This gallery highlights books written or edited by current and former Cedarville University faculty members. It does not represent a comprehensive list of books by Cedarville faculty, but rather includes only those which have been brought to the attention of the University Archivist. Please contact the library to suggest additional titles.
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No Longer Jews: The Search for Gnostic Origins
Carl B. Smith II
Where, when, and how did Gnosticism arise? What exactly is Gnosticism? There is no scholarly consensus on these questions. No Longer Jews reviews the theories about Gnosticism and its sources and details Smith's hypothesis, offering an excellent introductory text on Gnosticism.
In addition to examining the development of Gnosticism, this book addresses issues of New Testament development and the history of Judaism, Christianity, and Gnosticism as they interact in the late first and early second centuries.
Carl Smith starts with a lucid and incisive survey of the secondary materials on Gnosticism and explains various understandings of the development of Gnosticism. He defines Gnosticism by its unique anti-cosmic dualism between material things (evil) vs. spiritual things (good) and also explores both Gnosticism's probable close relationship with Judaism and its rejection of the Creator God of the Old Testament.
After an extensive survey of the issues, Smith provides his own conclusions: first, that an early second-century dating for Gnosticism is most consistent with the historical details of the period; and second, that Egypt following the Jewish Revolt under Trajan (115-117 CE) provides a ripe context for Gnosticism's most unique and definitive innovation, the rejection of the cosmos and the Creator God of the Jews. He argues that individuals closely connected with Judaism--whether Jews, Jewish Christians, or gentile God-fearers--may have responded to the rebellion by rejecting the God and religion that inspired this apocalyptic and messianic ferment. "No longer Jews," they were now free to follow a higher God and way of life. -
Making the Big Red Machine: Bob Howsam and the Cincinnati Reds of the 1970s
Daryl R. Smith
With a line-up that included future Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez and Pete Rose, Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" powered its way in the 1970s to six division titles, four pennants, and two World Series. Three other times in that decade they finished second in their division to the eventual pennant winner. While much has been written about the players and manager Sparky Anderson, no book until now has given adequate attention to the man behind the Machine, general manager Bob Howsam. From his hire in 1967 through the end of his first stint with the Reds in 1978, Howsam brought about a remarkable change in fortune for the Reds, who had claimed only one pennant in the 26 years before his arrival. This detailed history of baseball's last dynasty shows not only how the team performed but why, delving into the off-field strategy and moves behind the Reds' success.
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Rendering to God and Caesar: Critical Readings for American Government
Mark Caleb Smith, Jewerl Maxwell, Marc A. Clauson, Kevin F. Sims, David L. Rich, and Andrew Travis
To understand American government is, at minimum, to recognize religion's profound influence on our culture and, by extension, our politics." So state the editors of this outstanding collection of 55 readings that survey the function and purpose of American government from its founding to the present. Rendering to God and Caesar is mostly comprised of primary sources, including founding documents, Supreme Court cases, and momentous speeches. Grouped into six unifying sections with introductions that tie the individual works together and point to their significance, each article is introduced as well by brief comments to highlight specific features or issues.
Designed to whet the reader's appetite for exploring the rich American governmental heritage-from The Mayflower Compact and excerpts from the writing of de Tocqueville and Rothbard to commentary about civil liberties and Barack Obama's speech about his own understanding of how religion should influence politics-the collection is sure to generate controversy and lead to lively classroom discussion.
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Advances in Protein Chemistry: Proteome Characterization and Proteomics
Richard D. Smith and Timothy D. Veenstra
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One Grand Story: How the Bible Tells its Story and Why It Matters
Ched E. Spellman
This is a little book about the "big picture" of the Bible.
As a primer on the discipline of biblical theology, it examines the Bible's message as a whole alongside some of the most important tools that help us discern and display this richly rewarding truth. It includes a framework for biblical theology, an introduction to specific reading strategies, and also a series of biblical-theological reflections on key biblical themes.
In the final part of the book, there is an annotated list of books for further reading, a series of topics for further research in the academic discipline of biblical theology, and a brief glossary of key terms. These final features of the book are designed for it to function well as a supplementary textbook in an academic course in biblical or theological studies. At the end of each chapter, there are also reflection prompts and discussion questions. This resource is designed to facilitate small group discussion (either in a church or a classroom setting).In the end, the big idea of this little book is that biblical theology will help you navigate the world of the biblical text, and it will also help you locate yourself in the biblical text’s world.
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Toward a Canon-Conscious Reading of the Bible: Exploring the History and Hermeneutics of the Canon
Ched E. Spellman
Two distinct questions about the canon of the Bible can be raised: (1) How did the biblical canon come to be?, and (2) What effect does that canon have on its readers? The former is a historical question about the formation of the biblical canon; the latter is a hermeneutical question about the function of the biblical canon. Though these questions have often been pursued in virtual isolation from one another, Spellman argues that there are considerable gains from observing the interconnections between the two lines of inquiry. On the historical question of the origin of the canon, Spellman asks, Is the shape of this collection an accident of history or a result of intelligent design? He concludes that canon-consciousness played an important role in the formation of the canon, even impinging on the work of the biblical authors themselves. On the hermeneutical question, the communities of readers of the Bible may also be shown to have been directed by their own canon-consciousness, using it as a guide in their interpretative task. In this interdisciplinary work, Spellman marshals historical, theological and hermeneutical resources in order to paint a picture of how the concept of canon can enrich reading communities of today.
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The Seminary as a Textual Community: Exploring John Sailhamer's Vision for Theological Education
Ched E. Spellman and Jason K. Lee
John Sailhamer (1946-2017) is known for his careful scholarship on the Hebrew Bible and his focus on the compositional strategies found in the text of Scripture. Perhaps less well-known is his comprehensive vision for theological education.
In part one of this volume, editors Ched Spellman and Jason K. Lee present a previously unpublished address from Sailhamer on "The Nature, Purpose, and Tasks of a Theological Seminary" and offer a reflection on the setting, substance, and significance of this new work. Part two includes a collection of Sailhamer's articles, essays, and reviews that are less-well known yet relate to some of the major topics he develops in his proposal for theological education. These writings focus on the use of history and hermeneutics with an eye toward the nature of biblical narratives. This section also includes some of Sailhamer's interaction with works from several different disciplines (from biblical exegesis to systematic theology) as well as his reflections on the state of Old Testament studies. The volume ends with a comprehensive bibliography of Sailhamer's writings and research.
