Facing Rejection: Responses in the New Testament Writings

How do you deal with disappointment? For instance, how do you feel when you offer something you cherish and you want others to cherish, and they reject your offer? How do you cope with someone rejecting your view? How do you cope with dissent? People's responses vary. They may range from "I hate you! Why don't you love me?!" to disparagement and denigration. At worst, you may embrace the hatred that generates violence and war. At best, you may engage with the other to understand and accept difference and embrace diversity with respect. New Testament authors reflect various ways of dealing with the disappointment which arose when the early members of the Jesus movement proclaimed good news only to be met with rejection. This book explores these reactions and also how they came to terms with the experience of rejection at the heart of their faith, Jesus' crucifixion. It then turns to the theme's upside and reflects on how acceptance and love, too, can be hard to take, and how from the beginning people found ways of keeping it at bay.