This book is Prof. Minear's clarion for a return to authentic biblical theology. After more than fifty years of teaching and research, his message is still simple: biblical theology must pay attention to the emphases of the biblical writers. Contemporary biblical scholars, often best trained as historians, tend to dismiss those elements of the Bible most relevant to the faith of ancient and contemporary Christians. This book introduces contemporary students again to a study of the Bible with God at its heart.

"Paul S. Minear provokes readers of the New Testament to attend to the utter confidence with which its pages speak of God and God's doings. In a book that ranges from Matthew to Revelation and from J. S. Bach to Jacques Ellul, Minear's insights are both classic and astonishing. A volume to be both welcomed and read." --Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Princeton Theological Seminary

"Paul Minear's work, too little known to recent students, was a major influence that drew me into the field of New Testament studies. These subtly crafted essays press us to reckon with the New Testament writers' claim to speak about a God who transcends modernist ways of knowing. Minear's far-seeing readings beckon us to peer into the mystery to which the texts point. In short, Minear raises the art of New Testament criticism into the practice of prophecy. The publication of this book is an event to be celebrated by all who cherish theological interpretation of the New Testament." --Richard B. Hays, The Divinity School, Duke University

"Minear goes directly to the biblical texts, and by deftly exploring their ways of talking about things like peace, death or "the heavens," lets their language invite the reader to be grasped by the extraordinary reality of which they speak. These jargon-free essays do more than express an aesthetic appreciation of the New Testament's distinct language; they exemplify a way of reading scripture that can stimulate the imagination, challenge the moral will and deepen understanding. For thirsting spirits, an oasis." --Leander E. Keck, Yale Divinity School

In recent years, considerable scholarly discussion has occurred regarding the meaning of the Holy Spirit's activity in Luke-Acts. "The Charismatic Theology of St. Luke" represents a new and fresh approach to this important issue.

At the crux of the controversy is the interpretation of the phrases "baptism in the Holy Spirit" and "filled with the Spirit" as used in Luke-Acts. Roger Stronstad argues that, in an effort to harmonize Lukan and Pauline theology of the Holy Spirit, Luke's charismatic emphases have been improperly forced into a mold.

Stronstad offers a cogent and thought-provoking study of Luke as a charismatic theologian, whose understanding of the Spirit shaped wholly his understanding of Jesus and of the nature of the Early Church. Writing in the spirit of the finest of biblical scholarship, Stronstad challenges, indeed forces, traditional Protestants to reexamine and reconsider the impact of Pentecost.

Each year thousands die for the Jesus they read about in the Bible. At the same time scholars worldwide reject central truths of the Book. Here is an analysis of two contrasting approaches to biblical interpretation: one which has encouraged many to abandon the Christian heritage, the other which has informed the largest numeric increase of professing Christians in world history in recent generations and which is projected to continue.