Hermeneutics Books

Tell It Slant: A Conversation on the Language of Jesus in His Stories and Prayers

Eugene H. Peterson

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Just as God used words both to create the world and to give us commandments, we too use words for many different purposes. In fact, we use the same language to talk to each other and to talk to God. Can our everyday speech, then, be just as important as the words and prayers we hear from the pulpit? Eugene Peterson unequivocally says Yes! Tell It Slant explores how Jesus used language he was earthy, not abstract; metaphorical, not dogmatic. His was not a direct language of information or instruction but an indirect, oblique language requiring a participating imagination slant language. In order to witness and teach accurately in Jesus name, then, it is important for us to use language the way he did. Part 1 focuses on Jesus words in everyday contexts his teachings to the crowds, the stories he told, his conversations with his disciples. Part 2 shifts the focus to Jesus prayers the words he spoke to God the Father.
Petersons Tell It Slant promises to deepen our understanding of Jesus words, strengthen our awareness of language as a gift of God, and nurture our efforts to make all of our speech convey a blessing to others.

The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict Fully Updated To Answer The Questions Challenging Christians Today

Josh McDowell

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Total reviews: 97 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great Resource 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This is an incredible tool for anyone studying the Bible, defending the Bible, or just wants a solid resource in this skeptical 21st century. I have found it profoundly informative and a must for anyone who wanted a more in-depth view of the Bible, History and profound truths therein.

Editorial Review:

Bestselling author and Christian apologist Josh McDowell hopes The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict will further document historical evidence of the Christian faith. As such, it is a straightforward compilation of notes prepared for his lecture series, "Christianity: Hoax or History?" The entire book (over 750 pages) is laid out in outline form, which makes it easier for researchers, scholars, and students to access. As a result, this is not reflective fireside reading. Rather, it is a tool for locating supporting "evidence" whenever the need arises. Part I addresses the trustworthiness of the Bible; Part II offers historical evidence and supporting attestations for Jesus' claim to God; Part III addresses "radical Christian criticism" of the Bible; Part IV is devoted to quelling the voice of numerous skeptics, including "a defense for the existence of miracles" and "answers to divergent worldview."

The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible

Scot McKnight

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Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good Book, but Missing Something 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The Blue Parakeet is a book about a book, namely the Bible. ScotMcKnight challenges Christians to read the Bible as a story, not as a set of laws or morsels of blessings. McKnight feels that only by reading the Bible as a story can we grasp the truth that God is trying to impart to humanity. McKnight uses the metaphor of a blue parakeet in his backyard to illustrate his point. A blue parakeet once inhabited his backyard, causing the other birds to be at once terrified and curious. He says the Bible does the same thing; it is something that is often times what we don't want to hear, but we are captivated by it at the same time.


This book alternately thrilled and bored me. It never really hits its stride. The introductory chapter blew me away. McKnight asked controversial and thought-provoking questions, but never really got around to addressing them. A lot of the chapters are filled with theories and categorizing, which makes you feel like you're slogging through a textbook. But just when you are ready to give up on the book, McKnight injects life into the discussion, making you take a closer look at your own personal interpretation of the Bible, and whether it is right or wrong to even have an individual interpretation of the Bible.

If you are a student of the Bible, then you will probably like this book. But if you aren't a big fan of scholarly works of the Bible, stay away.

Editorial Review:

The Blue Parakeet is author Scot McKnight’s deeply reasoned, compelling statement of how to read the Bible in a new evangelical generation. In re-examining the Bible, McKnight provides an exciting “Third Way” that appeals to the millions in today’s church who long to be authentic Christians, but don’t consider themselves theologically conservative or liberal.

Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Readers of the New Testament often encounter quotes or allusions to Old Testament stories and prophecies that are unfamiliar or obscure. In order to fully understand the teachings of Jesus and his followers, it is important to understand the large body of Scripture that preceded and informed their thinking. Leading evangelical scholars G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson have brought together a distinguished team to provide readers with a comprehensive commentary on Old Testament quotations, allusions, and echoes that appear from Matthew through Revelation. College and seminary students, pastors, scholars, and interested lay readers will want to add this unique commentary to their reference libraries. Contributors Craig L. Blomberg (Denver Seminary) on Matthew Rikk E. Watts (Regent College) on Mark David W. Pao (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) and Eckhard J. Schnabel (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) on Luke Andreas J. Köstenberger (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) on John I. Howard Marshall (University of Aberdeen) on Acts Mark A. Seifrid (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) on Romans Roy E. Ciampa (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) and Brian S. Rosner (Moore Theological College) on 1 Corinthians Peter Balla (Károli Gáspár Reformed University, Budapest) on 2 Corinthians Moisés Silva (author of Philippians in the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) on Galatians and Philippians Frank S. Thielman (Beeson Divinity School) on Ephesians G. K. Beale (Wheaton College Graduate School) on Colossians Jeffrey A. D. Weima (Calvin Theological Seminary) on 1 and 2 Thessalonians Philip H. Towner (United Bible Societies) on 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus George H. Guthrie (Union University) on Hebrews D. A. Carson (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) on the General Epistles G. K. Beale (Wheaton College Graduate School) and Sean M. McDonough (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) on Revelation

