Erbey Galvan Valdez

Throughout history, the Fourth Gospel has been an enigma to its readers, and most notably in the way that it shapes its characters. Although traditional approaches to gospel characterization have often confined its characters to the pages of the text, The Voices of the Fourth Gospel presents a fresh, interdisciplinary approach that reveals the characterizations of the Fourth Gospel as vibrant, literary products based on eyewitness testimony of their encounters with Jesus of Nazareth. As such, the characters of the Fourth Gospel emerge as unique "voices" that speak to both the realities of their narrative world and the context of the emerging Christian community in Ephesus at the end of the first century. Based on the Fourth Gospel’s chronological and geographical distinctions, The Voices of the Fourth Gospel challenges its readers to hear the voices of each character from the historical memory of the Johannine church through five character case-studies: (1) the Disciple whom Jesus Loved, (2) Jesus of Nazareth, (3) John the Baptist, (4) Nicodemus, and (5) the Samaritan woman. Written for scholars, pastors, and serious students of Scripture, The Voices of the Fourth Gospel is an ideal source for readers who seek to better understand the Fourth Gospel from within its own cultural world.

In approximately AD 48, the Apostle Paul, his coworker Barnabas, and Barnabas' cousin, John Mark, boarded a ship at Seleucia and headed for Cyprus to initiate what is now known as the first Pauline missionary journey. It was during this mission that an unexpected setback occurred. Mark left Paul and Barnabas shortly after their arrival at Perga in Pamphylia and returned to Jerusalem. Throughout church history, this incident in the Book of Acts has often been overlooked or dismissed as either a mysterious or insignificant event to the story of the nascent church. But what if Luke intended for Mark's departure to mean much more to his narrative? In On the Shores of Perga, author Erbey Galvan Valdez explores the literary and historical background behind this epic journey and discovers that Luke did not remain completely silent on this event. Was Mark's departure meant to serve as a catalyst for one of the greatest challenges facing the early church-the Jewish-Gentile controversy? On the Shores of Perga challenges Christians to rethink the story of Acts and rediscover one of the Bible's great leaders in John Mark.

In approximately AD 48, the Apostle Paul, his coworker Barnabas, and Barnabas' cousin, John Mark, boarded a ship at Seleucia and headed for Cyprus to initiate what is now known as the first Pauline missionary journey. It was during this mission that an unexpected setback occurred. Mark left Paul and Barnabas shortly after their arrival at Perga in Pamphylia and returned to Jerusalem. Throughout church history, this incident in the Book of Acts has often been overlooked or dismissed as either a mysterious or insignificant event to the story of the nascent church. But what if Luke intended for Mark's departure to mean much more to his narrative? In On the Shores of Perga, author Erbey Galvan Valdez explores the literary and historical background behind this epic journey and discovers that Luke did not remain completely silent on this event. Was Mark's departure meant to serve as a catalyst for one of the greatest challenges facing the early church-the Jewish-Gentile controversy? On the Shores of Perga challenges Christians to rethink the story of Acts and rediscover one of the Bible's great leaders in John Mark.