Showing posts with label theology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theology. Show all posts

45% Off Discounts: Best Buy for How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth Review

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth

Are you looking to buy How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Cheapest Deals

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth Review

Numbers don't tell the whole story, but the fact that _How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth_ has sold more than half a million copies and is now in its third edition should say something about its utility to neophyte Bible students. I sure could have used this book five years ago when I first began reading the Bible in order to understand it. No use crying over spilt milk though. A late arrival is better than a no-show!
The significance of co-authorship on this book is simply due to the fact that Drs. Douglas Stuart (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) and Gordon Fee (Regent College) specialize in Old and New Testament studies respectively. If the label evangelical has any meaning left today, then Stuart and Fee fall under that rubric. This is implicitly evident from their stance on the nature of Scripture (2003, pp. 21-3), which they affirm as God's word spoken through human words in history.
The title of the book leaves little ambiguity as to what it is; it's a how-to book on understanding the Bible. Surely anyone with an inkling of interest in the Bible has experienced the inherent difficulty in understanding the Bible. Stuart and Fee work to minimize this - both the experience and the associated frustration.
_How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth_ is written with the layperson in mind. At every turn, Stuart and Fee make sure and define their terms, thus making for an informative yet pleasurable read. They deal with every major section of Scripture such as the Pentateuch, the Prophets, the Wisdom Literature, the Gospels, the Epistles, and the Revelation. The approach taken to each section is more or less the same. The focus is first on exegesis and then on hermeneutics. Exegesis has to do with the "then and there," of the Bible's content. Hermeneutics, as Stuart and Fee use the term, has to do with the "here and now," of the Bible's message. Stuart and Fee explain their dual approach at the outset:
...we have two tasks: First, our task is to find out what the text originally meant; this is called exegesis. Second, we must learn to hear that same meaning in the variety of new or different context of our own day; we call this second task hermeneutics. In its classical usage, the term "hermeneutics" covers both tasks, but in this book we consistently use it only in this narrower sense. (2003, p. 15)

One of the keywords in _How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth_ is guidelines. In their book, Stuart and Fee are not setting out to promulgate a partisan approach to understanding the Bible that requires specialized assumptions within evangelicalism. Instead, they come across as having a genuine concern for the beginning Bible student and seek to point him or her in the right direction with general guidelines. They freely admit on more than one occasion that they do not expect every reader to agree with their particular take on a given point.
As someone with a couple years of serious Bible study under my belt, I think it is worth pointing out a couple of chapters, which I found immensely helpful: (1) Acts: The Question of Historical Precedent, (2) The Parables: Do You Get the Point?, and (3) The Law(s): Covenant Stipulations for Israel. The chapter on historical precedent put into words something that I have been ruminating over for some time now, that is, the caveat that a practice as described in a narrative is not ipso facto normative and, therefore, binding. The chapter on parables forever settled an issue that I was confused about, namely, the nature of Jesus' parables. They may be semi-allegorical at times, but never pure allegory. Lastly, the chapter on the Law is so informative! Stuart gives the big picture of the Old Testament in such a helpful way.
I'm sure there are many helpful books out there on how to read the Bible in a fruitful way. All I will say here is that, provided you are a conservative Christians, you won't go wrong with this book. (I consider that an understatement, by the way.) There is a lot of content to be digested, however. Commit yourself to read this book a few times over.
PS: If you haven't a clue what commentary to purchase when studying one of the books of the Bible, you'll find the appendix handy. A list of recommended commentaries is offered on every single book of the Bible.

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth Overview

Understanding the Bible isn't for the few, the gifted, the scholarly. The Bible is accessible. It's meant to be read and comprehended by everyone from armchair readers to seminary students. A few essential insights into the Bible can clear up a lot of misconceptions and help you grasp the meaning of Scripture and its application to your 21st-century life. More than half a million people have turned to How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth to inform their reading of the Bible. This third edition features substantial revisions that keep pace with current scholarship, resources, and culture. Changes include: * Updated language * A new authors' preface * Several chapters rewritten for better readability * Updated list of recommended commentaries and resources Covering everything from translational concerns to different genres of biblical writing, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth is used all around the world. In clear, simple language, it helps you accurately understand the different parts of the Bible---their meaning for ancient audiences and their implications for you today---so you can uncover the inexhaustible worth that is in God's Word.

Want to learn more information about How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

41% Off Discounts: Special Prices for The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism Review

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Are you looking to buy The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Cheapest Deals

