Bibles Bible Studies Books

My family and I are using this as the main text for our Bible study. My step-dad, who is one of the two people leading the study, dove straight into the book as soon as he got it.
I find that the historical background in the text provides a lot of cultural understanding of the peoples of the New Testament. I found that I am better able to understand a lot of the teachings of Christ and His apostles after reading this book.
However, this is not for readers who want a simple understanding of the Bible and New Testament times. It is very indepth and I do not recommend it for light study. There are many other surveys out there that are basic outlines that are much better than this one.
With that being said, if you are interested in a strong and deep understanding of the New Testament in both a religious and historical setting, then this is the book for you.

Without a doubt, Tenney's book does indeed present an evangelical yet scholarly view of the New Testament. Tenney makes no hesitation to say that he does believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God from the beginning. Tenney's work, however, is not a textual commentary on textual criticism. His book is a brief introduction to the New Testament.

Tenney's book does a wonderful job of presenting the historical background of the New Testament and using the book of Acts, he traces the footsteps of the Apostles as they wrote the New Testament Canon. At the end of each chapter he includes a very helpful bibliograpy to help the reader study deeper the various books, archeology, and history of what he has dealt with rather quickly.

I used this book as a freshmen in Bible college and it had a profound influence on my personal understanding of the background and history of the New Testament and the early Church. I highly recommend anyone serious about studying Scripture to purchase and read Tenney's book.

I used this book as one of several secondary sources when doing academic work on the development of the New Testament Canon. Of the several volumes used (both Catholic and Protestant from a wide variety of theological starting points) this was, by far, the least helpful.

Tenney's work represents the extreme fundamentalist viewpoint; but is unable to justify what it defends. Although presented as one, this is not a serious academic work. Universities or seminaries who use this as a primary text do a great disservice to their students. There is a difference between "disagreeing" with certain "higher critical" interpretations and "ignoring" that higher criticism even exists. This book does the latter.

Not only is this volume virtually useless for Catholic or Orthodox Christians, it is equally problematic for mainline Protestants -- and many Evangelicals as well.

For the Evangelical, try Gundry's text instead. For the Catholic, try Brown's text. For a very conservative Catholic viewpoint (but one which still acknowledges and represents serious scholarship) try Luke Timothy Johnson's text. But unless the reader is at the "my mind is made up, don't confuse me with the facts" stage, give this one a miss.

Don't be fooled by the more recent New Testament Survey books published in the last few years. Tenney's work is still the classic reference work in its field and the best introduction to the New Testament you can buy. To prove the point, this text is still used by most conservative Bible Colleges for their core NTS course. It is thorough, complete, and unparalleled, and builds a firm foundation for future Bible study.

I read this book as part of a New Testament Literature course. I was pleased to learn about the archeological and historical facts that contributed to learning about the New Testament in its original context. I am able to study the scriptures and obtain a clearer picture of what is being said.

Michael Gorman has written a detailed systematic method for producing appropriately structured and accurate exegetical works. I wish that I had known about this book before finishing much of my Masters degree. This book was a text book for a course, but I think anybody wanting to write scholarly works dealing with the Bible should purchase Elements of Biblical Exegesis. Gorman's style is clear, easily understood, and he even adds suggested resources for writing. Buy this book!

I am a student in training for teaching in a local church. I have been teaching in church for a long time, however I did not know how much I did not know until I began this study. It put all the previous study in perspective. It is informative, it has plenty of examples and references for further research or study.

I am glad that this book was one of the books required in my year long pursuit to become a certified teacher at my local church.

Lillie Smith

Michael Gorman offers a good, basic step by step approach to exegesis that will help those who do not know Greek or Hebrew and even those who do. He starts by explaining the different approaches (synchronic, diachronic, and existential). He uses an eclectic approach in this book and recommends the reader do the same. He favors working from the final text form and not giving undue attention to liberal methods of form criticism. There is an excellent chapter on picking out a good modern day translation and the pro's and con's of each of the translations. At the end of each chapter he provides three very helpful sections: First, is the chapter summary, in which he briefly recaps the main points. Second, here he gives a couple of tips that make exegesis easier. Third, is the "For Further Insight and Practice" section, in which the author gives assignments that really reinforce the teaching as you go. Exegesis is something you learn by doing and Gorman helps this to happen with this excellent teaching tool. The chapters are short and set up in a step by step or as Gorman has labeled each step as an element. For example, chapter 3 is labeled "Survey: The first element". After the step by steps of exegesis, the author has provided an entire chapter, that is longer than all the rest on "Resources for Exegesis". This chapter alone is worth the price of the book. All of the bibliographies are annotated. If you are a student or a minister and are looking for a great basic guide to get you started in exegesis, then you need to order this book. You will be glad that you did.

