{"title":"Books by John Dominic Crossan","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780062964939","title":"Render Unto Caesar","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe revered Bible scholar and author of The Historical Jesus explores the Christian culture wars—the debates over church and state—from a biblical perspective, exploring the earliest tensions evident in the New Testament, and offering a way forward for Christians today.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLeading Bible scholar John Dominic Crossan, the author of the pioneering work \u003cem\u003eThe Historical Jesus,\u003c\/em\u003e provides new insight into the Christian culture wars which began in the New Testament and persist strongly today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor decades, Americans have been divided on how Christians should relate to government and lawmakers, a dispute that has impacted every area of society and grown more rancorous over the past forty years. But as Crossan makes clear, this debate isn’t new; it can be found in the New Testament itself, most notably in the tensions between Luke-Acts and Revelation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the texts of Luke-Acts, Rome is considered favorably. In the book of Revelation, Rome is seen as the embodiment of evil in the world. Yet there is an alternative to these two extremes, Crossan explains. The historical Jesus and Paul, the earliest Christian teachers, were both strongly opposed to Rome, yet neither demonized the Empire.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCrossan sees in Jesus and Paul’s approach a model for Christians today that can be used to cut through the acrimony and polarization roiling our society and dividing us.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56222388060533,"sku":"9780062964939","price":28.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780062964939_a386c184-0b67-4922-8295-28214587e331.jpg?v=1786011428"},{"product_id":"9780281060047","title":"The First Christmas – What The Gospels Really Teach Us About Jesus`s Birth","description":"In The First Christmas, two of today's top Jesus scholars, Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan, show how history has biased our reading of the nativity story as it appears in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The First Christmas explores the beginning of the life of Christ, peeling away the sentimentalism that has build up over two thousand years around this most well known of all stories to reveal the truth of what the Gospels actually say. Borg and Crossan help us to see this familiar narrative afresh by answering the question 'What do these stories mean' from the perspective of both the first and the twenty-first centuries. They successfully show that the Christmas story, read in its original context, is far richer and more challenging than people imagine.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56231515849077,"sku":"9780281060047","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780281060047_6aa8dbd8-40f2-486e-920b-e8deb8803452.jpg?v=1786012759"},{"product_id":"9780281074204","title":"Jesus and the Violence of Scripture","description":"Which is the true Messiah – the peace-loving preacher of the Sermon on the Mount, or the sword-wielding warrior of the book of Revelation? And how can both be in the same Bible?In what is perhaps his most provocative book yet, John Dominic Crossan investigates two conflicting visions of God to be found in the Bible: one that offers unconditional love and grace to all humanity; the other working to domesticate that radical vision by threatening punishment and retribution, and by propping up the status quo.   People often assume that the second vision applies to the God of the Old Testament, while the first was revealed later, in the teaching and example of Jesus. But, as Crossan shows, the same contradiction appears in the Gospels and other writings of the New Testament.   One thing is clear, argues Crossan: if you want to discover the Bible's best and purest revelation of God, then you must measure the Bible by Jesus. And to find the best and purest revelation of Jesus, he concludes, you must learn how to distinguish the words and actions of the original, historical Jesus from the teachings of those who came after him, but who did not fully understand his radical message.   Only then will you understand how to read the Bible and still be a Christian.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56231878066549,"sku":"9780281074204","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780281074204_32618542-c8b0-4d56-bf4b-d42576e45528.jpg?v=1786012901"},{"product_id":"9780281061587","title":"The First Paul – Reclaiming The Radical Visionary Behind The Church`S Conservative Icon","description":"Using the best of biblical and historical scholarship, this title presents a fresh understanding of early Christianity.\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback \/ softback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56311673553269,"sku":"9780281061587","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780281061587_19c1f11e-3f12-43ca-9cf1-95935bbc53fd.jpg?v=1786012779"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-john-dominic-crossan.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}