Gratitude

Passages

Every passage tagged with this emotion in the Vela corpus. Search the body text, narrow by source or register, click through to a book’s profile to see how the passage sits with the rest of the work.

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• From Paul and Palestinian Judaism (40th Anniversary Edition) (2017)

  One of the main faults of those from whom the members of the community must remain separate is that they have not sought God so as to know the hidden things of the covenant (IQS 5.11f.). The characteristic of the members of the community, however, is that they have been taught the statutes, have the insight of understanding, have heard the voice of glory, have seen the angels of holiness, are open of ear and hear deep things (IQM IO. IO). One of the principal points of thanks- giving in the hymns is for enlightenment: I thank thee, Lord, because, by thy loving-kindness to an evil man and the great- ness of thy mercy to a perverted heart, thou hast given me insight into thy truth, and in thy wondrous mysteries hast thou given me knowledge. (IQH 7.26f.)225 The virtue list of IQS 4.2-6 includes no fewer than four terms indicating the 223 Gartner, Temple and Community, p. 5; 0. Betz, 'Le ministi:re cultuel a Qumran', p. 167, who refers especially to the influence of Ezek. 43.18-44.26. On the priestly influence on the sect, see Klinzing, Umdeutung, pp. !06-43; Jaubert, La notion d'alliance, pp. 145-52. 224 Cf. the discussion of Cross, Library, p. 76. 225 The translation is that of Sanders, RQ 6, 1968, p. 430. The Dead Sea Scrolls [II special knowledge of the members of the community: insight (sekel), understanding (binah), great wisdom (~okmah) and a spirit of knowledge (da'at). The emphasis on knowledge is seen especially clearly in the para- phrase of the blessing in Num. 6.24-26. In the following quotation, the words added to the biblical text are italicized : 226 May he bless you with all goodness, and keep you from all evil. And may he enlighten your heart with the insight of life; and may he be gracious to you with eternal knowledge. May he lift up his merciful face upon you for eternal peace. (IQS 2.2-4, my translation) Particularly instructive is the third line of the blessing, where 'the Lord make his face to shine upon you' becomes 'may he enlighten your heart with life-giving insight'. Both of these special emphases - the emphasis on separation and the emphasis on special knowledge or insight -obviously bear witness to the sectarian character of the community. Physically separated, but secure in the confidence that only they knew the truth, they cultivated hostility towards outsiders 227 but reliance on and commitment toward one another.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  [Ex 12:19 ; 13:7 ; Deut 16:3 ] 9 I wrote you in my [previous] letter not to associate with [sexually] immoral people— 10 not meaning the immoral people of this world, or the greedy ones and swindlers, or idolaters, for then you would have to get out of the world and human society altogether! 11 But actually, I have written to you not to associate with any so-called [Christian] brother if he is sexually immoral or greedy, or is an idolater [devoted to anything that takes the place of God], or is a reviler [who insults or slanders or otherwise verbally abuses others], or is a drunkard or a swindler—you must not so much as e eat with such a person. [2 Thess 3:6 ] 12 For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders (non-believers)? Do you not judge those who are within the church [to protect the church as the situation requires]? 13 God alone sits in judgment on those who are outside [the faith]. REMOVE THE WICKED ONE FROM AMONG YOU [expel him from your church]. [Deut 17:7 ] 1 Corinthians 6 Lawsuits Discouraged 1 D OES ANY one of you, when he has a a complaint (civil dispute) with another [believer], dare to go to law before unrighteous men (non-believers) instead of [placing the issue] before the saints (God’s people)? 2 b Do you not know that the saints (God’s people) will [one day] judge the world? If the world is to be judged by you, are you not competent c to try trivial (insignificant, petty) cases? 3 Do you not know that we [believers] will judge angels? How much more then [as to] matters of this life? 4 So if you have lawsuits dealing with matters of this life, are you appointing those as judges [to hear disputes] who are of no account in the church? 5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is not one wise man among you who [is governed by integrity and] will be able and competent to decide [private disputes] between his fellow believers, 6 but instead, brother goes to law against brother, and that before [judges who are] unbelievers? 7 Why, the very fact that you have lawsuits with one another is already a defeat. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 On the contrary, it is you who wrong and defraud, and you do this even to your brothers and sisters. 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; d neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate [by perversion], nor e those who participate in homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers [whose words are used as weapons to abuse, insult, humiliate, intimidate, or slander], nor swindlers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.

