Love as "Agape"

Oda Wischmeyer has produced an impressive study of love in early Christian thought and expression. Love is more than an ethical value, she argues. It was foundational to their conception of God and a major catalyst for community formation. She has made a convincing case that one cannot describe the identity of the early Jesus people without this five-letter Greek word: agape.

~Nijay K. Gupta, Professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary

Oda Wischmeyer’s study of love in early Christianity is a tour de force. Wischmeyer shows how the Christian concept of love is rooted in Israel’s scriptures, relates to ancient philosophical discourse, and came to have a definitive impact on western civilization. In addition, Wischmeyer puts the Christian notion of love into fruitful dialogue with modern philosophical accounts of love. A must-have volume for anyone interested in Christian ethics and cultural engagement.

~Michael F. Bird, Academic Dean and Lecturer in Theology, Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia

In this brilliant book, Wischmeyer revitalizes a central New Testament theme: the transcendent yet socially embodied love of God in Christ. Situating her analysis in the historical context of ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman discourses on love, Wischmeyer critically engages with current post-religious theorists on love. The result is a bracing and constructive restoration to public discourse of the Christian conception of love. Thorough, passionate, and hugely relevant,  Love as Agape is a must-read.

~Susan Eastman, Associate Research Professor of New Testament, Duke Divinity School

...A comprehensive and erudite study of agape.

~Benjamin H. Dunning, Theological Studies

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the NT concept of love and how it pertains to ourcurrent cultural climate.

~Thomas Haviland-Pabst, Books at a Glance

Wischmeyer’s study on agape is the most sophisticated to date. Through a refined historical hermeneutic, the book demonstrates that the concept of love did not originate in the minds of the early Jesus people or within Greco-Roman thought but instead enjoys a pedigree as ancient as Israel’s scriptures. Ultimately, the book successfully argues that the Jewish-Christian concept of love developed into a life-creating extension of God’s own self that finds its pinnacle in Jesus Christ.

~Cory M. Marsh, Review of Biblical Literature

Oda Wischmeyer, Professor emerita for New Testament Studies at theFriedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, sets out 'to present anew theNew Testament concept of love', which 'has its own, indispensable contribution to make' to contemporary debates on the meaning of love.

~Susan E. Hylen, Scottish Journal of Theology

Here she stakes a real claim on the contemporary lived experienced of the communities for whom the biblical texts about agape continue to occupy a sacred and authoritative function. Therefore, in the end, the reader is rewarded with both timeless exegetical fruit and timely hermeneutical inspiration.

~John Frederick, Reformed Theological Seminary DC, Society of Biblical Literature