The Colossian Controversy
The Colossian Controversy

Author: Richard E. DeMaris

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 1994-04-01

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 0567490572

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Identifying the group or position that the author of Colossians attacks in ch 2 of that letter has long occupied scholars, but no interpretative consensus has resulted. This study details the inadequacy of existing reconstructions and offers in their stead the portrait of philosophically inclined Gentiles drawn to the Jewish community and then to the Christian congregation by ideas and practices congenial with their view of the world. Central to the Colossian philosphy's outlook was the pursuit of divine knowledge or wisdom through (1) the order of the cosmic elements (2.8, 20); (2) the bodily ascetism that unencumbered the investigative mind (2.18, 23); and (3) intermediaries between heaven and earth (angels and demons; 2.18). These features are typical of Middle Platonism in the New Testament era. At the same time, the philosophy's calendar (2.16) and stress on humility (2.18, 23) indicate Jewish and Christian influences. Hence, the Colossian philosophy appears to be a distinctive blend of popular Middle Platonic, Jewish, and Christian elements that cohere around the pursuit of wisdom. Flyer blurb: This study details the inadequacy of existing reconstructions and offers in their stead the portrait of philosophically inclined Gentiles drawn to the Jewish community and then to the Christian congregation by ideas and practices congenial with their view of the world.

The Colossian Syncretism
The Colossian Syncretism

Author: Clinton Arnold

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2014-12-01

Total Pages: 393

ISBN-13: 1498217575

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Our modern era is not unique in its fascination with angels and the spirit world. Paul's young converts in Colossae also had a keen interest in the subject, but some of them allowed this interest to distort their newfound Christian faith. Defining the exact nature of the Colossian heresy, however, has been a perennial challenge to interpreters. The Colossian Syncretism offers groundbreaking evidence on the true nature of the problem that the Apostle Paul opposed so vehemently. Drawing upon little-known angel inscriptions, magical texts, and archeological evidence from Asia Minor, the author argues that the Colossians tried to combine Paul's teachings about Christ with local pagan and Jewish folk beliefs. The result was a syncretism that kept them captive to the fear of evil spirits, dependent on the power of magic and amulets, and blind to the liberating power of the indwelling Christ, the supreme Creator and Lord of all spiritual principalities and powers. In addition to unearthing the historical background of Paul's letter to the Colossians, The Colossian Syncretism presents Paul's strategy for addressing the religious syncretism he faced there. It thus provides a working model for Christian missionaries and evangelists discipling converts from today's religiously pluralistic societies.

Christianizing Asia Minor
Christianizing Asia Minor

Author: Paul McKechnie

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2019-08

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 1108481469

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Explores the growth of Christianity in inland Roman Asia, as cities and rural communities moved away from polytheistic Greco-Roman religion.

Colossians and Philemon
Colossians and Philemon

Author: J. B. Lightfoot

Publisher: Crossway

Published: 1997-09-15

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 1433516535

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For hundreds of years Christendom has been blessed with Bible commentaries written by great men of God highly respected for their godly walk and their insight into spiritual truth. The Crossway Classic Commentaries present the very best work on individual Bible books, carefully adapted for maximum understanding and usefulness for today's believers. Christians throughout the centuries have marveled at the spiritual treasures in the apostle Paul's letters to the Colossians and to Philemon. Grand themes of the supremacy of Christ, the superiority of the Gospel over false belief systems, the joy of setting one's focus on things above, and the love-bonds between all followers of the Savior continue to inspire Christians today. This classic commentary will encourage and equip all who desire a deeper walk with God and a growing faith in him.

Colossians Remixed
Colossians Remixed

Author: Brian J. Walsh

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2015-05-27

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 0830899936

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Have we really heard the message of Colossians? Is this New Testament book just another religious text whose pretext is an ideological grab for dominating power? Reading Colossians in context, ancient and contemporary, can perhaps give us new ears to hear. In this innovative and refreshing book Brian J. Walsh and Sylvia C. Keesmaat explain our own sociocultural context to then help us get into the world of the New Testament and get a sense of the power of the gospel as it addressed those who lived in Colossae two thousand years ago. Their reading presents us with a radical challenge from the apostle Paul for today. Drawing together biblical scholarship with a passion for authentic lives that embody the gospel, this groundbreaking interpretation of Colossians provides us with tools to subvert the empire of our own context in a way that acknowledges the transforming power of Jesus Christ.

The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, 2nd ed.
The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, 2nd ed.

Author: Douglas J. Moo

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2024-11-12

Total Pages: 415

ISBN-13: 1467462950

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A knowledgeable and evangelical guide to Paul’s letters to the Colossians and to Philemon With brilliant exegesis and sound practical insight, noted commentator Douglas J. Moo explicates the Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, with an eye toward their application for readers today. Moo bases his commentary on the Greek text of the letters, while accessibly explaining the English text to his contemporary audience. Freshly revised and updated, this second edition remains methodologically sound, authentically evangelical, and pastoral in approach. This invaluable volume of the Pillar New Testament Commentary series offers biblical insights to a wide range of readers, from teachers and students, to pastors and parishioners, to scholars and laypersons.

The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon
The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon

Author: Douglas J. Moo

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2008-08-25

Total Pages: 405

ISBN-13: 1467439800

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Exhibiting the same brilliant exegesis and sound practical insight found in his previous works, noted commentator Douglas J. Moo in this new volume not only explains accurately the meaning of the letters to the Colossians and to Philemon but also applies that meaning powerfully to twenty-first-century readers. Moo both interacts with the Greek text of these letters and clearly explains the English text to a contemporary audience. Informed, evangelical, methodologically astute, and displaying a careful balance between good scholarship and pastoral concern -- earmarks of the Pillar New Testament Commentary series as a whole -- Moo's Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon will offer insights to a wide range of readers, from teachers and students, to pastors and parishioners, to scholars and laypersons.

Heavenly Perspective
Heavenly Perspective

Author: Ian Smith

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2006-06-28

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 0567439097

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This book identifies the source of the Colossian error as from within Jewish mystical movements and shows how both the theology and practice which is taught in the epistle is to be understood from this context. The book gives a helpful overview of scholarship that has attempted to identify the nature and source of the Colossian error. The book, unlike many others on the topic, is exegetically driven, and will model thorough and careful exegetical practice. The book interacts with extra-Biblical texts which help the reader to understand the mystical contexts of first century Judaism.

Sharing in the Inheritance
Sharing in the Inheritance

Author: Allan R. Bevere

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2003-03-01

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 0567210545

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The argument of this book is two-fold: the target of the argument of Colossians is a Judaism dismissive of the Gentile Colossian Christians and the recognition of that fact casts new light on the moral material of the letter and its integration into the argument of the epistle as a whole.Several arguments are made in support of these claims. Significant parallels between Colossians and Galatians suggest similar concerns in both letters relating to Israel's identity as the people of God and how that relates to the Gentile believers are to live. The writers of Colossians, while sharing a similar Jewish perspective with the Colossian philosophers on the relationship between identity and way of life, admonish the Gentile Christians to live in a way consistent with who they are. Nevertheless Paul and Timothy differ with the philosophers as to what constitutes the identity of the Colossian Gentiles as the people of God. In addition to the parallels drawn further themes are present in Colossians which strongly suggest the Jewish character of the philosophy: wisdom, election, and death of Christ as the final return from exile. The apocalyptic background of 3.1-6, the Jewish moral concerns of the ethical lists (3.5-17), and the christological orientation of the Haustafel, bolster the claim that the target of Colossians is Jewish in character and the moral material is integral to the argument.