Edith M. Humphrey

Though James finds it a challenge being the oldest boy in a large extended family, he longs for something more exciting. Then, he and his cousins Isaiah and Kevin venture down the valley behind their grandmother's backyard fence, and embark on a stomach-turning voyage to times long ago and far away. Though they hope to keep their magical visits a secret from their older sisters, they discover that sometimes help is welcome. Join the three boys, their teen sisters, and their older friend TJ, as they go on a night quest for the apostle James, encounter mystery with the prophet Isaiah, and frolic with St. Kevin of Ireland and his animals. Shudder at the demons in Apollo's temple during the rescue of Kevin's little sister, who has been trapped in an ancient dungeon with the martyr Empress Alexandra. Travel to the cinnamon-scented shores of India, where peacocks dance, and where St. Thomas and TJ stand up to a hostile warrior. And in the end, return home and find that the world has changed: or maybe you have

Though James finds it a challenge being the oldest boy in a large extended family, he longs for something more exciting. Then, he and his cousins Isaiah and Kevin venture down the valley behind their grandmother's backyard fence, and embark on a stomach-turning voyage to times long ago and far away. Though they hope to keep their magical visits a secret from their older sisters, they discover that sometimes help is welcome. Join the three boys, their teen sisters, and their older friend TJ, as they go on a night quest for the apostle James, encounter mystery with the prophet Isaiah, and frolic with St. Kevin of Ireland and his animals. Shudder at the demons in Apollo's temple during the rescue of Kevin's little sister, who has been trapped in an ancient dungeon with the martyr Empress Alexandra. Travel to the cinnamon-scented shores of India, where peacocks dance, and where St. Thomas and TJ stand up to a hostile warrior. And in the end, return home and find that the world has changed: or maybe you have

Mediation and the Immediate God pursues a long-debated question: How can we say both that God has a direct relationship with each Christian, and that He uses others in order to bring us to health and glory? Edith M. Humphrey explores the ubiquity of mediation in the Christian life, and in life in general, as well as the paradox of mediation alongside the Christian confidence that each of us can be directly “taught by God” because of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Mediation, says Humphrey, is understood best as an ecclesial matter (showing the nature of the Church) and not as part of a soteriological debate.

Transcendence in general and transformation in particular have long been established as key motifs in apocalypses. The transformation of a seer during a heavenly journey is found commonly in such esoteric apocalypses as I Enoch. No heavenly journey occurs in the apocalypses treated here. Rather, symbolic women figures--"ladies" in the classical sense--who are associated with God's city or Tower, undergo transformation at key points in the action. The surface structures of Joseph and Aseneth, 4 Ezra, the Apocalypse and The Shepherd of Hermas are traced, and the crucial transformation episodes are located within each structure. Transformation of figures which represent God's people points to the significance of identitiy within the apocalyptic perspective. Earlier analyses have demonstrated that the apocalyptic perspective urges the reader to consider life from a different stance in time and in space ("temporal" and "spatial" axes). The present analysis suggests that the apocalypse also charts its revelations along an "axis of identity" so that the reader is invited to become, as it were, someone more in tune with the mysteries he or she is viewing. Of special interest is the treatment of the increasingly well-known romance Joseph and Aseneth alongside apocalypses, a parallel which is fruitful because of the curious visionary sequence, closely related to apocalypse in content and form, which is found in the inner centre of that work.

In some of the church's history, Scripture has been pitted against tradition and vice versa. Prominent New Testament scholar Edith Humphrey, who understands the issue from both Protestant and Catholic/Orthodox perspectives, revisits this perennial point of tension. She demonstrates that the Bible itself reveals the importance of tradition, exploring how the Gospels, Acts, and the Epistles show Jesus and the apostles claiming the authority of tradition as God's Word, both written and spoken. Arguing that Scripture and tradition are not in opposition but are necessarily and inextricably intertwined, Humphrey defends tradition as God's gift to the church. She also works to dismantle rigid views of sola scriptura while holding a high view of Scripture's authority.

Can we understand worship in a way that transcends style, relevance, and aesthetics? Taking into account the most contested issues of the "worship wars," prominent New Testament scholar Edith Humphrey shows how the act of entering into God's presence is central to all true Christian worship. Regardless of worship style, when we come into God's presence, we praise God alongside angels and with the whole of creation.Seeking to reclaim the forgotten theme of worship as entry into God's presence, Humphrey shows its prominence in the Bible, providing an accessible but thorough study of the Old and New Testaments. She analyzes key moments in church history to show how worship developed in Eastern and Western churches. She also draws insights from healthy worshiping communities around the globe. The book offers practical guidance to worship directors, pastors, thoughtful lay readers, and students with regards to balanced and faithful worship.

Countering the generic "spirituality" so popular today, Edith Humphrey presents an authentic Christian spirituality that draws on Scripture and the profound riches of the Christian tradition - Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant. Humphrey shows how Christian spirituality is rooted in the Trinity, in the ecstasy ("going out" of oneself) and intimacy (profound closeness with another) marking the relations between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The book embodies a banquet of excerpts from the greatest spiritual writers in history - such luminaries as St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, Julian of Norwich, St. Teresa of Avila, the Wesley brothers, Thomas Merton, and Alexander Schmemann. Humphrey's elegant prose, laced with stories and images from her own life, beautifully uncovers the ways in which God's trinitarian life informs all human communion. Each chapter ends with questions for further reflection and discussion.

This volume is a comprehensive but accessible guide to the major questions raised by the Hellenistic Jewish work, Joseph and Aseneth. Joseph and Aseneth is an excellent example of the controverted issues of text, dating and Sitz im Leben, when such decisions must be largely based on internal evidence. It provides an entre into the vexed question of genre, given the numerous literary links that have been suggested for it. Its mysterious but engaging plot, and its female protagonist, evoke ongoing sociological and feminist debate. It is thus strongly commended for careful study to students and scholars of Judaism, New Testament, sociology and narratology. Intended as a sound basis for such exploration, this guide also offers a fresh narrative reading in which the revelatory character of Joseph and Aseneth is brought to the forefront.