{"title":"E Randolph Richards","description":"\u003cp\u003eExplore the insightful works of E. Randolph Richards, a leading voice in biblical studies and cross-cultural understanding. Discover new perspectives on faith, communication, and the ancient world.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"misreading-scripture-with-western-eyes-removing-cultural-blinders-to-better-unde-book-e-randolph-richards-9780830837823","title":"Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes  Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOver 150,000 Copies Sold Worldwide!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eUnderstand Scripture on Its Own Terms\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat was clear to the original readers of Scripture is not always clear to us. Because of the cultural distance between the biblical world and our contemporary setting, we often bring modern Western biases to the text. For example:\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eWhen Western readers hear Paul exhorting women to \"dress modestly,\" we automatically think in terms of sexual modesty. But most women in that culture would never wear racy clothing. The context suggests that Paul is likely more concerned about economic modesty--that Christian women not flaunt their wealth through expensive clothes, braided hair, and gold jewelry.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eAs Westerners, we tend to give much attention to avoiding vices and not much to developing virtues. We tend to think that virtuous acts are spontaneous. But what went without saying in Paul's day was that it is not enough to remove vices; you must acquire virtues to replace them with, just like changing clothes (Col. 3:12).\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eWestern individualism leads us to assume that Mary and Joseph traveled alone to Bethlehem. What went without saying was that they were likely accompanied by a large entourage of extended family.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cp\u003eBiblical scholars Brandon O'Brien and Randy Richards shed light on the ways that Western readers often misunderstand the cultural dynamics of the Bible. They identify nine key areas where modern Westerners have significantly different assumptions about what might be going on in a text.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDrawing on their own cross-cultural experience in global mission, O'Brien and Richards show how better self-awareness and understanding of cultural differences in language, time, and social mores allow us to see the Bible in fresh and unexpected ways. Learn to read Scripture as a member of the global body of Christ with \u003ci\u003eMisreading Scripture with Western Eyes\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49522644156689,"sku":"CIN0830837825VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49565228040465,"sku":"CIN0830837825G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49789328621841,"sku":"NGR9780830837823","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49856680624401,"sku":"GOR008796227","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50263506780433,"sku":"GOR012309106","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50462769643793,"sku":"CIN0830837825A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50984665710865,"sku":"NIN9780830837823","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52139372052753,"sku":"NLS9780830837823","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52996949246225,"sku":"GOR010375409","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0830837825.jpg?v=1754475669"},{"product_id":"misreading-scripture-with-individualist-eyes-patronage-honor-and-shame-in-the-bi-book-e-randolph-richards-9780830852758","title":"Misreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes  Patronage, Honor, and Shame in the Biblical World","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Bible was written within collectivist cultures.\u003c\/b\u003e When Westerners, immersed in individualism, read the Bible, it's easy to misinterpret important elements--or miss them altogether. In any culture, the most important things usually go without being said. So to read Scripture well we benefit when we uncover the unspoken social structures and values of its world. We need to recalibrate our vision.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCombining the expertise of a biblical scholar and a missionary practitioner, \u003ci\u003eMisreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes\u003c\/i\u003e is an essential guidebook to the cultural background of the Bible and how it should inform our reading. E. Randolph Richards and Richard James explore deep social structures of the ancient Mediterranean--kinship, patronage, and brokerage--along with their key social tools--honor, shame, and boundaries--that the biblical authors lived in and lie below the surface of each text. From Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar to Peter's instructions to elders, theauthors strip away individualist assumptions and bring the world of the biblical writers to life.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eExpanding on the popular \u003ci\u003eMisreading Scripture with Western Eyes\u003c\/i\u003e, this book makes clear how understanding collectivism will help us better understand the Bible, which in turn will help us live more faithfully in an increasingly globalized world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49578534142225,"sku":"GOR012691839","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49795088875793,"sku":"NGR9780830852758","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49956216275217,"sku":"CIN0830852751VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50430841094417,"sku":"CIN0830852751G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50750790074641,"sku":"GOR012751632","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50984682357009,"sku":"NIN9780830852758","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52654212612369,"sku":"NLS9780830852758","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0830852751.jpg?v=1778752540"},{"product_id":"little-book-for-new-bible-scholars-book-e-randolph-richards-9780830851706","title":"A Little Book for New Bible Scholars","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMany young Bible scholars are passionate for the Scriptures. But is passion enough?\u003c\/b\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eA Little Book for New Bible Scholars\u003c\/i\u003e, Randolph Richards and Joseph Dodson encourage young students of the Bible to add substance to their zeal--the kind of substance that comes from the sweat and toil of hard study. \"Just as we should avoid knowledge without love,\" they write, \"we should also avoid love without knowledge.\"Aimed at beginners, this concise overview offers a wealth of good advice, warns of potential pitfalls, and includes wisdom from a variety of other biblical scholars as well as stories from the authors' own long experience in the guild. Full of warmth, humor, and an infectious love for Scripture, this book invites a new generation of young scholars to roll up their sleeves and dig into the complex, captivating world of the Bible.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49657498861841,"sku":"GOR010514104","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50468759699729,"sku":"CIN0830851704VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50984674230545,"sku":"NIN9780830851706","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52126025056529,"sku":"NLS9780830851706","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53157563957521,"sku":"CIN0830851704G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0830851704.jpg?v=1754261102"},{"product_id":"paul-behaving-badly-was-the-apostle-a-racist-chauvinist-jerk-book-e-randolph-richards-9780830844722","title":"Paul Behaving Badly - Was the Apostle a Racist, Chauvinist Jerk?","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe apostle Paul was kind of a jerk.\u003c\/b\u003eHe was arrogant and stubborn. 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The Holy Spirit sent him the apostle Philip whose explanation led to the eunuch's conversion to Christianity. In June of 2013 eight scholars convened at Tyndale House, Cambridge, England, to devote a week to the discussion of how to interpret the Bible. Our vision in the book before us is to come alongside and join in the reading and interpretation of Scripture, so that we can all gain a better knowledge of its meaning and represent that meaning in our lives and relationships. The fruit of our discussions from that summer appear in the following chapters. Five of our number devoted themselves to the production of two chapters each. These deal with a range of subjects related to biblical interpretation in the twenty-first century. 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We might think we know better and imagine him pacing in agitation as he rapidly dictates to a secretary his letter to the Galatians. But in reality neither of these pictures is accurate. In Paul's day, producing a letter was a time-consuming and costly business. And we have ample resources from the ancient world to piece together what it must have been like. A secretary was usually part of the picture. But so were notes, drafts, corrections and careful rewrites, not to speak of scratchy pens, sooty ink and coarse papyrus. Interestingly, there is evidence that Paul involved his missionary team in the writing of letters. And then came the delivery over land and sea, the reading and circulation, as well as the epistolary afterlife of copying, collecting and storing. E. Randolph Richards has extensively studied ancient letter writing and secretaries. 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What first appears to be just a study of secretaries and stationery turns out to be an intriguing glimpse of Paul the letter writer that overthrows our preconceptions and offers a new perspective on how this important portion of Christian Scripture came to be.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50763275927825,"sku":"CIN0830827889G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50984640971025,"sku":"NIN9780830827886","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51399406682385,"sku":"CIN0830827889VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51449697141009,"sku":"GOR014284465","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0830827889.jpg?v=1754489035"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-e-randolph-richards.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}