Churches under Siege of Persecution and Assimilation (Apostasy in the New Testament Communities)

B. J. Oropeza offers the most thorough examination in recent times on the subject of apostasy in the New Testament. The study examines each book of the New Testament with a fourfold approach that identifies the emerging Christian community in danger, the nature of apostasy that threatens the congregations, and the consequences of defection. Oropeza then compares the various perspectives of the communities in Christ in order to determine the ways in which they perceived apostasy and whether defectors could be restored. In this final book of a three-volume set titled Apostasy in the New Testament Communities, Oropeza focuses on the Christ communities found in the General Epistles and Revelation.

B. J. Oropeza is Professor of Biblical Studies at Azusa Pacific University. He is the current founder and chair of Intertextuality in the New Testament sessions for the Society of Biblical Literature. Among his many publications are Jesus and Paul: Global Perspectives in Honor of James D. G. Dunn (2009), and Paul and Apostasy: Eschatology, Perseverance and Falling Away in the Corinthian Congregation (2000/2007).