Francis J. Moloney is a Senior Professorial Fellow at Australian Catholic University in Melbourne. His work deeply engages with the interpretation of the New Testament, placing particular emphasis on the Gospel texts. Moloney's approach is distinguished by its focus on stylistic and narrative elements that reveal the authors' theological intentions. His analyses help readers grasp the profound layers within biblical narratives.
This "reading" of the Gospel of Matthew is neither novel nor groundbreaking. Nor is it universally accepted by commentators on the Gospel. This book does not strive to make detailed exegetical decisions but focus on the "big picture" to show that an early Christian author developed a carefully constructed story from the sources that came to him, and that he shaped them to communicate a "point of view" about God, Jesus Christ, Christian discipleship, and the Christian Church.
The Book of Revelation is the most challenging book in the New Testament. It has been part of the Christian Bible from the earliest times. It has been violently interpreted and has puzzled believers from the earliest decades of the Christian Church. It is traditionally read as a series of hostile symbolic narratives that describe what will happen at the end of time. This Friendly Guide questions that tradition. As part of a "new look" in Revelation studies, Professor Moloney insists that John of Patmos has used Jewish end-time language to speak of the never-ending presence of the forces of evil in the world, and the victory of God over those forces in and through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is a book that instructs Christians where they should place their trust in troubled times.
"This book is an accessible introduction to interpreting the New Testament. The text orients the student to the worlds of the Bible, briefly introduces key themes and characters in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, and then focuses on the tools, methods, and questions for interpreting the New Testament"--
An in-depth study of the history and theology of the Eucharist as primarily a celebration of forgiveness rather than as a tool for exclusion and the ethical consequences that arise from such a study.
The voice of Francis J. Moloney has been heard in Johannine studies for many decades. This volume gathers shorter journal articles from a publishing career that began in 1975, placing them together with new studies that appear for this first time, and thus complementing Moloney's already well-known commentary and scholarly monographs on the Fourth Gospel. The author's work has encompassed all areas of Johannine scholarship - the world that produced and first received the Fourth Gospel, its theology and Christology, and critical analysis of much-discussed passages. Well known for his extensive use of narrative and reader-response criticism, Francis J. Moloney has in more recent years developed an interpretation of the gospel which suggests that the author(s) of this narrative regarded their work as the „completion“ of scripture. This unique collection therefore not only provides the past publications of a significant Johannine scholar, but also reflects the development of Johannine scholarship from 1975 until today.
Christians take it for granted that Jesus rose from the dead. Without this belief, there would be no such thing as Christianity as we know it. How was this belief born? Once it was alive and central to the lives of the earliest Christians, how did they pass on their belief to following generations? This Friendly Guide traces the earliest confessions of faith in the Risen Jesus, from the first moments of the life of the Church, to the stories from Paul, Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. These inspired writings convey not only what happened, but also what it meant to the earliest Christians, and what it continues to mean today.
Internationally respected scholar Francis Moloney offers a Catholic introduction to the New Testament that shows how to read it both faithfully and critically. The opening chapter and an epilogue directly address the theological requirements of, and historical challenges for, ecclesial reading. The remaining chapters give exemplary readings of the figure of Jesus and of the various divisions of the New Testament canon. Conceived as a resource for religious educators, deacons, and other ministers in the Catholic Church, this book will serve Catholics and others as an ideal supplement to a conventional New Testament introduction or as a companion to reading the New Testament itself.
The command to love is central to the Gospel of John. Internationally respected scholar Francis Moloney offers a thorough exploration of this theme, focusing not only on Jesus's words but also on his actions. Instead of merely telling people that they must love one another, Jesus acts to make God's love known and calls all who follow him to do the same.This capstone work on John's Gospel uses a narrative approach to delve deeply into a theme at the heart of the Fourth Gospel and the life of the Christian church. Uniting rigorous exegesis with theological and pastoral insight, it makes a substantive contribution to contemporary Johannine scholarship.
One of Australia's greatest scripture theologians, Francis J Moloney SDB, again brings the world of the gospels to life in this addition to the Friendly Guide series of books. He introduces us to the Gospel of Mark in a style that is not only friendly, but which provides a foundation for any further study of Mark and the relevance of this gospel as we live our own modern lives. Moloney explains that while the Gospel of Mark is the shortest, it is in some ways the most challenging of the four Gospels. From what we have already seen in tracing the relationship between Jesus and the disciples in the Gospel, it is clear that there are at least two parts to the Gospel. The first is set in Galilee, and it closes with Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, and Jesus' prohibiting the disciples to say anything about this. The rest of the story has Jesus and the disciples either 'on the way' to Jerusalem, or in Jerusalem. The second half of the story tells the surprising message that Jesus can only be the Messiah and the Son of God as the suffering and dying Son of Man who will be raised by God. It is predicted and then acted out in the account of Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection. Francis J Moloney SDB is an internationally renowned scripture scholar and former leader of the Australian province for the Society of Don Bosco.
The Gospel of Mark, addressed to an early Christian community perplexed by failure and suffering, presents Jesus as suffering Messiah and Son of God. Recognizing that failure and suffering continue to perplex Christians today, world-renowned New Testament scholar and theologian Francis Moloney marries the rich contributions of traditional historical scholarship with the contemporary approach to the Gospels as narrative. Now in paperback, this commentary combines the highest-level scholarship with pastoral sensitivity. It offers an accessible and thoughtful reading of Mark's narrative to bring the Gospel's story to life for contemporary readers.