For Further Reading on James, 1 Peter, and 2 Peter

[00:00:01] For further reading on James 1 Peter and 2 Peter by Bart D. Ehrman, read by John Paul Middlesworth now that I've devoted several posts to summarizing the themes, emphases, authors, and occasions of the three Catholic epistles, I can provide some suggestions for further reading. Important works written by scholars for non scholars. I've given brief annotations for each book to give you a sense of what it's about and so help you decide which, if any, might be worth your while. [00:00:31] I've divided the list into three books that provide important discussions of one or more of these Catholic epistles and the problem of persecution dealt with in 1 Peter. [00:00:41] Commentaries that give lengthy introductions to all matters of importance about the Book of Acts and then go passage by passage to provide more detailed interpretation. That's where you can dig more deeply into what does this particular word actually mean? One is the real point of this passage. How does this passage relate to what Luke says elsewhere in his two volume work or to what we can find in other parts of the New Testament? Where do we find similar ideas expressed in other writings in the Greek and Roman worlds, whether pagan or Jewish, and so on? [00:01:13] Online Resources A good reliable one if you turn to other materials online. Caveat emptor and since online there is no emptoring, you need to caveat with particular diligence. [00:01:26] A good place to start for all three books would be the somewhat fuller discussions in my textbook the New A Historical Introduction. Oxford University Press Books. [00:01:38] Alicia J. Batten, what Are they saying about the Letter of James? [00:01:43] Paulist Press, 2009. [00:01:45] A brief introduction to how contemporary scholars have evaluated the Book of James for beginning students. [00:01:53] Andrew Chester and Ralph Martin, the Theology of the Letters of James, Peter, and Jude. Cambridge University Press, 1994. [00:02:01] A nice discussion of the social context and theological perspectives of These Catholic epistles. [00:02:07] J.H. elliott, a home for the Homeless A Sociological Exegesis of One Peter, Its Situation and Strategy. [00:02:16] Fortress Press, 1981. A groundbreaking examination of the communities addressed by One Peter from a sociological perspective. [00:02:26] Since First Peter is one of our first Christian writings to deal at length with the persecution and suffering of Christians, I thought it might be useful as well to name some books that deal with the broader issue of persecution and martyrdom in early Christianity. [00:02:41] Canada Moss, the Myth of Persecution How Early Christians Invented a story of martyrdom. [00:02:48] Harper 1, 2013. [00:02:51] An intriguing discussion about what we can really know about the persecutions of the early Christians for a general audience. [00:02:59] Judith Perkins, the Suffering, Pain, and Narrative Representation in the Early Christian era. Rutledge 1995. [00:03:08] A brilliant study of early Christian narratives of suffering that argues that people like Ignatius embraced pain not because they were pathological but because there was a shift in how people in the Greco Roman world began to see and portray themselves as suffering bodies. [00:03:26] Robert Wilkin, the Christians as the romans Saw Them, 2nd edition, Yale University Press, 2003. [00:03:34] A popular study of the largely derogatory views of Christians held by several Roman authors. Particularly suitable for beginning students. [00:03:44] Commentaries Online Resource Hugo Mendez, Exploring the New Testament, a 27 lecture course on the New Testament, including multiple lectures on Paul and his letters, the link to which can be found on the online blog.