Living By the Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible

Howard Hendricks, William Hendricks

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 38 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Best Text to Begin Personal Bible Study 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The many reviews on this book are already excellent, but I would like to add my own experience both with the book and with Prof Hendricks. I remember reading this book a few years back then had the privilege of having Prof in class last Fall in 2007. He teaches just like the book he wrote with his son, Bill. In a time when the majority of books simply tend to give you content or fluff, this book not only gives you foundational methods, but gives you priceless examples of how to put these methods into a consistent practice. Prof supplies us with biblical passages to test out these methods for doing personal bible study, which is three-fold: observation, interpretation, and application.

I cannot fully explain what it is like to learn from a man of the Word who has taught bible method and exposition for more than 50 years. The command he has over the subject, the illustrations and examples he conjures up, the accessibility he gives the listener/reader to the scripture is priceless over and over again. In a school like DTS, where it is easy to get caught up with everything BUT theological method and life applications, Dr. Hendricks shows how invaluable bible study method is for every Christian, whether a professional minister/pastor, a layman, a scholar, etc. This is something we were all meant to do and to be engaged in. Growth is accomplished by learning how, through the power and filling of the Holy Spirit, to engage in the foundational bible study methods of observation and interpretation, which are then to be lived out through daily application. This is a must-read for every Christian to grow and mature in their faith.

Editorial Review:

Do you feel guilty about not enjoying

personal Bible study? Ever wonder how

some people can percolate with enthusiasm

over the same passages that leaves

you unmoved? Father and son authors

Howard and Bill Hendricks believe

practicing effective inductive Bible

study methods can make the difference.

After taking Howard’s course at Dallas

Theological Seminary, Chuck Swindoll

said, “What a difference it would make

if all God’s people could get hold of

the techniques and principles necessary

for the cultivation of their own spiritual

nourishment.”

The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary

Robert Alter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Gross Omissions 2 out of 5 stars.
13 of 26 people found this review helpful.

This is not a comment on the substance of Dr Alter's translation. I opened it today for comparative study; I own three other versions of The Five Books. To my dismay, I find no Parashat-Named Headings,none; merely Chapter Headings,and Bk Chapt.#s at the top of each page. I sought refuge in the index. There is no index! I have read many reviews and comments of this work and none, not one, mentioned this glaring omission. For a layman as myself I find this book too tedius to bother with,other than when I go to another version for the missing information. It is beyond my comprehension how this highly praised book by a masterful author could be published without the norms I have mentioned.

Editorial Review:

"A modern classic....Thrilling and constantly illuminating."—Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World

Through a distinguished career of critical scholarship and translation, Robert Alter has equipped us to read the Hebrew Bible as a powerful, cohesive work of literature. In this landmark work, Alter's masterly translation and probing commentary combine to give contemporary readers the definitive edition of The Five Books. Winner of the PEN Center USA Literary Award for Translation and the Koret Jewish Book Award for Translation, a Newsweek Top 15 Book, Los Angeles Times Favorite Book, and San Francisco Chronicle Best Book.

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Bible (Politically Incorrect Guides)

Robert J. Hutchinson

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Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the beginning, the Bible triggered a revolution in human thought and later established Western civilization's moral and philosophical foundation. Many people though--from authors to pundits--mock it for their own purposes and political agendas. However, the Bible remains the bestselling book of all time, believed by nearly two billion people (Christians and Jews) to be divinely inspired. In his hard-hitting new book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to The Bible, author Robert J. Hutchinson details the facts behind the numerous truths the anti-religious secularists don't want you to know about, including:

*Recent archaeological discoveries confirm the historical accuracy of many Bible stories
*The Bible made modern science possible (which is why it started in the Middle Ages)
*Biblical laws paved the way for democracy and limited government
*The Bible promotes human freedom
*The enemies of the Bible are enemies of true reason and tolerance

In this new installment in the bestselling P.I.G. series, Hutchinson silences the secularists and atheists with historical evidence, undeniable facts, and insightful revelations--proving why the Bible is still the bestselling book of all time--and so much more.

