Letters of Jude and Second Peter: An Introduction and Study Guide: Paranoia and the Slaves of Christ

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This Guide surveys the more important historical, socio-cultural, theological, and literary factors we must grapple with in understanding the two letters of Jude and Second Peter, between which there are very strong similarities. It appears that the letter of Jude was almost entirely ‘plagiarized’ by the letter of Second Peter. George Aichele's main approach is the method of semiotics, examining signifying mechanisms in each of the texts both independently and when they are read together. In both of the letters, Jesus Christ is called the ‘master’, with a Greek word that means ‘slave-owner‘, and the authors of both books refer to themselves and other Christians as the slaves of Christ. Furthermore, both writings report situations of paranoid fear within Christian communities of their time as they picture heretical infiltrators who threaten to pervert and perhaps even destroy the community. In addition to this, in an adventurous excursion, the letter of Jude is read intertextually with the classic science fiction/horror film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Siegel 1956), in order to explore the dynamics of paranoia. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgment Note Preface: The View from Mars Glossary Chapter 1: Critical Issues in Jude and 2 Peter, or What the Martian May Not Know Codes and Canon Authors, Dates, Locations Terminology Matters The Good Guys The Bad Guys Appendix: Some Obscure Language Chapter 2: A Paranoid Gospel: Jude and the Abolition of Difference You’re Next They’re Gonna Get You We Know your Little Secret UR NXT Chapter 3: Taming Paranoia: 2 Peter Rewrites Jude Creative Rewriting Second Peter’s First Chapter Second Peter’s Second Chapter Second Peter’s Third Chapter What Has 2 Peter Done to Jude? Chapter 4: The Christian Body and the Christian Mind Organ-izing the Christian Body Canon Effect Theology and the Gospel Reading with Different Assumptions Bibliography Subject Index Author Index