Overview

Paul's letters to the Thessalonians are the earliest surviving Christian documents. They are also among the most easily overlooked parts of the New Testament. What could these short, simple letters possibly have to say to a world caught in the throes of racial discord, political polarization, fears of an uncertain future, and fights over truth and false news? While Paul and his companions could not have imagined anything like the twenty-first century, their letters in the mid-first century to non-Jewish followers of Jesus in northern Greece address problems we still wrestle with today: race and ethnicity, family, ethics, an unknown future, how to respond to strangers, and more. These letters, rather than being an outdated part of Paul's collected letters, provoke us to throw ourselves into the great challenges of the modern world, to resist the temptation to repay ""another person evil for evil,"" and to ""pursue the good, both for one another and for everyone"" (1 Thess 5:15). Will we read these ancient letters anew?

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9781666748697

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"""Rafael Rodriguez draws readers into the world of the oft-neglected letters of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and in so doing, shows us how these tiny letters help us think more clearly about our own world."" --Matthew Thiessen, associate professor of religious studies, McMaster University ""Rafael Rodriguez's accessible, engaging study of 1 and 2 Thessalonians offers a historically accurate and pastorally sensitive reading of Paul's letters that both corrects the frequent antisemitic stereotypes found in Christian preaching and shows how ancient texts can speak to present contexts. An enormous achievement."" --Amy-Jill Levine, distinguished professor of New Testament and Jewish studies, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace ""With uncommonly engaging prose, good humor, and a practically attuned eye, Rafael Rodriguez demonstrates how two unfamiliar letters written to a tiny ancient church about their own matters speaks relevantly to readers two thousand years later. Rodriguez's analysis refreshingly avoids both the shibboleths associated with today's party extremes and unreflective acceptance of our culture's philosophical and moral trends, and listens for guidance to a biblical text that often challenges our biases, beliefs, and personal practices. A highly recommended read."" --Timothy Brookins, professor of early Christianity, Houston Christian University"

""Rafael Rodriguez draws readers into the world of the oft-neglected letters of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and in so doing, shows us how these tiny letters help us think more clearly about our own world."" --Matthew Thiessen, associate professor of religious studies, McMaster University ""Rafael Rodriguez's accessible, engaging study of 1 and 2 Thessalonians offers a historically accurate and pastorally sensitive reading of Paul's letters that both corrects the frequent antisemitic stereotypes found in Christian preaching and shows how ancient texts can speak to present contexts. An enormous achievement."" --Amy-Jill Levine, distinguished professor of New Testament and Jewish studies, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace ""With uncommonly engaging prose, good humor, and a practically attuned eye, Rafael Rodriguez demonstrates how two unfamiliar letters written to a tiny ancient church about their own matters speaks relevantly to readers two thousand years later. Rodriguez's analysis refreshingly avoids both the shibboleths associated with today's party extremes and unreflective acceptance of our culture's philosophical and moral trends, and listens for guidance to a biblical text that often challenges our biases, beliefs, and personal practices. A highly recommended read."" --Timothy Brookins, professor of early Christianity, Houston Christian University

Author Information

Rafael Rodriguez is professor of New Testament at Johnson University (Knoxville, Tennessee). He is the author If You Call Yourself a Jew: Reappraising Paul's Letter to the Romans (2014), and co-editor of The So-Called Jew in Paul's Letter to the Romans (with Matthew Thiessen; 2016).

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