Cruciform Scripture: Cross, Participation, and Mission

by Christopher W. Skinner, Nijay K. Gupta (Editor), Andy Johnson (Editor)

What does it mean to participate in the cruciform Lord Jesus Christ so that our life together becomes a living exegesis of the gospel?

Michael Gorman has been tremendously influential in exploring this question within the New Testament, particularly in the letters of Paul, the Gospel of John, and the book of Revelation. His 2001 book Cruciformity: Paul’s Narrative Spirituality of the Cross inspired a generation of scholars and was the first in a trilogy of New Testament theology devoted to exploring the role of the cross, participation in Christ, and becoming the gospel in mission. Here, an assemblage of some of the best and brightest current New Testament exegetes honor Gorman’s work with contributions of their own, each of which further explores these three critical themes in various passages of the New Testament.

Cruciform Scripture is more than a tribute to a giant of biblical scholarship. Its contributors (including N. T. Wright, Sylvia Keesmaat, and Richard Hays) are masters in their own right who offer incisive interpretations of essential themes of New Testament theology and the core concerns of Christian life in community. As they reason together in this volume, they amplify one another’s voices as well as Gorman’s, modeling a way that careful reflection on Paul’s determination to “know nothing . . . except Jesus Christ and him crucified” can engender fruitful insights on the nature of discipleship.

Contributors

Ben C. Blackwell, Sherri Brown, Frank E. Dicken, Dennis R. Edwards, Rebekah Eklund, Dean Flemming, Patricia Fosarelli, Stephen E. Fowl, Nijay K. Gupta, Richard B. Hays, Andy Johnson, Sylvia C. Keesmaat, Brent Laytham, Christopher W. Skinner, Klyne R. Snodgrass, Drew J. Strait, and N. T. Wright.

Genres: Theology

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 2021

About the author

Dr. Christopher W. Skinner is Professor of New Testament/Early Christianity at Loyola University Chicago. He holds a PhD in Biblical Studies from the Catholic University of America (2008). He previously taught at St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore Maryland (2005-2010), and Mount Olive College in North Carolina (2010-2016) where he was the 2013-2014 Professor of the Year. He has also taught at East Carolina University (2014-2015) and Loyola University Maryland (2008-2009). In addition to publishing nearly three dozen peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, he has authored or edited eleven books. His work explores the intersection of literary and historical questions in the narratives about Jesus both within and outside the New Testament.