• From Paul and Palestinian Judaism (40th Anniversary Edition) (2017)

  A special word of thanks goes to Hosung Maeng, my Korean agent, who started the process that, after several twists and turns, eventually led to this publication. E. P. Sanders as an interpreter of the apostle in Paul: The Apostle's Life, Letters, and Thought (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2015). xxviii Preface to the 1977 Edition The present work is the result of rather a long period of research and thought, during which there was at least one major change in the precise focus of the research. I first started trying to work seriously on what I then thought of as the Jewish ‘background’ of the New Testament in 1962-63, when I studied Rabbinic and modern Hebrew in Oxford and Jerusalem. Since I thought that comparative studies should not be undertaken too early, nor under the time pressure of a doctoral program, my thesis was not a comparative study, although I did continue course work on aspects of Judaism. In 1966 I set myself to consider Goodenough’s theory of Judaism—a small island of Rabbinic Judaism set in a vast sea of mystical, strongly Hellenized Judaism. I worked on Goodenough’s materials for two years and then, during a year’s leave, returned to the Hebrew language sources. During this period I not only came to the obvious conclusion that Judaism must be studied in its own right, but, as I became increasingly immersed in the study of Rabbinic religion, I also began to focus on a somewhat different project from the one first outlined: a comparative study limited to Palestinian Judaism and the most obvious New xxix PAUL AND PALESTINIAN JUDAISM Testament writer, Paul. The present work is the result of that study. The more I studied Jewish sources, the more it became apparent that it would be wrong and futile to try to write as if I were not primarily a student of the New Testament. New Testament scholars who have written on Judaism have sometimes pretended to an indifferent ‘history of religions’ viewpoint and educational background which they have not had, and I have tried not to make that mistake. On the other hand, I have tried to avoid the opposite pitfall of limiting the description of Judaism to individual motifs which are directly parallel to a motif in Paul or which are seen as directly relevant to his ‘background’. I have attempted to compare Judaism, understood on its own terms, with Paul, understood on his own terms. I hope that this effort will prove to make a contribution not only to the understanding of Paul and his relationship to Judaism, but to the study of Judaism itself. If I cannot teach a Talmudist anything about Rabbinic religion, I hope at least that the argument about the structure and functioning of that religion and the way in which it is compared to other forms of Judaism will prove useful.

• From Becoming Myself: A Psychiatrist's Memoir (2017)

  All through that time you were my bread and butter .” I was her bread and butter . I have never forgotten that utterance and that moment. It returns to my mind often when I’m with a patient, clueless about what is going on, unable to make helpful or coherent remarks. It is then that I think of dear Sarah B. and remind myself that a therapist’s presence, inquiries, attention may be nourishing in ways we cannot imagine. I began attending weekly seminars with Jerome Frank, MD, PhD, the other Hopkins full professor, who, like Dr. Whitehorn, was an empiricist and persuaded only by logic and evidence. He taught me two important things: the basics of research methodology, and the fundamentals of group therapy. At that time, group therapy was in its infancy, and Dr. Frank had written one of the few good books on the topic. Every week, the residents—our eight heads crammed together—observed his outpatient therapy group through one of the first two-way observational mirrors to be used in this context, a hole in the wall that was only about one square foot large. After the group meeting, we met with Dr. Frank for a discussion of the session. I found group observation to be such a valuable didactic format that, years later, I would use it in my own group therapy teaching. I continued to observe the group every week long after the other residents had finished the course. By the end of the year, Dr. Frank had asked me to lead the group when he was away. From the very beginning I loved leading groups: it seemed obvious that the therapy group offered a rich opportunity for members to give and receive feedback about their social selves. It seemed to me a unique, rich setting for growth, allowing members to explore and express parts of their interpersonal selves and to have their behavior reflected back to them by their peers. Where else could individuals offer and obtain such honest and constructive feedback from a set of trusted equals? The outpatient therapy group had only a few basic rules: in addition to total confidentiality, the members were committed to show up for the next meeting, to keep communicating openly, and not to meet with each other outside the group. I recall envying the patients and wishing I could have participated as a member in such a group. Unlike Dr. Whitehorn, Dr. Frank was warm and approachable—by the end of my first year, he suggested I call him “Jerry.” He was a great teacher and a fine man, modeling integrity, clinical competence, and the necessity for research inquiry. We stayed in touch long after I left Hopkins, and we met whenever he visited California. On one memorable occasion, our families spent a week together in Jamaica. In old age, he developed severe memory problems, and I visited him in a residential center whenever I was on the East Coast.

• From Confessions of the Flesh (The History of Sexuality, Vol. 4) (2021)

  We thus returned to and prioritized the original text,31 while taking into account the corrections to the typescript that Foucault had had the time to make, at least within the first two parts of the text.32 We altered the punctuation to make reading of the text more fluid, we homogenized the modalities of referencing and applied the editing codes established for volumes 2 and 3 of The History of Sexuality (The Use of Pleasure, The Care of the Self). We have verified (and corrected where necessary) the citations. The brackets that appear in the printed text refer to interventions on our part.33 These interventions are of several types: drafting notes when the manuscript carries only a simple footnote number without any content;34 adding notes and numbers when citations are given without referencing; supplying missing words, rectifying grammatically shaky, incorrect, or obviously faulty phrases; correcting errors of proper names; adding a translation to passages cited directly in Greek, Latin, or German;35 adding chapter titles when they are missing. For the titles, we have opted for descriptive restraint, except perhaps for the chapter “The Libidinization of Sex,” but Foucault himself speaks in the body of the text of a “libidinization of the sexual act.” For the chapters, we have preserved the divisions present in the manuscript. The titles “The Laborious Baptism” and “The Art of Arts” are Foucault’s. One finds them in a projected plan (box 90, second page of folder 1). For this editing work, we sought assistance from the archive boxes containing his own reading notes relating to the first Christian Fathers of the first centuries.36 The quality of Michel Senellart’s work37 rendered us immense service, as did Philippe Chevallier’s thesis.38 I am grateful to Daniel Defert and Henri-Paul Fruchard for their patient and productive rereading of the text. The final bibliography was fashioned according to the editorial principles of The Use of Pleasure and The Care of the Self: it contains only works mentioned in the body of the text. It must be emphasized, however, as the archive boxes of Michel Foucault’s reading notes regarding the Christian Fathers show,39 that the works cited represent only a small part (especially for modern writers) of the read and processed references.40 At the request of the rights holders, the text does not include any editor’s notes that would consist of commentary, references internal to Foucault’s work, or erudition. Our work is limited to the editing of the text.

