Religious Studies

Michael D. Coogan

Engaging and accessible to students from all backgrounds, A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context, Second Edition, is an updated, concise, and more pedagogical version of Michael D. Coogan's best-selling The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures, Second Edition (OUP, 2010). Coogan works primarily from a historical and critical methodology but also introduces students to literary analysis and other interpretive strategies. He examines all the books of the Hebrew Bible and considers additional writings from the ancient Near East. The Apocryphal / Deuterocanonical books are included in an appendix. Providing a nondenominational and nondoctrinal treatment, this text offers a unique and captivating introduction to the Hebrew scriptures themselves and to how they have been--and can be--interpreted.
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Edited by Leona M. Anderson and Pamela Dickey Young

Women and Religious Traditions analyzes the roles of women in the world's religions from historical, textual, political, psychological, and contemporary perspectives. It begins with an introduction to feminist theory and issues in the study of religion, followed by individual chapters devoted to each of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Chinese Religions, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Native Traditions, and New Age Religions. Organized by themes such as history, texts, symbols, sexuality, and social change, the new second edition examines how religious mythology and patriarchy have shaped the social and private lives of women throughout history.
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Bart D. Ehrman

Featuring vibrant full color throughout, the fifth edition of Bart D. Ehrman's highly successful introduction approaches the New Testament from a consistently historical and comparative perspective, emphasizing the rich diversity of the earliest Christian literature. Distinctive to this study is its unique focus on the historical, literary, and religious milieux of the Greco-Roman world, including early Judaism. As part of its historical orientation, the book also discusses other Christian writings that were roughly contemporary with the New Testament, such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Apocalypse of Peter, and the letters of Ignatius..
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