Books by "Michael F. Bird"
7 books found
A fun way to build vocabulary and boost SAT scores Word puzzles are a proven tool for building vocabulary. They nudge the puzzler gently toward shades of meaning, synonym recognition, contextual interpretation, and making educated guesses--all the mental tricks needed to do well on the SAT verbal section. In SAT Vocabulary Express, a top test-prep coach teams up with a leading crossword puzzle author to offer students a fun, effective alternative to standard vocabulary builders. A unique learning tool for breaking the code in the SAT verbal section, this book features: Dozens of crosswords, anagrams, acrostics, cryptograms, and other fun, skill-building puzzles Brainteasers that stimulate vocabulary mastery Tips and techniques for using the puzzles to pump up vocabularies to unprecedented levels--painlessly!
Letter & Spirit, Vol. 10: Christ Our Passover: Theological Exegesis of St. Paul
by St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, Scott Hahn, Pablo T. Gadenz, John A. Kincaid, Michael Patrick Barber, Mark Reasoner, Christopher M. Ciccarino, Andre Villeneuve, Peter H. Davids, Jean Paillard
2015 · Emmaus Road Publishing
The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and Dr. Scott Hahn present the tenth annual edition of Letter & Spirit with the theme “Christ Our Passover.” The articles, while academic in nature, are easily accessible to the average reader and can be read with great profit, both spiritually and in coming to learn the truths of the Catholic faith more deeply.
Since the Middle Ages, lexographies of Talmudic and other rabbinic literature have combined in one entry Babylonian, Palestinian, and Targumic words from various periods. Because morphologically identical words in even closely related dialects can frequently differ in both meaning and nuance, their consolidation into one dictionary entry is often misleading. Scholars now realize the need to treat each dialect separately, and in A Dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, Michael Sokoloff provides a complete lexicon of the dialect spoken and written by Jews in Palestine during the Byzantine period, from the third century C.E. to the tenth century. Sokoloff draws on a wide range of sources, from inscriptions discovered in the remains of synagogues and on amulets, fragments of letters and other documents, poems, and marginal notations to local Targumim, the Palestinian Midrashim and Talmud, texts addressing religious law (halacha), and Palestinian marriage documents (ketubbot) from the Arabic period. Many of these sources were unavailable to previous lexographers, who based their dictionaries on corrupt nineteenth-century editions of the rabbinic literature. The discovery of new manuscripts in both European libraries and the Cairo Geniza over the course of the twentieth century has revolutionized the textual basis of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic. Each entry in A Dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic is divided into six parts: lemma or root, part of speech, English gloss, etymology, semantic features, and bibliographic references. Sokoloff also includes an index of all cited passages. This major reference work, updated to reflect the publication of new texts over the last decade, will both provide students and scholars with a tool for an accurate understanding of the Aramaic dialect of Jewish Palestinian literature of the Byzantine period and help Aramaist and Semitic linguists to see the relationship between this dialect and others, especially the contemporary dialects of Palestine.
This book provides an original translation methodology applicable to the New Testament, one that remains rooted in the literal Greek; considers its paleographic and philological characteristics as well as its socio-historical context; understands the text as part of a canonical whole; reflects its reception history in church doctrine and liturgy; accounts for "classical" formulations of its translation-tradition; yet speaks with contemporary literary style. In developing a new methodology, the book appropriates ancient and modern insights into the relationship of thought and language not previously considered in the context of translation. Further, the book is premised on the understanding that Scripture is the divinely communicated Word of God made incarnationally present in the words of the Bible. As the viva vox evangelii, biblical texts thus have ongoing effects in the continuum of church history and tradition. The book argues that contemporary translators of the Bible should therefore be aware of their own situatedness in and shaping by this continuity of linguistic and cultural transmission. As such, the book provides a pathway to translating the Scriptures in such a way as to capture, recapitulate, and incorporate the living sweep of the timeless Word in words that cross time.
The second of a two-volume project delving into the doctrine of justification. Michael Horton seeks not simply to recover a clear message of its role in modern Reformed theology, but also to bring a fresh discovery of the gospel in a time when contemporary debates around justification have reignited. The doctrine of justification stands at the center of our systematic reflection on the meaning of salvation and grace as well as our piety, mission, and life together. And yet, within mainline Protestant and evangelical theology, it's often taken for granted or left to gather dust in favor of modern concerns and self-renewal. Volume 2 embarks on the theologically constructive task of investigating the biblical doctrine of justification in light of contemporary exegesis. Taking up the topic from a variety of theological vantage points, Horton engages with contemporary debates in biblical, especially Pauline, scholarship. Part 1 draws out The Horizon of Justification from the Old Testament narratives of Adam and Israel. Part 2 defines The Achievement of Justification in the blood of Christ and seeks to lay the groundwork for understanding its extent. Part 3 focuses on The Gift of Righteousness, delving into a clear articulation of what justification means, its mechanism, and the role of works on the day of judgement. Part 4 proposes a way forward for Receiving Justification and understanding faith and justification within the broader framework of union with Christ. Engaging and thorough, Justification shows that the doctrine of justification finds its most ecumenically significant starting point and proper habitat in unity with Christ, where the greatest consensus, past and present, is to be found among Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant theologies.
A gay man who created New York's most notorious den of heterosexuality . . . an anxious, anything-but-hardboiled lawyer who became one of the most successful undercover mob informants in history. . . . In this hilarious and fascinating account, Michael Blutrich takes you inside star-studded 1990s New York, mafia sit-downs, and the witness protection program. Meet Michael D. Blutrich, founder of Scores, the hottest strip club in New York history. A resourceful lawyer at one of the city's most respected firms, Blutrich fell into the skin trade almost by accident, but it was his legal savvy that made Scores the first club in Manhattan to feature lap dances and enabled him to neatly sidestep a law requiring dancers to wear pasties by instead covering their nipples with latex paint. Soon Scores, the club Howard Stern called "like being in a candy shop," was a home away from home for everyone from sports superstars and Oscar-winning actors to pop singers and political notables alike. The catch? The club was smack dab in John Gotti's territory, and the mafia wanted a piece of the action. The Gambino family doesn't take no for an answer . . . and neither, as it turns out, does the FBI. In his memoir, Blutrich recounts in detail how his beloved club became a hub for the mafia, and how he found himself caught up in an FBI investigation, sorely struggling to juggle roles of business owner and undercover spy. As his life spiraled out of control, Blutrich would face the loss of almost everything dear to him. But whether marching a line of topless strippers as human exhibits into a trial to save the club's liquor license or wearing wires to meetings with armed gangsters, he never lost his sense of humor or his nerve. In Scores, Blutrich finally tells all—from triumph to betrayal—in his own funny, self-deprecating voice.