• From Becoming Myself: A Psychiatrist's Memoir (2017)

  In all my presentations that week, the audience was respectfully attentive, but no one made a comment or asked a single question. Marilyn had a similar experience on the same trip. She gave a lecture on twentieth-century American women’s literature at a Japanese women’s institute before a large crowd in a beautifully appointed auditorium. The event was well orchestrated, with a lovely dance recital preceding the lecture and an attentive, respectful audience. But when she asked for questions or comments, there was silence. Two weeks later, she gave the identical talk at the Beijing Foreign Studies University and at the end was bombarded with questions from the Chinese students. Every imaginable courtesy was given me in Tokyo. I loved our formal bento box luncheons with seven layers of delicate and splendidly arrayed courses. Lavish parties were given in my honor, and my host generously invited me to use his 360-degree-view condominium in Hawaii whenever I wished. After my consultation, wherever we traveled in Japan we were always treated generously by hosts and strangers. In Tokyo one evening when we were heading toward the Kabuki Theater but had lost our way, we showed our tickets to a woman washing the steps of a building and asked for directions. She instantly dropped what she was doing and escorted us four blocks to the door of our theater. Another time, in Kyoto, we had disembarked from a bus and were strolling through the city when we heard hurried footsteps behind us. An elderly woman struggling to catch her breath approached with the umbrella we had left on the bus. A short time later at a Buddhist temple we fell into a conversation with a stranger, a college professor, who immediately invited us to his home for dinner. But their culture did not welcome my approach to therapy, and very few of my books have been translated into Japanese. J apan was the first stop of a year’s sabbatical. I had just completed a difficult period revising, once again, my group therapy textbook. Beginners, like me, who write a textbook are generally unaware that, if the textbook is successful, they are signing on for life. Textbooks must be revised every few years, particularly if there is new research and change in the field—and that, indeed, was the case for group therapy. If they are not revised, teachers will search for a more current text to assign to their classes. In the fall of 1987, we had an empty nest: my youngest child, Ben, had left home for college at Stanford. After sending my textbook revision to the publisher, Marilyn and I celebrated our freedom with a full year of travel abroad, stopping for long writing retreats in Bali and Paris. For a very long time I had been considering a very different kind of book.

• From Paul and Palestinian Judaism (40th Anniversary Edition) (2017)

  130), in discussing Ps. Sol. 6.6-9 (4-6), in which the righteous man confidently expects God to heed his prayer, points out that 'such certainty he did not derive from the great number of "works" ... , nor did he present those to God as a bill of claims, nor accompany it by an insistent demand for the equivalent reward; but all he expected in his firm reliance was that God would show "mercy" to those who love Him sincerely'. 394 Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha [III similarly he gives thanks for God's unmerited mercy toward himsel( The psalmist was 'nigh unto the gates of Sheol with the sinner' and would have been destroyed 'Had not the Lord helped me with His everlasting mercy' (16.1-3). God's mercy is in part shown in his heeding prayer (5.7 [5]; 5.14 [12]; 6.8 [5]). Even though sinners in the day of judgment will receive no mercy, the psalmist can even say that God's mercy is upon all the earth (5.17 [15]; 18.1,3). Several of the points which we have just been discussing have been singled out by Braun, although his understanding of them is different from that just presented. The difference may be instructive. Braun first notes the passages in which God's mercy is attributed to his own will and is presented as 'groundless', i.e. independent of actions on the part of the recipients. Here Braun discusses the numerous passages in which God is said to deal mercifully with Israel, 16 since Israel is the covenant people. 1 7 In contrast to this he sets the statements in which God's mercy is said to be given to the righteous, 18 judgment being the lot of the wicked but not the righteous. 19 In Braun's discussion, it is clear that he regards as determinative for understanding the Psalms of Solomon the theme of God's mercy to the righteous, which he regards as being in contrast with God's mercy to Israel. The theme of God's mercy to the righteous he takes in the following way: human righteousness is a presupposition for God's mercy. 20 Thus all the pious acts - the fear and love of God, prayer and praise, willingness to suffer and readiness to confess transgression - are to be understood as 'presuppositions for the attainment of the divine mercy, therefore as an achievement which man accomplishes .. .'. 21 Even prayer for mercy is to be understood as a 'work' which produces God's grace. 22 The love of God itself is consequently a 'camouflaged self-love'.