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism Review

There are many people I "know" primarily through their books. I read constantly and find that books allow me to understand the people who write them, especially when the author has written several books. As I read through the corpus of his writings I learn to understand how he thinks and learn to understand what he believes. Even if I have never met an author face-to-face, I often feel like I have met him in his books. Because Tim Keller has written so little, I do not know him in the way I feel I know many of his peers--pastors and theologians who have written extensively. So it was with great interest that I read The Reason for God, only his second book (besides edited volumes to which he has contributed a chapter) and certainly his most significant. Published by Penguin and with a positive review by Publishers Weekly, it has all the makings of a bestseller.
The Reason for God is written for skeptics and believers alike. It is a response to or perhaps an antidote to the the writings of popular authors like Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. And it is a fine one, at that. While the skeptic has several volumes he can hand to a believing friend (many of them written by the aforementioned authors), the believer has fewer to choose from. So many introductions to Christian beliefs were written many years ago and simply do not resonate with today's skeptics. They assume too much and deliver too little. Keller's volume seeks to fill that void, and it does so well.
The Reason for God arrives at a unique time, for we are at a point when both belief and skepticism are on the rise. "Skepticism, fear, and anger toward traditional religion are growing in power and influence," says Keller. "But, at the same time, robust, orthodox belief in the traditional faiths is growing as well." As each grows, those who hold to each become increasingly convinced that they are in imminent danger. The world is polarizing over religion--or at the very least our culture is polarizing over religion. "We have come to a cultural moment in which both skeptics and believers feel their existence is threatened because both secular skepticism and religious faith are on the rise in significant, powerful ways. We have neither the western Christendom of the past nor the secular, religionless society that was predicted for the future. We have something else entirely."
Attempting to find a way forward, Keller suggests that both believers and skeptics look at doubt in a whole new way. Within the book he does not make the classical distinction between believers and unbelievers, but rather between believers and skeptics. His thesis depends on this distinction between unbeliever and skeptic because, he says, we all believe something. Even skeptics have a kind of faith hidden within their reasoning. Understanding what we believe about belief is crucial. His thesis is this: "If you come to recognize the beliefs on which your doubts about Christianity are based, and if you seek as much proof for those beliefs as you seek from Christians for theirs--you will discover that your doubts are not so solid as they first appeared." He seeks to prove that thesis in the book's first part.
In the first seven chapters Keller looks at seven of the most common objections and doubts about Christianity and discerns the alternate beliefs underlying each of them. This section is titled "The Leap of Doubt" and answers these seven common critiques:
1. There can't be just one true religion
2. A good God could not allow suffering
3. Christianity is a straitjacket
4. The church is responsible for so much injustice
5. A loving God would not send people to hell
6. Science has disproved Christianity
7. You can't take the Bible literally
In the second half of the book, titled "The Reasons for Faith," he turns to an examination of seven reasons to believe in the claims of the Christian faith.
1. The clues of God
2. The knowledge of God
3. The problem of sin
4. Religion and the gospel
5. The (true) story of the cross
6. The reality of the resurrection
7. The Dance of God
The book begins with an Introduction, between the two parts is an Intermission, and following it all is an Epilogue.
The Reason for God is, at least to my knowledge, unique. The reader will soon see that Keller follows closely behind C.S. Lewis whom, along with his wife and Jonathan Edwards, he counts as his primary theological influences. Yet he sets Lewis and Edwards in a new context. And really, much of the book only makes sense within our contemporary cultural context. The arguments that matter here and now are different from those of days past and, I'm sure, different than ones in days to come. But the arguments Keller makes are compelling and reasonable and targeted pointedly at today's skeptics. If you have read our day's leading skeptics you owe it to yourself to read this as well.
Nobody but Tim Keller could have written this book. It seems likely to me that nobody but Tim Keller will agree with everything he says. For example, many believers will be uncomfortable with his defense of evolution--not the naturalistic evolution of so many skeptics, but a theistic evolution that attempts to reconcile rather than ignore the creation accounts of the Bible. Others will take issue with his description of hell and the thread of ecumenism that runs throughout the volume. But if we heed his exhortation to major on the majors, to look to what's most foundational to the faith before focusing on matters of secondary importance, both believers and skeptics have a great deal to learn from this book.
Publishers Weekly has said well that this is a book for "skeptics and the believers who love them." Believers will rejoice in a book that carefully and patiently answers the objections of their skeptical friends and does so with grace and in a way consistent with the Bible. Skeptics will see that even their skepticism is founded on some kind of faith and will be challenged to discern those underlying beliefs. May this book convince us all that we can believe and can believe reasonably, even in this age of skepticism.

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism Overview



Want to learn more information about The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Purchase Cheap The Will of God Review

The Will of God

Are you looking to buy The Will of God? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Will of God. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Cheapest Deals

The Will of God Review

This is an outstanding book to begin to gain an understanding of our loving God and God's will for human beings. Though they sound simple they are deeply reaching and complex answers to the painful experiences in our personal lives and the world's events. All answers are not found here. What is found here is a greater understanding of our God, a God of love rather than wrath and punishment. It offers us a look at a God of grace who resides with us at all times and works within the activities of our lives and the world to overcome the evils we do to ourselves and all of God's creations. I hand this book out to all with whom I am in ministry and will continue to do so free of charge to them. I highly recommend it.

The Will of God Overview



Want to learn more information about The Will of God?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

25% Off Discounts: Buy Cheap The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Review

The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For

Are you looking to buy The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For Review

I rate this book as one of the best christian books available. Although I was aware of this book for quite some time, The Purpose Driven Life was given to me as a gift for Christmas. I read the whole book in a few days over the holiday vacation and have since started over taking a chapter a day and really absorbing the contents.
The Purpose Driven Life is truly a life changing book and a must read for anyone who wants the most out of life and live their lives according to the principles of God.

