John Barton

Too often Bible stories are familiar to us in the simplified version we learnt as children, or through the lessons they are supposed to teach us in religious homilies. Yet the actual stories are the products of a highly developed literary culture, narrated in an articulate and expressive Hebrew language, and nested within collections of diverse writings with which they are in constant dialogue. To underestimate the many facets of these narratives, their universal appeal and contemporary significance, is truly our loss. We will examine with adult eyes the dimensions, often overlooked or misunderstood, the wit and even humour, within some familiar and less familiar Biblical narratives, and allow them to surprise us.

-ABOUT THE BOOK: Drinking a glass of water, eating a meal with family or friends, conversing with others at social events, or introducing yourself to someone new are all ordinary parts of life for most people. But for John Barton, these seemingly simple activities took on a whole new perspective after being afflicted with Stage 4 tongue cancer. Little did he know of the transformational journey God had in store for him. In Amazing Days of Grace, you are invited to follow John's journey of, unparalleled joy amid tremendous pain, richer depths of life when death was imminent, surpassing peace while adapting to an odd new lifestyle, and how God's amazing blessings of grace have covered each step of the way.-ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Barton, a follower of Jesus Christ, is originally from Starkville, Mississippi, and has lived in the Memphis suburb of Collierville, Tennessee, for twenty-seven years. He has served in several lay leadership and service roles in churches, including teacher, small group leader, deacon, treasurer, and elder. As a survivor of stage four tongue cancer, he deals with unusual disabilities daily. John has been married to Candy for thirty-seven years, and they are blessed to have three adult children and two daughters-in-law. John enjoys retirement and having more time to do the things he loves most: visiting family and friends, studying God's Word, journaling, walking, serving in church, reading, writing, and encouraging others.-ABOUT THE PUBLISHER: Innovo Publishing LLC a multimedia publisher located near Memphis, TN. Since 2008, Innovo has published quality books, eBooks, audiobooks, music, screenplays, and curricula for authors, artists, and organizations within Christian and wholesome markets. Innovo's capabilities and global reach provide authors, artists and ministries access to the world for Christ. To learn more about Innovo Publishing, visit our website at innovopublishing.com. To connect with other Christian creatives and to learn best practices for creating, publishing, marketing, and selling Christian titles, visit the Christian Publishing Portal at cpportal.com.

Reflections for Daily Prayer continues to be one of the most popular and highly valued daily Bible reading companions. Continuing its tradition of excellence, regular favourites and new contributors offer insightful, informed and inspiring reflections on the scripture readings of the day, based on the Common Worship lectionary for Morning Prayer. Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, is the guest contributor for Holy Week. New voices this year include Gregory Cameron, the Bishop of St Asaph and author of the popular An Advent Book of Days and An Easter Book of Days; Chine MacDonald, author, broadcaster and Director of the religious think tank Theos; and Emma Parker, Deputy Warden of Cranmer Hall, Durham. For every day (excluding Sundays) of the 2023-24 church year, there are full references and a quotation from the day’s set of Scripture readings, concise and challenging commentary, and a collect. Also included is a simple order for Morning and Night Rrayer, and additional helps for nurturing a habit of regular daily prayer.

From a distinguished Oxford scholar and the author of A History of the Bible, an examination of how biblical translation works and why it matters Throughout history, most Jewish and Christian believers have understood scripture not in the languages in which it was first written but rather in their own--in translation. In The Word, acclaimed Bible scholar John Barton explores how saints and scholars have negotiated the profound challenges of translating the Bible while remaining faithful to the original. In addition to considering questions of literal versus free translation, literary style, inclusive language, and more, Barton draws out scriptural translation's role at other critical junctures in religious history. Far from a mere academic exercise, biblical translation has shaped how we answer faith's most enduring questions about the nature of God, the existence of the soul, and the possibility of salvation.