• From The Decameron (1353)

  I must tell you, then, that Pope Boniface, with whom Messer Geri Spina was in very great favour, having despatched to Florence certain of his gentlemen on an embassy concerning sundry important matters of his, they lighted down at the house of Messer Geri and he treating the pope's affairs in company with them, it chanced, whatever might have been the occasion thereof, that he and they passed well nigh every morning afoot before Santa Maria Ughi, where Cisti the baker had his bakehouse and plied his craft in person. Now, albeit fortune had appointed Cisti a humble enough condition, she had so far at the least been kind to him therein that he was grown very rich and without ever choosing to abandon it for any other, lived very splendidly, having, amongst his other good things, the best wines, white and red, that were to be found in Florence or in the neighbouring country. Seeing Messer Geri and the pope's ambassadors pass every morning before his door and the heat being great, he bethought himself that it were a great courtesy to give them to drink of his good white wine; but, having regard to his own condition and that of Messer Geri, he deemed it not a seemly thing to presume to invite them, but determined to bear himself on such wise as should lead Messer Geri to invite himself.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  Colossians 2 You Are Built Up in Christ 1 F OR I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those [believers] at a Laodicea, and for all who [like yourselves] have never seen me face to face. 2 [For my hope is] that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in [unselfish] b love, so that they may have all the riches that come from the full assurance of understanding [the joy of salvation], resulting in a true [and more intimate] knowledge of the c mystery of God, that is, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [regarding the word and purposes of God]. 4 I say this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive [but thoroughly deceptive] arguments. 5 For even though I am absent [from you] in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, d delighted to see your good discipline [as you stand shoulder to shoulder and form a solid front] and to see the stability of your faith in Christ [your steadfast reliance on Him and your unwavering confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness]. 6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in [union with] Him [reflecting His character in the things you do and say—living lives that lead others away from sin], 7 having been deeply rooted [in Him] and now being continually built up in Him and [becoming increasingly more] established e in your faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing in it with gratitude. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception [pseudo-intellectual babble], according to the tradition [and musings] of mere men, following the f elementary principles of this world, rather than following [the truth—the teachings of] Christ. 9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity (the Godhead) dwells in bodily form [completely expressing the divine essence of God]. 10 And in Him you have been made complete [achieving spiritual stature through Christ], and He is the head over all rule and authority [of every angelic and earthly power]. 11 In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but by the [spiritual] circumcision of Christ in the stripping off of the body of the flesh [the sinful carnal nature], 12 having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him [to a new life] through [your] faith in the working of God, [as displayed] when He raised Christ from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (worldliness, manner of life), God made you alive together with Christ, having [freely] forgiven us all our sins, 14 having canceled out the g certificate of debt consisting of h legal demands [which were in force] against us and which were hostile to us.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  13 Because of this act of ministry, d they will glorify God for your obedience to the gospel of Christ which you confess, as well as for your generous participation [in this gift] for them and for all [the other believers in need], 14 and they also long for you while they pray on your behalf, because of the surpassing measure of God’s grace [His undeserved favor, mercy, and blessing which is revealed] in you. 15 Now thanks be to God for His indescribable gift [which is precious beyond words]! 2 Corinthians 10 Paul Describes Himself 1 N ow I, Paul, urge you by the gentleness and graciousness of Christ—I who am meek [so they say] when with you face to face, but bold [outspoken and fearless] toward you when absent! 2 I ask that when I do come I will not be driven to the boldness that I intend to show toward those few who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh [like men without the Spirit]. 3 For though we walk in the flesh [as mortal men], we are not carrying on our [spiritual] warfare according to the flesh and using the weapons of man. 4 The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood]. Our weapons are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ, 6 being ready to punish every act of disobedience, when your own obedience [as a church] is complete. 7 You are looking [only] at the outward appearance of things. If anyone is confident that he is Christ’s, he should reflect and consider this, that just as he is Christ’s, so too are we. 8 For even though I boast rather freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed [of the truth], 9 nor do I want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters; 10 for they say, “His letters are weighty and forceful and impressive, but his a personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible [of no account].” 11 Let such people realize that what we say by word in letters when we are absent, is the same as what we are in action when present. 12 We do not have the audacity to put ourselves in the same class or compare ourselves with some who [supply testimonials to] commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they lack wisdom and behave like fools. 13 We, on the other hand, will not boast beyond our proper limit, but [will keep] within the b limits of our commission (territory, authority) which God has granted to us as a measure, which reaches and includes even you.