The Bible: A Biography (Books That Changed the World)

Karen Armstrong

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Editorial Review:

As the single work at the heart of Christianity, the world’s largest organized religion, the Bible is the spiritual guide for one out of every three people in the world. It is also the world’s most widely distributed book and its best-selling, with an estimated six billion copies sold in the last two hundred years. But the Bible is a complex work with a complicated and obscure history. Its contents have changed over the centuries, it has been transformed by translation and, through interpretation, has developed manifold meanings to various religions, denominations, and sects.

In this seminal account, acclaimed historian Karen Armstrong discusses the conception, gestation, life, and afterlife of history’s most powerful book. Armstrong analyzes the social and political situation in which oral history turned into written scripture, how this all-pervasive scripture was collected into one work, and how it became accepted as Christianity’s sacred text, and how its interpretation changed over time. Armstrong’s history of the Bible is a brilliant, captivating book, crucial in an age of declining faith and rising fundamentalism.

The Bible: A Biography (Books That Changed the World)

Karen Armstrong

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

As the work at the heart of Christianity, the Bible is the spiritual guide for one out of every three people in the world. It is also the world’s most widely distributed book, translated into over two thousand languages, and the world’s best selling book, year after year. But the Bible is a complex work with a complicated and obscure history. Made up of sixty-six “books” written by various authors and divided into two testaments, its contents have changed over the centuries. The Bible has been transformed by translation and, through interpretation, has developed manifold meanings to various religions, denominations, and sects. In this seminal account, acclaimed historian Karen Armstrong discusses the conception, gestation, and life of history’s most powerful book. Armstrong analyzes the social and political situation in which oral history turned into written scripture, how this all-pervasive scripture was collected into one work, and how it became accepted as Christianity’s sacred text. She explores how scripture came to be read for information, and how, in the nineteenth century, historical criticism of the Bible caused greater fear than Darwinism. This is a brilliant, captivating book, crucial in an age of declining faith and rising fundamentalism.

Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology)

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Good Entry Point Into the Study of the NT Use of the OT 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

"Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old" is a collection and interaction of three essays on the topic of how to understand the New Testament authors' use of the Old Testament. The three contributors to the book are Walter Kaiser (single meaning, unified referents view), Darrell Bock (single meaning, multiple contexts and referents view), and Peter Enns (fuller meaning, single goal view). Each of the three lengthy chapters includes an essay by one of the contributors espousing his view followed by two short responses by the other contributors.

Co-editor Jonathan Lunde lays the conceptual foundation for the rest of the work in the introduction and orients the reader to the book's primary question when he writes, "When New Testament authors appeal to OT texts in order to support or validate their arguments, the relationship between their meanings and that which was originally intended by their OT forebears is the central question" (pg. 11). In addition to this central question the contributors are also asked to address five "orbiting questions" in their essays. These five questions are:

1. Is sensus plenior an appropriate way of explaining the NT use of the OT?
2. How is typology best understood?
3. Do the NT writers take into account the context of the passages they cite?
4. Does the NT writers' use of Jewish exegetical methods explain the NT use of the OT?
5. Are we able to replicate the exegetical and hermeneutical approaches to the OT that we find in the writings of the NT?

The five questions provide the conceptual framework for the contributor's essays and encapsulate some of the specific points of debate in the overall discussion. The general purpose of the work as a whole is modest. Lunde again writes "We are seeking simply to expose our readers to a range of approaches to some of the questions posed by this issue, in the hope that their understanding will be deepened at various levels, enabling them to evaluate conclusions..." (p. 10). The book unquestionably achieves this overall goal and serves as a valuable resource to any student of God's Word wishing to explore the NT use of the OT.

I would firmly recommend this book to any student of Scripture who is seeking to understand the issue at hand more fully. Even if one does not agree in total with any one particular view presented, one will quickly come to an understanding of the questions that must be answered and will make progress in seeking to become "a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)

Editorial Review:

This book in the Counterpoints: Exploring Theology series introduces three approaches presently employed in the study of the uses of the Old Testament in the New Testament, especially in those instances where the New Testament authors discern the fulfillment of a prophetic element in the Old Testament text. The foundational issue concerns the relationship between an Old Testament author’s meaning and the meaning of that same passage when it is used by a New Testament author.