Roy A. Harrisville

For generations, scholars who study the letters of St. Paul have argued about “being-in-Christ” and “justification by faith” as though they were competing theologies. They have argued about faith as divine gift or human work, and more recently the faith of Jesus Christ has been called into question. Harrisville proposes a provocative and simple solution to these issues by examining scholarly assumptions and presenting the faith of St. Paul as a dynamic and life-changing power. Participation in Christ and righteousness by faith are actually complimentary expressions for the same concept. The apostle’s faith was not self-engendered but a gift that transformed him into a believer. Taking a more organic approach to understanding the faith of St. Paul, this book provides a path toward reconciling entrenched positions and providing a fresh perspective by presenting the apostle’s concept of faith as a transformative gift of divine power.

Transformative Gift of Divine Power

The Faith of St. Paul

For many, the historical-critical method has released a host of threats to Christian faith and confession. In Pandora's Box Opened, however, Roy Harrisville argues that despite the evils brought upon biblical interpretation by the historical-critical method, there is still hope for it as a discipline. Harrisville begins by describing the emergence and use of the historical-critical method. He then attends to the malaise that has come over the method, which he says still persists. Finally, Harrisville commends the historical-critical method, though shorn of its arrogance. He claims that the method and all its users comprise a "Pandora's Box" that, when opened, releases "a myriad other pains," but hope still remains.

An Examination and Defense of Historical-Critical Method and Its Master Practitioners

Pandora's Box Opened

Since the advent of formal biblical criticism the crucifixion has come to be seen by many as merely one event in the process of religious development. Yet for the New Testament writers it was so much more, representing a radical break that forever affected their perception of God and the world. In Fracture Roy Harrisville examines the thought worlds of the New Testament writers, demonstrating how the cross split apart their previously held ideas, causing a profound reorientation centered on the story of the cross. Focusing chronologically on Paul, the Synoptic writers, John and the authors of Hebrews and 1 Peter, Harrisville demonstrates changes in the writers' understanding of sacrifice, law, Hellenism, the apocalyptic, and other areas, changes that created the new values of the radically different Christian community. An insightful work of careful critical scholarship, Fracture opens up new understanding of the Cross's dramatic effect on mental worlds of the New Testament writers, changes that provoked bitter conflict with the neighbors and foes of early Christianity.

The Cross as Irreconcilable in the Language and Thought of the Biblical Writers

Fracture

Oswald Bayer

Mark C. Mattes

In this biography -- translated for the first time into English -- German theologian Oswald Bayer describes the life and work of journalist-theologian Johann Georg Hamann (1730 1788). At a time when it seemed that the forces of secularization were attempting to claim the future, Hamann churned out small publications aimed at undermining the Enlightenment zeitgeist, turning its assumptions upside down and skewering its pretensions. Although largely forgotten until recent times, Hamann as radical dissenter -- whom Goethe called the "brightest man of his age" -- remains relevant today, as Bayer shows in this book.

Roy A. Harrisville

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