The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For Overview



Want to learn more information about The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Best Buy for The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God Review

The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God

Are you looking to buy The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God Review

During my apologetics class, professor J.P. Moreland said that we (his students) MUST check out this book. Richard Foster (author of Celebration of Discipline) calls it "the book I have been searching for all my life" (makes it sound like the "silver bullet book"). I found Divine Conspiracy to definitely live up to this hype.
The title refers to God's conspiracy to undermine evil with good. Among other things, Willard discusses the fundamental problem of nondiscipleship in the church, what it looks like to be Christlike (with an excellent exposition of the beatitudes and sermon on the mount), what it looks like to be a disciple of Christ, how to become disciples of Jesus and how to make disciples of Jesus.
Prior to reading the book, I thought I was well on my way towards becoming a mature disciple of Christ. After reading it, I've discovered that I'm nowhere close to where I thought I was. I realized that I have a real long way to go to becoming the kind of person who is so secure that I don't seek to find faults and weaknesses with people.
I also have gained tremendous new insight into how I can more effectively make disciples and how local churches could do the same.
The Divine Conspiracy is a comprehensive, practical, meaty, challenging, and extremely helpful book which I pray will be widely read.

The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God Overview



Want to learn more information about The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Best Buy for Confessions (Oxford World's Classics) Review

Confessions (Oxford World's Classics)

Are you looking to buy Confessions (Oxford World's Classics)? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Confessions (Oxford World's Classics). check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Confessions (Oxford World's Classics) Review


Translation by Rex Warner (in Signet Classics)
This one is a very good translation, especially for the modern reader. It conveys the immediacy and vividness of a text written more than 1500 years ago. One feels almost as a voyeur peeping into the private confession of a man to his God. The honesty and unembarrassed disclosure of his sins, and fruitless search for worldly wisdom, is something we can personally identify with, even today. It is amazing how vivid the description of life in late 4th century is in this Confessions. What a wonderful way to approach History, places like Carthage, Rome or Milan, thru the eyes of a skilled and intelligent man who pours his heart on these pages for us to benefit from.
St. Augustine's life, however distant in time, is filled with events, desires, and troubles, as common today as in the year 400. We can identify fully with him, and in his longing and weakness we can see our own soul portrayed. He talks about his childhood, his family, his studies and his lifelong pursuit of wisdom and truth, specially since the age of 19. We get immersed in the daily life of people in the 4th Century under the Roman Empire, their daily worries, their intellectual debates, their religious confrontations. We see the social conditions of all classes of people, from the wealthy and idle to the slaves who fight in the Circus. We see people living, talking, traveling, dreaming, and going about their business as if we were present with them. No wonder this book is an authentic classic, one that I should have read long ago.
There are many reasons to read this book. Those interested in History are certainly going to find plenty of information from eye-witness perspective; those who like to read personal memories and autobiographies won't have it easy to find a better one. For those interested in the history of religion and Catholicism, this is a must, a landmark in Christian literature. Whatever you are looking for, this book is certainly one that will satisfy your intellectual curiosity as well as fill you spiritually.
One thing to bear in mind is that the Confessions are not addressed to us, readers, that is why certain things about the author's behavior seem inexplicable: certain things that would seem to us to merit more explaining, being only mentioned briefly (his behavior toward the woman he had a child with, for example), while other issues are given a lot more space. Of course the Lord knew his heart well, but still, one is intrigued at this man.

Confessions (Oxford World's Classics) Overview

In his own day the dominant personality of the Western Church, Augustine of Hippo today stands as perhaps the greatest thinker of Christian antiquity, and his Confessions is one of the great works of Western literature.In this intensely personal narrative, Augustine relates his rare ascent from a humble Algerian farm to the edge of the corridors of power at the imperial court in Milan, his struggle against the domination of his sexual nature, his renunciation of secular ambition and marriage, and the recovery of the faith his mother Monica had taught him during his childhood. Now, Henry Chadwick, an eminent scholar of early Christianity, has given us the first new English translation in thirty years of this classic spiritual journey.Chadwick renders the details of Augustine's conversion in clear, modern English.We witness the future saint's fascination with astrology and with the Manichees, and then follow him through scepticism and disillusion with pagan myths until he finally reaches Christian faith.There are brilliant philosophical musings about Platonism and the nature of God, and touching portraits of Augustine's beloved mother, of St. Ambrose of Milan, and of other early Christians like Victorinus, who gave up a distinguished career as a rhetorician to adopt the orthodox faith.Augustine's concerns are often strikingly contemporary, yet his work contains many references and allusions that are easily understood only with background information about the ancient social and intellectual setting.To make The Confessions accessible to contemporary readers, Chadwick provides the most complete and informative notes of any recent translation, and includes an introduction to establish the context. The religious and philosophical value of The Confessions is unquestionable--now modern readers will have easier access to St. Augustine's deeply personal meditations.Chadwick's lucid translation and helpful introduction clear the way for a new experience of this classic.About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Want to learn more information about Confessions (Oxford World's Classics)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...