John Granger Cook Bücher

John Granger Cook traces the use of the penalty by the Romans until its probable abolition by Constantine. Rabbinic and legal sources are not neglected. The material contributes to the understanding of the crucifixion of Jesus and has implications for the theologies of the cross in the New Testament. Images and photographs are included in this volume. „This is a major and substantial work that will be a valuable resource for many years to come. Cook [...] provides a thorough and deeply documented study of the practice and meaning of crucifixion as a form of capital punishment in the ancient Mediterranean world.“Donald Senior in The Bible Today 2014, p. 375-376 "This volume, with its encyclopedic scope, is the most thorough treatment of the subject yet produced. Cook has done a lifetime's work here and he deserves our appreciation for assembling such a complex, thorough, and useful work."Jim West on

The book delves into the perspectives of early Greco-Roman intellectuals who engaged with the Septuagint, particularly Celsus, Porphyry, and Julian the Apostate. These figures, encountering Christian texts for the first time, found the Bible challenging and sought to undermine Christianity by critiquing its foundational texts. John Granger Cook emphasizes the significance of their responses, illustrating how the Septuagint was perceived by pagans who recognized the existential threat posed by Christianity to their beliefs and lifestyles.

In the early centuries of what came to be called the Christian era, that new religion competed not only with Judaism but also with various traditional Greco-Roman religious beliefs and practices. "Pagan" intellectuals read the emerging Christian scriptures and responded with critiques that provoked lengthy and repeated rejoinders from contemporary Christian leaders. In some cases, these criticisms anticipated perspectives that re-emerged many centuries later in modern scholarship. John Granger Cook offers the first detailed description of the exegesis of five of the most important ancient pagan critics of the New Celsus, Porphyry, the anonymous pagan reported by Macarius Magnes, Hierocles, and the emperor Julian.