• From How to Deal with Angry People (2023)

  I have been lucky enough to have many deep and meaningful friendships, including those from as far back as high school. Their support means the world to me. I also work with amazing people at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Day in and day out I am surrounded by talented teachers, brilliant scholars, and hard-working and skilled students. You simply can’t work in a place like this without benefiting from the wisdom of the people around you. I’m thankful for each and every one of them, and know that their influence has made this book a better work. Over the last few years, I’ve connected with hundreds of thousands of people over social media, especially through TikTok and Instagram. I had no idea when I joined those platforms how rewarding it would be. While I love that there are so many people who are interested in my work, what I love even more is how much I’ve learned form them. Their stories and ideas have inspired me and this book has benefited so very much from their willingness to share their thoughts and experiences with me. I am as always indebted to me to the wonderful team at Watkins Publishing, especially my editor Fiona Robertson, who has been so supportive as I wrote this book (and was patient with me when it took longer than I had hoped), and my publicist Laura Whitaker-Jones, who is a constant source of positivity and good ideas. I so appreciate their work along with everyone else at Watkins who helped make this a reality. Finally, like so much of my work, I owe the great many scholars who study anger and other related topics. Their steadfast efforts to better understand these important human experiences is critical to helping people have healthier emotional lives. They are owed a significant debt of gratitude not just from me, but from everyone who seeks emotional wellness. [image "image" file=Image00003.jpg]

• From Paul and Palestinian Judaism (40th Anniversary Edition) (2017)

  I set out my understanding of ancient Judaism, often in contrast to certain trends in current scholarship, inJewishJewish LawLaw frfromom JesusJesus toto thethe Mishnah:Mishnah: FFiveive StudiesStudies (Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1992) andJudaism:Judaism: PrPracticeactice andand BeliefBelief,, 6363BCE‒66BCE‒66CECE(Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1992), both published in a new typeset format by Fortress Press in 2016. Shorter studies published in the years since are now available inCComparingomparing JudaismJudaism andand Christianity:Christianity: CCommonommon Judaism,Judaism, Paul,Paul, andand thethe InnerInner andand thethe OuterOuter inin AncientAncient ReligReligionion(Minneapolis: Fortress, 2016). A fuller bibliography of my works through 2008 is available inRedefin-Redefin- inging FFirst-Centuryirst-Century JewishJewish andand ChristianChristian Identities:Identities: EssaysEssays inin HHonoronor ofof EdEd ParishParish Sanders,Sanders, ed. Fabian E. Udoh and Susannah Heschel (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2008), 391–96. Finally, I have summed up my views after a career xxvii indexes, and it should be possible for anyone who wants to find inconsistencies or trace the development (or lack thereof) of my understanding of these two topics to do so without an inordinate amount of work. The highlight of this edition is the penetrating and clarifying foreword by Mark Chancey. Besides providing the context of my work and some of its reception history, Professor Chancey disentangles it from the confusing conglomeration of views called “the new perspective on Paul.” His foreword is a substantial academic achieve- ment that will prove to be very helpful as Pauline research continues. I consider the foreword to be in part a gift to me, since Chancey did something that I would have liked to do but was not able to accomplish. Moreover, he finished writ- ing it on my eightieth birthday—the day on which I am typing this preface. I thank him with all my heart. But even if the foreword is in part a gift to me, it is even more a boon to the noble guild of Pauline scholars. I am grateful to Fortress Press and its staff for once again supporting the publication, and especially to Neil Elliott, who, as usual, saw to it that complexities were resolved and problems went away. A special word of thanks goes to Hosung Maeng, my Korean agent, who started the process that, after several twists and turns, eventually led to this publication. E. P. Sanders as an interpreter of the apostle inPaul:Paul: TheThe AApostle'spostle's LifLife,e, Letters,Letters, andand ThoughtThought (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2015). PAUL AND PALESTINIAN JUDAISM xxviii Preface to the 1977 Edition The present work is the result of rather a long period of research and thought, during which there was at least one major change in the precise focus of the research. I first started trying to work seriously on what I then thought of as the Jewish ‘background’ of the New Tes- tament in 1962-63, when I studied Rabbinic and modern Hebrew in Oxford and Jerusalem.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  [Gen 2:7 ] 46 However, the spiritual [the immortal life] is not first, but the physical [the mortal life]; then the spiritual. 47 The first man [Adam] is from the earth, earthy [made of dust]; the second Man [Christ, the Lord] is from heaven. [Gen 2:7 ] 48 As is the earthly man [the man of dust], so are those who are of earth; and as is the heavenly [Man], so are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthly [the man of dust], j we will also bear the image of the heavenly [the Man of heaven]. The Mystery of Resurrection 50 Now I say this, believers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit nor be part of the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable (mortal) inherit the imperishable (immortal). 51 Listen very carefully, I tell you a mystery [a secret truth decreed by God and previously hidden, but now revealed]; we will not all sleep [in death], but we will all be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed], 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at [the sound of] the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [who believed in Christ] will be raised imperishable, and we will be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed]. 53 For this perishable [part of us] must put on the imperishable [nature], and this mortal [part of us that is capable of dying] must put on immortality [which is freedom from death]. 54 And when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the Scripture will be fulfilled that says, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory (vanquished forever). [Is 25:8 ] 55 “O DEATH , WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY ? O DEATH , WHERE IS YOUR STING ?” [Hos 13:14 ] 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin [by which it brings death] is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory [as conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose]. 1 Corinthians 16 Instructions and Greetings 1 N OW CONCERNING the money collected for [the relief of] the saints [in Jerusalem], you are to do the same as I directed the churches of Galatia to do . 2 On the first day of every week each one of you is to put something aside, in proportion to his prosperity, and save it so that no collections [will need to] be made when I come.