John Barton used to live in the non-disabled world. Then he developed symptoms of an obscure inherited condition that affected his mobility, closely followed by Parkinson’s disease. And suddenly he found himself propelled into the kingdom of the disabled. There are two worlds, he writes: ‘In one lies power, privilege and validity, in the other, the supposed lack, shame and misery of the invalids. The barriers that separate them – physical, political and psychological – diminish us all. They cripple our societies.’ This is a book not about disability but about our shared humanity. Barton takes us on a journey through history, politics, sociology, medical science and psychology, to explore the meanings of disability. Why do we, as a species, find it so hard to share our common world with people who are different from us? When you meet a disabled person in the street, socially, or in your work, do you pass the Humanity Test? Read this book. You may learn something.

Low-carbon electricity systems require energy storage on all time scales to accommodate the variations in solar and wind power. The research described in this book builds on recent research into nickel-iron battery-electrolysers or "battolysers" as both short-term and long-term energy storage. For short-term cycling as a battery, the internal resistances and time constants have been measured, including the component values of resistors and capacitors in equivalent circuits. The dependence of these values on state-of-charge and temperature have also been measured. The results confirm that a nickel-iron cell can hold 25% more than its nominal charge. However, this increased capacity disappears at temperatures of 60 C and may be dissipated quickly by self-discharge. When operating as an electrolyser for long-term energy storage, the experiments have established the importance of a separation gap between each electrode and the membrane for gas evolution and established the optimum size of this gap as approximately 1.25 mm. The nickel-iron cell has acceptable performance as an electrolyser for Power-to-X energy conversion but its large internal resistance limits voltage efficiency to 75% at a 5 hour charge and discharge rate, with or without a bubble separation membrane.

A literary history of our most influential book of all time, by an Oxford scholar and Anglican priest In our culture, the Bible is monolithic: It is a collection of books that has been unchanged and unchallenged since the earliest days of the Christian church. The idea of the Bible as "Holy Scripture," a non-negotiable authority straight from God, has prevailed in Western society for some time. And while it provides a firm foundation for centuries of Christian teaching, it denies the depth, variety, and richness of this fascinating text. In A History of the Bible, John Barton argues that the Bible is not a prescription to a complete, fixed religious system, but rather a product of a long and intriguing process, which has inspired Judaism and Christianity, but still does not describe the whole of either religion. Barton shows how the Bible is indeed an important source of religious insight for Jews and Christians alike, yet argues that it must be read in its historical context--from its beginnings in myth and folklore to its many interpretations throughout the centuries. It is a book full of narratives, laws, proverbs, prophecies, poems, and letters, each with their own character and origin stories. Barton explains how and by whom these disparate pieces were written, how they were canonized (and which ones weren't), and how they were assembled, disseminated, and interpreted around the world--and, importantly, to what effect. Ultimately, A History of the Bible argues that a thorough understanding of the history and context of its writing encourages religious communities to move away from the Bible's literal wording--which is impossible to determine--and focus instead on the broader meanings of scripture.

Renowned poet and editor John Barton collects his most provocative essays, public lectures, and reviews produced over the past twenty-five years. Barton began publishing in an era much less attentive to queer voices. In this special book, Barton grafts his own memoir about finding his voice as a poet and feet as an editor to astute takes on Margaret Avison, Emily Carr, Pat Lowther, Maureen Hynes, Anne Szumigalski, and many others. Making this book even more essential reading is the larger cultural context Barton brings to bear by writing about the historical production evolution and reception of queer writing in the lengthening shadow of equity.

The Bible: The Basics is an accessible and engaging introduction to the Bible as both a sacred text, central to the faith of millions, and a classic work of Western literature, containing a tapestry of genres, voices, perspectives, and images. This guide skilfully addresses both aspects of the Bible’s character by exploring: the rich variety of literary forms, from poetry to prophecy and epistles to apocalypses; the historical, geographic, and social context of the Bible; contemporary attitudes to the Bible held by believers and non-believers; the status of biblical interpretation today. The second edition has been updated throughout and includes maps and detailed suggestions for further reading. This is an ideal starting point for people of any faith, or none, who are studying the Bible in any setting or who simply want to know more about the best-selling book of all time.

