{"title":"Richard S Ascough","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"lydia-book-richard-s-ascough-9780814652695","title":"Lydia","description":"Human beings are embedded in a set of social relations. A social network is one way of conceiving that set of relations in terms of a number of persons connected to one another by varying degrees of relatedness. In the early Jesus-group documents featuring Paul and coworkers, it takes little effort to envision the apostle's collection of friends and friends of friends that is the Pauline network. The persons who constituted that network are the focus of this set of brief books. For Christians of the Western tradition, these persons are significant ancestors in faith. While each of them is worth knowing by themselves, it is largely because of their standing within that web of social relations woven about and around Paul that they are of lasting interest. Through this series we hope to come to know those persons in ways befitting their first-century Mediterranean culture.  Women played a prominent role in the development of the early Jesus communities and formed an essential part of Paul's social network. Lydia was one such woman. Her heart was opened to Paul's message, she responded with faith by being baptized, and she offered her home in hospitality to Paul and his companions. But beyond this not much is known of her. In Lydia: Paul's Cosmopolitan Hostess, Richard S.Ascough constructs an image of Lydia based on what is known about the political, commercial, social, and religious norms of the first-century world. Ascough describes the styles of possible dwellings in which Lydia could have lived, the business opportunities that would have been available to her, and the religious cults that held sway in Philippi at the time. With Ascough, readers will find that the importance of Lydia's story is that she hears the message of God through Paul and responds with faith.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49644206981393,"sku":"GOR010088255","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50984552268049,"sku":"NIN9780814652695","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52404632781073,"sku":"NLS9780814652695","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53370777239825,"sku":"CIN0814652697G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0814652697.jpg?v=1763633322"},{"product_id":"passionate-visionary-book-richard-s-ascough-9781598560176","title":"Passionate Visionary","description":"A seasoned Bible scholar and an expert in organizational leadership and change offer principles for modern managers and leaders drawn from Paul's dynamic leadership style. In a unique blend of management theory and biblical scholarship, Ascough and Cotton demonstrate that Paul essentially wrote the book on how transformational leaders should operate. Thoroughly grounded in biblical studies and the academic study of leadership--yet written in a clear and readable style--their conclusions will challenge thinking in a variety of organizations.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50393769017617,"sku":"CIN1598560174G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50393771147537,"sku":"CIN1598560174VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52865530003729,"sku":"GOR010352651","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53261672841489,"sku":"GOR014840835","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1598560174.jpg?v=1750863036"},{"product_id":"christ-groups-and-associations-book-richard-s-ascough-9781481316996","title":"Christ Groups and Associations","description":"The use of voluntary associations as a way to begin understanding Christ groups has become accepted practice in much of modern New Testament scholarship. This consensus has been decades in the making, building on work from the previous century. Easy access to influential works in this field enables students and scholars to expand our horizons for studying Christian origins.  The chapters in this volume represent some of the key figures and their arguments across three major periods of interest in the development of using associations as a model for understanding early Christ groups. A new introduction orients the reader to the important contributions of each essay and to where the essays fit within broader attempts at reconstructing the development of Christianity.   While much work remains in this field, Christ Groups and Associations serves to demonstrate the breadth of existing research and past discoveries on Christ groups enmeshed within the Greco-Roman cultural and social milieu and also the communal patterns that preceded and surrounded such groups. Modern scholars can build on these essays to join in the lively debate about the relevance of associations for understanding the claims and practices of the earliest Christ groups.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50463973114129,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50463973310737,"sku":"NGR9781481316996","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1481316990.jpg?v=1765447386"},{"product_id":"religious-rivalries-and-the-struggle-for-success-in-sardis-and-smyrna-book-richard-s-ascough-9780889204720","title":"Religious Rivalries and the Struggle for Success in Sardis and Smyrna","description":"This volume, one in a series of books examining religious rivalries, focuses in detail on the religious dimension of life in two particular Roman cities: Sardis and Smyrna. The essays explore the relationships and rivalries among Jews, Christians, and various Greco-Roman religious groups from the second century bce to the fourth century ce.     The thirteen contributors, including seasoned scholars and promising newcomers, bring fresh perspectives on religious life in antiquity. They draw upon a wide range of archaeological, epigraphic, and literary data to investigate the complex web of relationships that existed among the religious groups of these two cities - from coexistence and cooperation to competition and conflict. To the extent that the essays investigate how religious groups are shaped by their urban settings, the book also offers insights into the material urban realities of the Roman Empire.     Investigating two cities together in one volume highlights similarities and differences in the interaction of religious groups in each location. The specific focus on Sardis and Smyrna is broadened through an investigation of methodological issues involved in the study of the interaction of urban-based religious groups in antiquity. The volume will be of particular interest to scholars and advanced students in Biblical Studies, Classical Studies, and Archaeology.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50630868992273,"sku":"NGR9780889204720","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51009068663057,"sku":"NIN9780889204720","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52334273102097,"sku":"NLS9780889204720","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0889204721.jpg?v=1763480500"},{"product_id":"early-christ-groups-and-greco-roman-associations-book-richard-s-ascough-9781666709025","title":"Early Christ Groups and Greco-Roman Associations","description":"Over the past two and a half decades there has been an increasing interest in how the data from the associations--known primarily from inscriptions and papyri--can help scholars better understand the development of Christ groups in the first and second centuries. Richard Ascough's work has been at the forefront of promoting the associations and applying insights from inscriptions and papyri to understanding early Christian texts. This book collects together his most important contributions to the scholarly trajectory as it developed over a two-decade period. A fresh introduction orients the sixteen previously published articles and essays, which are arranged into three sections; the first dealing with associations as a model for Christ groups, the second focused on how associations and Christ groups interacted over recruitment, and the third on two key elements of group life: meals and memorializing the dead.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51045432099089,"sku":"NIN9781666709025","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51157463662865,"sku":"NGR9781666709025","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52453597643025,"sku":"NLS9781666709025","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1666709026.jpg?v=1751214661"},{"product_id":"early-christ-groups-and-greco-roman-associations-book-richard-s-ascough-9781666709018","title":"Early Christ Groups and Greco-Roman Associations","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51045639749905,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51045642535185,"sku":"NIN9781666709018","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52453557666065,"sku":"NLS9781666709018","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1666709018.jpg?v=1751058112"},{"product_id":"paul-s-macedonian-associations-book-richard-s-ascough-9781725267527","title":"Paul's Macedonian Associations","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51048954396945,"sku":"NIN9781725267527","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52665367855377,"sku":"NLS9781725267527","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1725267527.jpg?v=1750897091"},{"product_id":"what-are-they-saying-about-the-formation-of-pauline-churches-book-richard-s-ascough-9780809137688","title":"What Are They Saying About the Formation of Pauline Churches?","description":"The early church was made up of a myriad of local churches, each with different settings, problems and ideas regarding how its community should be structured. 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This is a superb book for those seeking an overall view of the debate on the culture and organization of the first Christian communities. †","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51323516387601,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51323518910737,"sku":"CIN0809137682VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51885779648785,"sku":"CIN0809137682G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0809137682.jpg?v=1751329285"},{"product_id":"passionate-visionary-book-richard-s-ascough-9782895075660","title":"Passionate Visionary","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52102125748497,"sku":"GOR010228569","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53631559860497,"sku":"CIN2895075662VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9782895075660.jpg?v=1757095721"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-au\/collections\/author-books-by-richard-s-ascough.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}