• From Confessions of the Flesh (The History of Sexuality, Vol. 4) (2021)

  But it also has another meaning that we’ve already noted: it is the price one pays for redemption. “What folly it is, as insensible as it is unjust, to practice an imperfect penitence and then to expect a pardon for sin! This is to stretch forth one’s hand for merchandise and not pay the price. And the price which the Lord has set on the purchase of pardon is this: He offers impunity to be bought in exchange for penitence.”38 It may seem that in this passage Tertullian is reverting to the idea of an equal exchange, hence of a restrictive mechanism: man having paid the necessary price, God would then be obliged to grant him the pardon. This is not the meaning of the text, however. The coins that one gives in penitence will never be worth what God grants in return—eternal life. And so God’s generosity will never be constrained. The money of penance doesn’t measure the value of the remission obtained, it attests to the authenticity of that which is given in payment. It is not envisaged as a countable quantity, but as evidence, or rather proof. The rest of the passage shows this clearly: when one buys, the merchant “first examines the coin, which they have stipulated as their price, to see that it has not been clipped or plated or counterfeit; do we not believe that the Lord, also, preexamines our penitence?” In speaking of penitence-retribution, Tertullian doesn’t imagine a purchase that one would make from God, but an examination, before him, to which one submits. Probatio paenitentiae. It’s a matter of solid, tangible, genuine proofs of the change that takes place in the soul, of the work that one carries out upon oneself, of the commitment that one makes, of the faith that is formed. As it’s said a bit further on, in a compact formula, “the faith commences and is recommended by the faith in penance.” The word penitence thus designates two things: change of the soul, and manifestation of this change in the acts that allow it to be certified. It must be a proof of oneself. These analyses of Tertullian are neither isolated nor premonitory, even if they have a different tone than those of his contemporary, Clement of Alexandria, and are more elaborate than those of Justin.

• From The Decameron (1353)

  Then Messer Gentile, rising to his feet and taking the little child in his arms and the lady by the hand, made for Niccoluccio and said to him, 'Rise up, gossip; I do not restore thee thy wife, whom thy kinsfolk and hers cast away; nay, but I will well bestow on thee this lady my gossip, with this her little son, who I am assured, was begotten of thee and whom I held at baptism and named Gentile; and I pray thee that she be none the less dear to thee for that she hath abidden near upon three months in my house; for I swear to thee,--by that God who belike caused me aforetime fall in love with her, to the intent that my love might be, as in effect it hath been, the occasion of her deliverance,--that never, whether with father or mother or with thee, hath she lived more chastely than she hath done with my mother in my house.' So saying, he turned to the lady and said to her, 'Madam, from this time forth I absolve you of every promise made me and leave you free [to return] to Niccoluccio.'[453] Then, giving the lady and the child into Niccoluccio's arms, he returned to his seat. Niccoluccio received them with the utmost eagerness, so much the more rejoiced as he was the farther removed from hope thereof, and thanked Messer Gentile, as best he might and knew; whilst the others, who all wept for compassion, commended the latter amain of this; yea, and he was commended of whosoever heard it. The lady was received in her house with marvellous rejoicing and long beheld with amazement by the Bolognese, as one raised from the dead; whilst Messer Gentile ever after abode a friend of Niccoluccio and of his kinsfolk and those of the lady. [Footnote 453: Lit. I leave you free _of_ Niccoluccio (_libera vi lascio di Niccoluccio_).] What, then, gentle ladies, will you say [of this case]? Is, think you, a king's having given away his sceptre and his crown or an abbot's having, without cost to himself, reconciled an evildoer with the pope or an old man's having proffered his weasand to the enemy's knife to be evened with this deed of Messer Gentile, who, being young and ardent and himseeming he had a just title to that which the heedlessness of others had cast away and he of his good fortune had taken up, not only honourably tempered his ardour, but, having in his possession that which he was still wont with all his thoughts to covet and to seek to steal away, freely restored it [to its owner]? Certes, meseemeth none of the magnificences already recounted can compare with this." THE FIFTH STORY [Day the Tenth]

• From From Jesus to Constantine: A History of Early Christianity (2004)

