Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 29 – The Period of Jewish Independence Read I Macc. Chs. 1-14 THE story of Jewish Independence recorded in I Maccabees reads like an adventure story. Jewish resistance to Antiochus’ proscription of Judaism began in 168 at Modin, a village in the hill […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 28 – Wisdom Writings EARLIER we discussed possible relationships of Hebrew wisdom to the court of Solomon and to wisdom writing in the ancient Near East. We also considered some characteristics of wisdom literature, but we have not examined the words of the […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 27 – The Early Hellenistic Period THE Hellenistic period in Palestine technically begins with the defeat of the Persian empire by Alexander the Great (334-323). Greek influence had entered the Persian world much earlier, for Greek mercenaries fought in Persian armies and Greek […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 26 – The Great Documents of the Persian Period NOW the second temple stood within the walled city of Jerusalem. Cultic rites, conducted by the Levites, included sacrifice, offerings, prayers and songs. Through the work of Ezra, the people had acquired a new […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 25 – Life and Literature of the Late Period THE next major project facing the people of Jerusalem was the rebuilding of the wall of the city. Zechariah’s dramatic claim that Yahweh would protect the city with a wall of fire (Zech. 2:5) […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 24 – Life and Literature of the Early Period ONLY limited information is available concerning the Jews in the Persian period. Apart from Biblical sources and a few Persian inscriptions, contributions coming from archaeological studies or literary documents from other parts of the […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 23 – Life and Literature of the Late Period ONE of the greatest writings of the Exile was produced near the end of the time of captivity during the period we are calling "The Late Period of the Exile" (ca. 555 to 538). […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 22 – Literature of the Middle Period ABOUT thirty years are embraced in the period which we are labeling for convenience "The Middle Period" of the Exile and which extends roughly from about 585 to 555. During these years a considerable body of […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 21 – Life and Literature of the Early Period THE Exilic period falls into two parts: the years between 597 and 586 and the years after 586 up to 538 or 537. The mood and mind set of the people of Judah during […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 20 – From the Fall of Nineveh to the Fall of Judah FOR three years Ashurbanipal’s successor held the Assyrian throne and at his death Sin-shar-ishkin became king. In the summer of 612, Nabopolassar, a Chaldean leader, aided by Medes and northern nomads, […]

Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 2 – How Do We Read? THERE was a time when it was believed that the best way to read the Bible was to begin at Genesis and read straight through. Today we know that the Bible was not written in the sequence in […]

Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue Chapter 19 – From Manasseh to the Deuteronomic Reform Read II Kings 21-35; II Chron. 33-36 WHEN Hezekiah died (687), his son Manasseh, still a young boy, was enthroned.1 The folly of adhering to a policy of antagonism toward Assyria was apparent, and Manasseh pledged loyalty […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 18 – Isaiah and Micah OF the two Judaean prophets who were active in the eighth century, there can be little doubt that Isaiah was the more powerful. He lived in the capital city of Jerusalem and was brought into immediate association with […]

Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue Chapter 17 – Amos and Hosea NORTHERN prophecy was revived by two prophets whose oracles are included in the biblical collection often referred to as “The Minor Prophets,” a reference to the length rather than the importance of their utterances. Amos was a Judaean who believed […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 16 – Prophecy and the Earliest Prophets DURING the eighth century, utterances of a class of men known as "prophets" were recorded in Israel and Judah. The Hebrew prophetic movement appears to have begun during the early years of the occupancy of Canaan […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 15 – E BROADLY speaking, E can be said to include the literature which remains in the Pentateuch after P and D (easily identified) and J sources are removed, although in numerous passages it is difficult to distinguish between J and E.1 Distinctiveness […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 14 – The History of the Kingdoms THE record of Solomon’s greatness fails to indicate the seething bitterness and resentment that must have been developing among the people. Only when Rehoboam appeared for succession rites were the feelings expressed by those who bore […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 13 – J and the Law IT has been noted that Solomon’s time was marked by great literary activity and, if one can generalize from the Gezer Calendar, literacy may have been widespread.1 In addition to the material pertaining to the monarchy, the […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 12 – Solomon Read I Kings 2:13-11:43 UNDER Solomon, national and religious self-consciousness, encouraged by the king and the temple priesthood, resulted in the production of a great body of literature, of which the Davidic record was but a part. Unfortunately, no biographical […]

Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 11 – David Read II Sam. 2-4 THE way was open for David to assume the throne: Jonathan, the natural successor, was dead; David had won recognition as a popular hero and a military expert, and had gained the loyalty of the southern cities […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 10 – Saul THE Deuteronomic history of Israel continues with the stories of Samuel and Saul which form the records of the beginnings of Hebrew kingship. Some sources are designated, such as "The Book of the Acts of Solomon" (I Kings 11:41), "The […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   Chapter 1 – What Is the Old Testament? THE Old Testament is a collection of selected writings composed and edited by members of the Hebrew-Jewish community between the twelfth century B.C. and the beginning of the Christian era. It includes such diverse materials as […]

  Old Testament Life and Literature (1968) Gerald A. Larue   General Bibliography THE BIBLE Any accurate translation of the Bible may be used with this text, including The King James Version, The English Revised Version, The American Standard Version. Because of the advancement made during the past half century in language and word studies, […]

Old Testament Life and Literature Gerald A. Larue Table of Contents Preface A Word to the Reader Part One: The Bible and How We Study It 1. What is the Old Testament? The development of the Canon. Why do we read? 2. How Do We Read? The problem of history. History and legend. Myth, fable […]

God in the CCU? A critique of the San Francisco hospital study on intercessory prayer and healing Gary P. Posner, M.D. [This article was originally printed in Spring 1990 issue of Free Inquiry.] The day of publication of the July 1988 issue of the Southern Medical Journal must have been one Hell of a busy […]

A Resurrection Debate The New Testament Evidence in Evangelical and in Critical Perspective Revised Edition*, 2000 G.A. Wells Introduction The Reliability of the Gospels The Question of Miracles Non-Christian Evidence The Resurrection in the Gospels Paul’s Account of the Resurrection Epistles and Gospels as Different Strata of Tradition Notes 1 Introduction In 1987 the New […]

A Reply to J. P. Holding’s "Shattering" of My Views on Jesus and an Examination of the Early Pagan and Jewish References to Jesus (2000) G.A. Wells   In the series ‘Tekton. Building Blocks for Christian Faith’, J. P. Holding has written a long article entitled ‘Jesus. Shattering the Christ-Myth’, with sub-title ‘The Reliability of the Secular References to […]

Earliest Christianity (1999) G.A. Wells   Professor G.A. Wells continues the debate about the origins of Jesus and the development of Christianity. Drawing on the writings of recent theologians and historians and alluding to his latest book, The Jesus Myth, he throws light on the early history of Christianity. [This article was originally published in […]

Life Is To Be Lived Now A Vital, Personal Humanism (1986) Frederick Edwords When one hears the word Humanism, one thinks of that philosophy spelled out in documents called “Manifestos,” a philosophy critical of traditional religion and which advocates reason, science, and civil liberties. What one too often does not think of is a philosophy […]