Best Christian Hermeneutics
More than three quarters of a million people have turned to How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth to inform their reading of the Bible. Updated language for better readability Scripture references now appear only in brackets at the end of a sentence or paragraph, helping you read the Bible as you would read any book—without the numbers A new authors’ preface Redesigned and updated diagrams Updated list of recommended commentaries and resources. Gordon D. Fee (PhD, University of Southern California) is Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"If teaching disciples to read the Bible for themselves is the most important task pastors, teachers, churches can perform then I believe most have failed. I grew up in a conservative Southern Baptist church context that taught the innerancy and importance of reading Scripture daily and studying it corporately, but never once had a lesson in exegesis, hermeneutics, biblical theology, etc. The importance and practical application of proper exegesis and hermeneutics are what Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart teach in this book. Reading this book, and others like it which they recommend, is extremely important. The authors have since written a companion book that I hope to read (How to Read the Bible Book by Book) but I'll read D.A. "Reading the Bible with an eye only to its meaning for us can lead to a great deal of nonsense as well as to every imaginable kind of error--because it lacks controls... we believe that God's Word for us today is first of all precisely what his Word was to them. Second, we must learn to hear that same meaning in the variety of new or different contexts of our own day; we call this second task hermeneutics...the original meaning of the text--as much as it is in our power to discern it--is the objective point of control...And this brings us back to our insistence that proper 'hermeneutics' begins with solid 'exegesis.'". "Even the two authors of this book have some disagreements as to what certain texts 'plainly' mean. Yet all of us are reading the same Bible, and we all are trying to be obedient to what the text 'plainly' means. "There are two basic kinds of questions one should ask of every biblical passage: those that relate to context and those that relate to content.The questions of context are also of two kinds: historical and literary...The most important contextual question you will ever ask--and it must be asked over and over of every sentence and every paragraph --is, 'What's the point? Or to put it in a positive way, the true meaning of the biblical text for us is what God originally intended it to mean when it was first spoken. Consulting a commentary should be "the last thing you do" in studying a text or a book. Christians believe that the New Testament authors were inspired by the Holy Spirit and therefore able to write analogies between the Old Testament and the life of Jesus than we are able to today. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write about this analogical connection between the Israelites in the desert and life in Christ without following the usual rules about context, intent, style, and wording..." Similarly with Matthew noting Jesus' "fulfillment" of various prophecies, such as being the "son called out of Egypt." OT Narratives, their proper use: "In the biblical story God is the protagonist, Satan (or opposing people/powers) are the antagonists, and God’s people are the agonists. The basic “plot” of the biblical story is that the creator God has created a people for his name — in his own “image” — who as his image bearers were to be his stewards over the earth that he created for their benefit. The plot resolution is the long story of 'redemption,' how God rescues his people from the enemy’s clutches, restores them back into his image, and (finally) will restore them 'in a new heaven and new earth. '”. "As you read the various narratives, be constantly on the lookout for how the inspired narrator discloses the point of view from which you are to understand the story." Errors in interpretation of biblical narratives: Allegorizing - relegating the text to merely reflecting another meaning beyond the text. Redefinition - Example: 2 Chron 7:14-15. "so they tend to ignore the fact that God’s promise that he will “hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” was about the only earthly land God’s people could ever claim as “theirs,” the Old Testament land of Israel. In the new covenant, God’s people have no earthly country that is “their land” — despite the tendency of some American Christians to think otherwise about the world. "Unless Scripture explicitly tells us we must do something, what is only narrated or described does not function in a normative (i.e. obligatory) way — unless it can be demonstrated on other grounds that the author intended it to function in this way". Trying to look at Acts and the epistles for "how to do church" is problematic. The Gospels: "the major hermeneutical difficulty lies with understanding 'the kingdom of God,'". Authors shaped, and arranged his materials. "Think horizontally". "To think horizontally means that when studying a pericope in any one gospel, it is usually helpful to be aware of the parallels in the other gospels. To be sure, this point must not be overdrawn, since none of the evangelists intended his gospel to be read in parallel with the others. Nonetheless, the fact that God has provided four gospels in the canon means that they cannot be read totally in isolation from one another." The purpose of studying the Gospels in parallel is not to fill out the story in one gospel with details from the