The Bible: The Basics is an accessible and engaging introduction to the Bible as both a sacred text, central to the faith of millions, and a classic work of Western literature, containing a tapestry of genres, voices, perspectives, and images. This guide skilfully addresses both aspects of the Bible’s character by exploring: the rich variety of literary forms, from poetry to prophecy and epistles to apocalypses; the historical, geographic, and social context of the Bible; contemporary attitudes to the Bible held by believers and non-believers; the status of biblical interpretation today. The second edition has been updated throughout and includes maps and detailed suggestions for further reading. This is an ideal starting point for people of any faith, or none, who are studying the Bible in any setting or who simply want to know more about the best-selling book of all time.

Ethics in Ancient Israel is a study of ethical thinking in ancient Israel from around the eighth to the second century BC. The evidence for this consists primarily of the Old Testament/ Hebrew Bible and Apocrypha, but also other ancient Jewish writings such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and various anonymous and pseudonymous texts from shortly before the New Testament period. Professor John Barton argues that there were several models for thinking about ethics, including a 'divine command' theory, something approximating to natural law, a virtue ethic, and a belief in human custom and convention. Moreover, he examines ideas of reward and punishment, purity and impurity, the status of moral agents and patients, imitation of God, and the image of God in humanity. Barton maintains that ethical thinking can be found not only in laws but also in the wisdom literature, in the Psalms, and in narrative texts. There is much interaction with recent scholarship in both English and German. The book features discussion of comparative material from other ancient Near Eastern cultures and a chapter on short summaries of moral teaching, such as the Ten Commandments. This innovative work should be of interest to those concerned with the interpretation of the Old Testament but also to students of ethics.

This collection of John Barton's work engages with current concern over the biblical canon, in both historical and theological aspects; with literary reading of the Bible and current literary theory as it bears on biblical studies; and with the theological reading and use of the biblical text. John Barton's distinctive writing reflects a commitment to a 'liberal' approach to the Bible, which places a high value on traditional biblical criticism and also seeks to show how evocative and full of insight the biblical texts are and how they can contribute to modern theological concerns. This invaluable selection of published writings by one of the leading authorities on biblical text and canon, also includes new essays and editorial introductions from the author.

In the context of growing concern over climate change and other environmental pressures, Biblical Prophets and Contemporary Environmental Ethics explores what an ecological reading of the biblical text can contribute to contemporary environmental ethics. The Judaeo-Christian tradition has been held partly to blame for a negative attitude to creation - one that has legitimised the exploitative use of the earth's resources. Hilary Marlow explores some of the thinking in the history of the Christian tradition that has contributed to such a perception, before discussing a number of approaches to reading the Old Testament from an ecological perspective. Through a detailed exegetical study of the texts of the biblical prophets Amos, Hosea, and First Isaiah, Marlow examines the portrayal of the relationship between YHWH the God of Israel, humanity and the non-human creation. In the course of this exegesis, searching questions emerge: what are the various understandings of the non-human creation that are present in the text? What assumptions are made about YHWH's relationship to the created world and how he acts within it? And what effect do the actions and choices of human beings have on the created world? Following this close textual study, Marlow examines the problem of deriving ethical norms from the biblical text and discusses some key ethical debates in contemporary environmental theory. The book explores the potential contribution of the biblical exegesis to such debates and concludes by proposing an inter-relational model for reading the Old Testament prophets in the light of contemporary environmental ethics.

Ethics in Ancient Israel is a study of ethical thinking in ancient Israel from around the eighth to the second century BC. The evidence for this consists primarily of the Old Testament/ Hebrew Bible and Apocrypha, but also other ancient Jewish writings such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and various anonymous and pseudonymous texts from shortly before the New Testament period. Professor John Barton argues that there were several models for thinking about ethics, including a 'divine command' theory, something approximating to natural law, a virtue ethic, and a belief in human custom and convention. Moreover, he examines ideas of reward and punishment, purity and impurity, the status of moral agents and patients, imitation of God, and the image of God in humanity. Barton maintains that ethical thinking can be found not only in laws but also in the wisdom literature, in the Psalms, and in narrative texts. There is much interaction with recent scholarship in both English and German. The book features discussion of comparative material from other ancient Near Eastern cultures and a chapter on short summaries of moral teaching, such as the Ten Commandments. This innovative work should be of interest to those concerned with the interpretation of the Old Testament but also to students of ethics.