The volume is thus able to explore topics ranging from the authorship of Hebrews in the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition and the Batak reading of Christus Victor, to a Xhosa perception of the solidarity and sacrifice of Jesus, and intercultural readings of Christian identity in the context of persecution. With an introduction and final response by scholars from the Global North, this volume encourages awareness of how the Global South contributes to world Christianity.
Abstract
While the Gospels, Paul’s letters, and the Book of Revelation have been well served by volumes orienting readers to the scholarly literature and to their reception histories, Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles have not received nearly the same attention. This relative neglect is in part a legacy of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. Insofar as doctrinal purity in Protestant circles was defined according to rubrics that were, implicitly or explicitly, Pauline in orientation, Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles were at an obvious disadvantage. However, these writings have had a great influence on Christianity throughout the centuries. As it turns out, the study of Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles was never truly confined to their place in fraught ecclesiastical disputes. Recent decades have witnessed a resurgence of interest in these writings. The present volume seeks to assess the relevance of these works to various questions that are often posed to other parts of the New Testament canon, to report on the current state of scholarship devoted to the interpretive issues they raise, and to survey their rich and often overlooked afterlives. Divided into four parts—general issues, topics related to Hebrews, topics related to the Catholic Epistles, and reception and engagement—The Oxford Handbook of Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles studies these books individually as witnesses to the cultural and theological diversity of the early church but also for what they reveal about the process that would eventually produce the New Testament canon.
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