others. Usually such a reading of the Gospels tends to harmonize all the details and thus blur the very distinctives in each gospel that the Holy Spirit inspired. "Think vertically". To think vertically means that when reading or studying a narrative or teaching in the Gospels, one should try to be aware of both historical contexts — that of Jesus and that of the evangelist. OT is not our Testament. "unless an Old Testament law is somehow restated or reinforced in the New Testament, it is no longer directly binding on God’s people (cf. While a complete coverage of the categories of Old Testament law would take a book of its own, the portion of laws from the Pentateuch that no longer apply to Christians can be grouped conveniently into two categories: (1) the Israelite civil laws and (2) the Israelite ritual laws. All of the OT is still the word of God for us, even though it is not still God's command to us. Only that which is explicitly renewed from the Old Testament law can be considered part of the New Testament “law of Christ” (cf. Do see the Old Testament law as God’s fully inspired word for you. Don’t see the Old Testament law as God’s direct command to you. 373 – 546; Joachim Jeremias, Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus. read Robert H. Stein’s The Method and Message of Jesus’ Teaching. how to do hermeneutics in the Gospels: "highly recommend" George E. Ladd’s The Presence of the Future (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974). These. The very best introduction to Revelation — how it “works” as a book, its basic point of view, and its theological contribution to the Bible — is by Richard Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of Revelation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993); for an “easy read” commentary intended for the lay reader, you may wish to look at Professor Fee’s Revelation in the New Covenant Commentary Series (2011), The Appendix contains information on how to choose a commentary while offering suggestions for each book and some introductions to OT and NT."
"Not an easy read, but lots of good information."
"This will change the way you read the Bible."
"Fee and Stuart, two of the world's foremost biblical scholars, guide the reader into understanding how to appropriately interpret scripture."
"It does not take a particular demoninational point of view but rather stays focused objectively on biblical interpretation from the text."
"Every teacher and serious student of the Bible should read this several times and apply its principles."
"This book is about Biblical exegesis and hermeneutics, in other words how we can understand texts and apply them to our own contexts."
"It is loaded with practical help, guided tours of the Scriptures, and skilled ease with boiling complicate concepts down to a simple and understandable form."
If you knew that God was going to restore your life and everything you love any day; if you believed a great and glorious goodness was coming to you--not in a vague heaven but right here on this earth--you would have a hope to see you through anything, an anchor for your soul, "an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God" (Hebrews 6:19). Rather, the life we long for, the paradise Adam and Eve knew, is precisely the life that is coming to us. John Eldredge is the author of numerous bestselling books including Wild at Heart, Fathered by God, and Beautiful Outlaw.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Several authors, such as N. T. Wright, Randy Alcorn, and even Dallas Willard have contributed to my understanding that what we normally think of as “Heaven” falls far short of what Scripture seems to say. When I saw an offer to preview and promote John Eldredge’s new book "All Things New," I jumped at the chance to read and review it. Where other books offer perhaps a deeper, more theological and Scripture-saturated understanding of the future, Eldredge also uses movie and story references and takes a cue from them to help us imagine what things will be like. Let me provide just one example from the book: “If you woke each morning and your heart leapt with hope, knowing that the renewal of all things was just around the corner–might even come today–you would be one happy person. If your heart’s imagination were filled with rich expectations of all the goodness coming to you, your confidence would be contagious; you would be unstoppable, revolutionary. I believe the best way to develop our understanding of the future is to take the more theological works and combine them with the imaginative ones, blending them together to create a Scripture-founded hope that resides deep within us."
"Part of what is communicated here is that our inheritance is not an alien heaven 'out there' but rather a restored earth, and given such a premise, it should be no surprise that John draws heavily on C S Lewis, particularly 'The Last Battle' to get his message across. Lewis said to one of his correspondents that 'there are better things ahead than any we leave behind', and the great achievement of 'All Things New' is in showing how this is only truly possible if the core of our old, familiar loves is retained. As John says, it is 'all things new', not 'all new things', and if our longing for the life to come has been choked by the weeds of well-meaning but errant church tradition, there is healthy enough soil here for it to begin growing again, as the author draws on scripture, personal revelation, and quotations from his favourite authors to communicate a message that is as timely as it is well-delivered and true."
"One of the most thought-provoking books I've ever read."
"There are two really great chapters in this book."