  I should stress something that many Christians have not understood over the years, that this “Law of God,” this Torah, was not thought of by Jews as being a horrendous burden that they had to follow, and that if they couldn’t follow it, then they were going to pay the consequences by going to hell. This was not a religion that thought you had to follow these laws, or God would judge you, and then you would have to pay an eternal price. The Jewish Law was not seen as a burden. The Jewish Law was seen as a great gift: “The one God who created the world has chosen us as his people, and has given us his Law that we can follow.” There’s nothing particularly burdensome about this Jewish Law. It included things like: “You shouldn’t murder one another. You shouldn’t take somebody else’s spouse. You shouldn’t bear false witness in court.” These are not overly difficult rules to follow. They included not just ethical rules, but they also included things that made Jews distinctive as a people. There were certain food laws. Jews were not to eat shellfish or pork. There were certain other ritual laws. “You shouldn’t work on the Sabbath.” That was not seen as a big burden. That meant that one day out of the week, you got a vacation. Nobody else had this. You didn’t have to work seven days. You got a day off. This was seen as a great good by Jews, because this was God’s gift, his guidance to his people. The Jewish Law, then, was seen as the way that Jews kept up their part of the covenantal bargain. Ethics were a larger part of Jewish religion than pagan religion, because ethics were embodied in this Law. Thus, Jews understood that there was only one God to be worshipped, who had made a covenant with his people in Israel. The Law was part of that covenant. It was to be followed so that Jews could stay within this right relationship with God. We should not think the ancient Judaism was a monolith. Judaism, in the time of Jesus, was, in fact, quite diverse, as diverse as Christianity itself was going to become. There were some Jews who emphasized that what God really wanted was for people to adhere properly to the temple cult in Jerusalem, where the sacrifices were to be performed. They therefore emphasized the sacrificial aspects of the Jewish religion. There were other Jews who stressed the importance of keeping the Jewish Laws as fully as possible within their daily lives, so that the Laws that God gave in the Torah were to be followed down to the great detail. There were some Jews who emphasized that, rather than emphasizing the temple cult. There were some Jews who emphasized the importance of maintaining purity before God, who thought that what really mattered to God wasn’t just 33

• From Paul and Palestinian Judaism (40th Anniversary Edition) (2017)

  I have for years been cor- nering everyone I could to discuss Paul and Judaism, and this must serve as a general word of thanks to numerous scholars who have answered my questions and discussed my theories. I should single out for special mention my two colleagues, Dr. Ben Meyer and Dr. Al Baumgarten, and also Professor C. F. D. Moule, Professor John Knox, and Dr. J. A. Ziesler, with all of whom I had especially rewarding and detailed conversations. Five scholars read extensive parts of the manuscript in an earlier draft, and I was able to discuss it with four of them. Professors Samuel Sandmel and Wayne Meeks both read chapter I and chapter V and discussed the two chapters with me at some length. Professor W. D. Davies read the Introduc- tion, part of chapter I and all of chapter V. I am grateful both for his strong and unflagging encouragement and for his critique on several points. Professor B. Z. Wacholder read chapter I, and his notes on it saved me from several mistakes. Dr. Gerd Lüdemann read the penultimate draft of the entire manuscript. His notes allowed me to correct several errors, and he also made helpful comments with regard to the contents. I am deeply indebted to these scholars, all of whom gave gen- erously of their time. Their notes and suggestions have PREFACE TO THE 1977 EDITION xxxv measurably improved the manuscript, and I am glad to record here my appreciation and thanks to them. In addition to the usual (and perfectly correct) statement that those who have so kindly helped me are not respon- sible for mistakes that remain, I should say that I have sometimes had to remain in disagreement with some of those who read the manuscript. The disagreements often provided the most fruitful topics in discussion, and I hope that in their written form they will be of interest to a wider audience. I owe a debt of gratitude of a different kind to the late Dr. Mordechai Kamrat. Dr. Kamrat, who is best known as the ‘father’ of the Ulpan system in Israel, was a peerless teacher of Hebrew. Although his academic field was not Talmudics, he had an encyclopedic knowledge of Rab- binic literature (as well as of much else). Although bur- dened with numerous responsibilities, he undertook my private tutelage in modern and Rabbinic Hebrew both in 1963 and in 1968-69.

• From Every Woman's Battle: Discovering God's Plan for Sexual and Emotional Fulfillment (2003)

  I don’t know about you, but I desperately need that kind of encouragement and affirmation. I used to perform for others to get this need met. I knocked myself out for my boss, going way above and beyond the call of duty, just so I could hear, “You did a great job.” I fixed myself up all the time, dressing to arouse men and hoping to hear, “Don’t you look gorgeous today!” I went out of my way to do things for people just to hear them say, “I appreciate your thoughtfulness.” But when you look to others for your affirmation, you have to find ways get a fresh supply, which eventually will run you ragged. But I have found that God’s affirmation fills my emotional tank even more than any human’s flattering words will. When I sense the God of the universe saying to me, “I see everything you are doing and your hard work brings me great joy…. You are so beautiful to me even when you are sleeping…. I see your heart and you are so very special to me,” His sentiments send me reeling further than any man ever could. RUNNING AWAY WITH THE LORD In addition to putting aside some time each day to rest in the arms of God and converse with Jesus, I recommend that you schedule a sabbatical alone with God at least once or twice each year. Based on the word Sabbath, a sabbatical is an extended amount of time set apart for the further cultivation of a love relationship with Jesus. Again, God loves it when you honor Him with the gift of time. What better way to honor Him and your desire for His presence than to schedule an extended rendezvous with Him. I’ve practiced sabbaticals over the past several years, and I’ve never experienced one where God didn’t lavish life-renewing love on me and give me a major revelation for my life or my ministry to guide me. I remember one retreat where I went alone just to be with God and align my heart with His. I had just been granted a partial scholarship from a very prestigious college to work on a master’s degree in counseling, plus my local church offered to cover the rest of the tuition and my books. I was blown away at this incredible opportunity, and it never crossed my mind that this wasn’t a gift from God. However, on the second day of my retreat as I was thanking Him for this incredible provision, I sensed a heavy burden on His heart. “What could possibly be wrong?” I wondered. I continued to pray about it and just listen. “Are you trying to tell me something, God? Is there anything I’m not seeing here?”

