much like Odysseus, Mark's Jesus sails the seas with uncomprehending companions, encounters preternatural opponents, and suffers many things before confronting rivals who have made his house a den of thieves. In his death and burial, Jesus emulates Hector, although unlike Hector Jesus leaves his tomb empty. Mark's minor characters, too, recall Homeric predecessors: Bartimaeus emulates Tiresias; Joseph of Arimathea, Priam; and the women at the tomb, Helen, Hecuba, and Andromache. And, entire episodes in Mark mirror Homeric episodes, including stilling the sea, walking on water, feeding the multitudes, the Triumphal E
Based on the latest archeological research and written by a leading expert on ancient military history, the true story of the most famous battle in history is every bit as compelling as Homer's epic account, and confirms many of its details.
Uncover the philosophical and theological roots of the issues that rock the Church today; come to understand why Catholics get so heated about them. This acclaimed 1967 work has become an international classic because of its ability to go beyond the liberal/conservative impasse to the heart of the Catholic crisis.
Helen of Troy engages with the ancient origins of the persistent anxiety about female beauty, focusing on this key figure from ancient Greek culture in a way that both extends our understanding of that culture and provides a useful perspective for reconsidering aspects of our own.
You cannot make it without God’s mercy. Do we just need God’s grace in dark and shameful moments? Are prayers for mercy only for those times when we really mess up? Jonathan Parnell says we need God’s mercy all the time. In fact, contrary to many church cultures, Parnell shows that asking God for mercy should be as regular as asking God for our daily bread. There’s no doubt that David was in a terrible predicament when he first prayed the words of Psalm 51. It was a dark and shameful moment in the Bible, and one so dark and shameful it seldom feels relevant to us today. But David’s most desperate prayer is really a prayer for all of us—and not just for our worst moments, but for our every moment. In these pages, you'll discover: how to pray a daily, memorable prayer derived from Psalm 51 how to practice daily repentance and soul care how to pursue God and experience his joy in the Christian life This is God’s mercy, and it’s Mercy for Today.
Tolle Lege, take up and read! These words from St. Augustine perfectly describe the human condition. Reading is the universal pilgrimage of the soul. In reading we journey to find ourselves and to save ourselves. The ultimate journey is reading the Great Books. In the Great Books we find the struggle of the human soul, its aspirations, desires, and failures. Through reading, we find faces and souls familiar to us even if they lived a thousand years ago. The unread life is not worth living, and in reading we may well discover what life is truly about and prepare ourselves for the pilgrimage of life.
The Trojan Horse Of Tithing is a plea to Christian leaders, written from a Charismatic/Pentecostal perspective. Jonathan Brenneman exposes the inherent problems with common tithe teachings, highlighting serious issues with even so-called "grace tithing." He demonstrates how deception starts subtly and documents the growing acceptance in mainstream Christianity of even overt teachings of salvation by tithing. Millions of people today now believe they will never even enter heaven without their tithes. No matter how much we try to dress tithe teachings up as grace, they continue to be the root of serious problems.The arguments contained here against the modern tithe tradition are thorough, compelling, and overwhelming. The gospel is worth giving not only our money, but even our lives to promote. However, modern tithe traditions have no place in this because they are not based on truth and misrepresent the way God relates to people. Rather than helping to advance, the gospel, they distort it. God is calling his church to get rid of the leaven and return to a powerful and pure gospel message!The Trojan Horse of Tithing is one of the most comprehensive overviews of multiple arguments against tithing. Few books make such a compelling case as to why tithing is incompatible with the gospel, or deal so thoroughly with less logical but emotionally powerful objections such as "but tithing works!" We include: -What could have possibly convinced strong proponents of tithing such as Derek Prince to change their minds?-Documentation and evidence of the extent of literal "salvation by tithing" doctrine in today's churches, and demonstration that this is the logical implication of even many of the most common so-called "grace tithing" teachings.-Dozens of serious logical problems with all of the common pro-tithing arguments.-A historical study on Melchizedeck and the related terms "El Elyon," "Zedek," "Salem," "Heaven," and "Earth."-11 commandments of God that churches regularly break for their tithe tradition.-9 serious problems with using Malachi as support for Christian tithing.-The history of tithing.-Contrast between the Babylonian tithe and the Jewish tithe. Which is our modern tithe tradition based on?-How the modern tithe tradition violates the statutes and the basic principles of the Jewish tithe.-What tithing and witchcraft have in common.-How tithing undermines Spirit-led giving.-How people are stepping into supernatural giving and supernatural provision without the tithe.-The historical and cultural context of ministerial support in scripture.-Why some of the world's most successful church planters see tithing as a hindrance to church multiplication.-How tithe teachings promote a poverty spirit.-A prophetic dream for the church.
Quintus' epic, written probably in the third century after Christ, is the only extant literary work from antiquity that gives a connected account of the events of the Trojan War. It tells what happened to Achilles and to Troy, and of the fatal enterprises of the Queen of the Amazons and the King of Ethiopia, the funeral games held in honor of Achilles, the victory of Odysseus in his contest with Aias, the death of Paris, the strategy of the wooden horse, and the capture and sack of Troy.