The context suggests that Paul is likely more concerned about economic modesty--that Christian women not flaunt their wealth through expensive clothes, braided hair and gold jewelry. Biblical scholars Brandon O'Brien and Randy Richards shed light on the ways that Western readers often misunderstand the cultural dynamics of the Bible. Drawing on their own crosscultural experience in global mission, O'Brien and Richards show how better self-awareness and understanding of cultural differences in language, time and social mores allow us to see the Bible in fresh and unexpected ways. 2, June 2013). "Written in engaging prose, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes is a must-have for students of the Bible, and especially students of biblical apologetics. Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes reveals the 'habits of the mind' that might blind us to the Bible's intended message. Their book is a helpful resource in understanding Scripture on its own terms, without imposing our assumptions on the biblical authors and their first readers." (Lindsay Olesberg, author, The Bible Study Handbook, and senior associate for Scripture engagement, Lausanne Movement). "The authors of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes make a convincing case that those who trust in the Bible should (for biblical reasons) be more self-conscious about themselves. " Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes is an important book that comes along at a critical moment in global evangelical history. I am grateful to the authors for their effort to be self-reflective and engage in a critical examination of our engagement with Scripture from within Western culture." (Soong-Chan Rah, Milton B. Engebretson Associate Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at North Park Theological Seminary, author of The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity). If its readers end the book motivated to ask the questions it invites and even inspired to identify other possible misreadings because of Western cultural blinders that have not been discussed, they will be more ready to live out the kind of biblically faithful, Christ-honoring and God-fearing lives that they desire to and that the world needs." He is a popular speaker and has authored and coauthored dozens of books and articles, including Paul Behaving Badly , A Little Book for New Bible Scholars , Rediscovering Jesus , Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes , Rediscovering Paul , The Story of Israel , and Paul and First-Century Letter Writing.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Very good book."
"Graduate seminary requirement that opened my eyes to a lot of things I was unaware of!"
"A very good analysis of the way theologians look at the Bible in modern day america and frankly the rest of the world."
"The Bible was not written to us as individuals but to a church or group of believers in the time period of the writers."
"This book confronts our assumptions and gives greater awareness to considering the history behind each verse."
"This book takes everything you know and tweaks it slightly."
Best Christian New Testament Criticism
This collection contains: Be Right (Romans), Be Wise (1 Corinthians), Be Encouraged (2 Corinthians), Be Free (Galatians), Be Rich (Ephesians), Be Joyful (Philippians), Be Complete (Colossians), Be Ready (1 & 2 Thessalonians), and Be Faithful (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon). Be Wise (1 Corinthians): Be Wise guides us through Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, where he encourages his fellow believers to embrace a life of wisdom and truth. Be Joyful (Philippians): Discover Paul's secret to finding joy in Christ as Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe leads you on a verse-by-verse tour through the book of Philippians.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Wiersbe is renowned, such a strong book."
"Great, easy to understand teaching."
"Quickly gave me the information I needed."
"Very good way of studying the Bible."
"Easy to understand with applicable commentaries."
Best Christian Old Testament Criticism
In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day is inspired by one of the most obscure yet courageous acts recorded in Scripture, a blessed and audacious act that left no regrets: “Benaiah chased a lion down into a pit. What if the life you really want, and the future God wants for you, is hiding right now in your biggest problem, your worst failure…your greatest fear? Look in the rearview mirror long enough and you’ll see that God has purposely positioned you everywhere you’ve been—even when it seemed you’d taken a wrong turn.”. —Mark Batterson. Praise for In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day: “A thoughtful and energetic leader, Mark Batterson presses us to consider how we live out our faith in the world around us. Mark’s genuine warmth and sincerity spill over into his communication, combining an intense love for his community with a passionate desire to see them living the life God dreams for them. In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day helps us make sense of this beautiful mess we call life.” -Lindy Lowry, Editor, Outreach magazine “Mark Batterson is down-to-earth and humble—yet constantly pushes me to grow.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It challenges Christians to chase after their dreams and, with faith in God, to go out on a limb and live those dreams He has given us."
"I had read Batterson's second book first it was given to me."
"Mark Batterson said, "If your dream does not require divine intervention to accomplish, then it is too small.""
"A great book to encourage you to understand you potential to move forward, conquer and overcome!"
"I've read Bible many times and don't always remember certain passages."
"Have given this book to friends and family who are beginning new life chapters."
"This book was written in the joy of the Lord."
"But we need to consider God's power in order to shrink our problems."