• From Paul and Palestinian Judaism (40th Anniversary Edition) (2017)

  79. 3] Jubilees 375 ment not to appear in public naked touches 'all those who know the judgment of the law', that they should not act like the Gentiles, who uncover them- selves (3.31). God's mercy; man's repentance and atonement As in Ben Sirach and I Enoch, God's punishment of transgression is depicted as his paying sinners their just deserts and is thus a function of his being righteous 29 (21.4: God is righteous and judges transgression), while the righteous and obedient are considered to receive mercy. 'It is the Lord who executes judgment, and shows mercy to hundreds and thousands and to all that love Him' (23.31). Similarly, when Jacob tells Isaac how he has pros- pered, 'Isaac blessed the God of his father Abraham, who had not withdrawn his mercy and his righteousness from the sons of his servant Isaac' (31.25; 'righteousness' here may mean 'benevolence'). And Jacob tells Joseph near the end of his life that God has 'not withheld His mercy and His grace from His servant Jacob' (45.3). We see, in fact, that in spite of what appears to be the very strict legalism of Jubilees, the mercy and grace of God are constantly appealed to, and the author thought of God as being always merciful and gracious towards his people. We saw above that the Rabbis, whose extant literature deals primarily with how to fulfil the law, perceived God's goodness to be the result of his mercy rather than of their legal perfection, and that this perception could be seen in the prayers which remain. One may see a similar situation in Jubilees. On the one hand, it is said of Noah that 'his heart was righteous in all his ways, according as it was commanded regarding him, and he had not departed from aught that was ordained for him' (5.19). This perfection led not only to his own salvation from the flood, but to that of his sons. Noah was accepted 'on behalf of his sons', whom God saved 'on his account' (ibid.; apparently an early use of the conception of'the merits of the patriarchs'; cf. 30.20; 24.11,22). Yet Noah, according to the author, perceived the situation as one of God's mercy. Thus when he is told that his sons are being led into sin after the flood, he prays: God of the spirits of all flesh, who hast shown mercy unto me, And hast saved me and my sons from the waters of the flood, And hast not caused me to perish as Thou didst the sons of perdition; For thy grace has been great towards me, And great has been Thy mercy to my soul; Let Thy grace be lifted up upon my sons, And let not wicked spirits rule over them Lest they should destroy them from the earth. ( 10.3) 29 On God's righteousness, cf.

• From Every Woman's Battle: Discovering God's Plan for Sexual and Emotional Fulfillment (2003)

  When I heard Shannon’s story and met her, I knew she could write this book. She has experienced the temptations that most women are too embarrassed or afraid to admit. For years she had a wandering heart—but no longer. Shannon’s heart was healed as she embraced God’s plan for sexual and emotional fulfillment. Her openness, wisdom, honesty, and integrity can help you live a life of sexual and emotional integrity as well. In order for you to grow and mature, your sexuality must be integrated into the rest of your life. That means integrating your thought life and fantasy life into your marriage. When you do, you feel complete, congruent, and whole. The danger of living in your private world of fantasy and gratification is that you end up with a segmented life, one with secret fantasies, secret sexual practices, and obsessions. If this describes you, this book will show you how to integrate all parts of your being so that you become a whole and healthy woman, faithfully connected in intimacy with your mate and your God. If you have been wandering in the disappointing world of what was and what might have been, Every Woman’s Battle will bring you back to the reality of what God wants you to be and what your marriage can be. Married or single, you can find help and hope within these pages. I pray that when you are finished reading you will be on a path of spiritual growth and maturity that will allow you to stand pure before the Lord and experience true sexual and emotional fulfillment. May God bless you greatly for your desire to seek His truth. P.S. This book was written primarily for women who are married or plan to be. If you are single, this book will be invaluable as you are envisioning a fulfilling marriage. If you are not planning on being married, it will help you give wise counsel to your friends. acknowledgments My deepest gratitude goes first to Jesus Christ, the Lover I’ve longed for all my life. Thank You for revealing Yourself to me and for trusting me with Your vision for Well Women Ministries. Thank You also for the precious gift of a godly husband. Greg, where would I be had you not loved me as Christ loved the church, especially in the midst of my most “unlovable” moments? Your example of faithfulness through the past thirteen years has proven that true, unconditional love isn’t just a fairy tale. No writer could compose words deep enough to express my love and commitment to you. Thank you to my children, Erin and Matthew, for believing in me and cheering me on. The sunshine and laughter you bring into each day is such a gift. Of all the hats I wear in life, I’m most proud of my “Supermom” hat. You are incredible kids!