This book lives up to its subtitle--it is indeed a very basic guide to biblical exegesis. It is easy to read, and explains everything at a level that anyone, even if they have never done exegesis, will be able to understand. It gives a basic explanation of how to consider historical context, literary context, etc. and how to do a more detailed analysis of a text. Gorman also emphasizes the importance of taking our own context as exegetes into account; realizing that we bring our own lives and cultures into our readings, as much as we try not to. And I appreciated that he brought up that a main point of exegesis (which is often neglected) is for us to ask the question, "If we were to take this passage seriously, how then would we live?"

I think this is a good, quick read that will be good for people who want to start doing some responsible Biblical exegesis. However, if you are a graduate student (or anyone for that matter) and already have a basic handle on how to do exegesis and want to do more in-depth study, this is probably not the book you are looking for.

Gorman's book is an excellent tool for teaching the basics of exegesis to college students with little to no background in critical biblical studies. I highly recommend it for those who need a brief introduction to the topic. Those who are already trained in exegesis probably won't find much help here.

Simply the best reading I have done in months. The first chapter is worth paying for the entire book. Robert Alter just did it again.

Modern Biblical scholarship has tended toward a process of atomization: how many editors were involved in the creation of the Bible? How many different strands of tradition can we find in a given story? Robert Alter's "The Art of Biblical Narrative" at once provides a corrective to this tendency, and a striking alternative way of understanding the Good Book.

Although recent scholarship has emphasized historical- and textual-critical methodologies, Alter chooses a literary-critical approach; that is, he asks how we should read the Bible first and foremost as literature. Ancient Hebrew storytelling conventions were often radically different from those we use today, so we must learn to be attuned to things like a character's silence, or minor, telling variations in a scene that is repeated several times. In this way, Alter takes much of what may make the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible) seem "boring" today--its Spartan narrative style, the apparent redundancy of many of its stories--and shows how these elements are actually integral to how the Bible tells its story.

Alter's prose style is scholarly without being suffocating. It is, however, dense with ideas. I often found myself reading as little as five pages at a sitting, as each sentence seemed so full that it was all I could take in before I had to stop for a mental breather. (I recommend reading the Conclusion first, which ten pages provide an excellent summary of the book's main ideas and may make it easier to digest them as the author investigates each one in detail in the rest of the book.) His examples are profuse, and well-chosen to illustrate his points.

Alter mostly steers clear of ideological disputes about what the Bible is or isn't, sticking to his purely literary analysis of the text. He occasionally makes comments to the effect that he sees the stories of the Bible as "historicized fiction," but his approach can still fit into any faith framework; it is just as possible for a devout Christian and an atheist to read the Bible as literature. What's more, Christians will not only find an enriching way of appreciating their sacred text here, but may even gain comfort in the face of some scholars who seem to think that a Bible with editors is inherently an unreliable Bible. Alter, to the contrary, shows that the Biblical author-editors must have been very sophisticated storytellers, and that what are often taken for mere inconsistencies today may well represent a deeply thoughtful approach to depicting the moral and social ambiguities the authors saw in their world.

"The Art of Biblical Narrative" takes effort to read, but those willing to take the time to absorb it may find their understanding of the Bible enhanced, deepened, even changed.

~

Alter's purpose in the book is made very clear, and that is to show readers of biblical narrative that there are authorial devices implanted in the narrative to heighten and signify parts of the narrative that the author feels is important or worth noting. He begins to show this purpose in chapter one by seeing the Bible as a literary piece of art. He illustrate mainly with the story of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38 because it does not seem to fit with the rest of the Joseph narrative. However when one steps back and looks at the literary whole of Genesis they will see how themes of deceit and divine election run through Genesis 38 as well as the rest of the book. That one chapter may seem out of place, but in reality it flows beautifully in the larger scope of the book and not merely the Joseph narrative. One cannot read books as a compilation of short stories, but they must see the stories as having a literary and overarching theme that intertwines them together.
In chapter two, he further develops his purpose by proposing the biblical authors used literary devices like word-plays, embellishment, and fictitious characters to give color to the narrative. He suggests that the authors received the historical data from their sources, and then proceeded to make the message and intended application clearer by use of literary devices. So their use of a fictitious character would be acceptable because they are not changing the meaning or moral message of the text. He states that they would often detail the main characters speech and actions to give insight to their motives. It is helpful to see some of these literary features in seeing how the author might have pointed out characters and events in Israel's history, but only a foundationally different hermeneutic (as Alter pointed out) could accept all of these.
The third chapter really begins to illustrate Alter's purpose. Here he points out a literary device called "type-scenes", and they are the typical "flags" that the original reader would have expected to see for certain events. One illustration was the betrothal scene, where the typical events include a man (master or servant) goes to a well in a foreign land, meets a girl, wants to marry her, she goes back to her family, and etc. Alter points out the situation with Saul going to the well and instead of asking for a wife he asks for a seer. Then the story of Ruth where the roles of hero and heroine are reversed and Ruth goes to a foreign land and Boaz has his men-servants fetch her water. The idea is presented that the original reader is used to the typical sequence, and so when someone different or completely unordinary happens the author has now arrested their attention. That is the point Alter wants to make. The author wrote in such a way to highlight certain points or characters to the original reader, but the problem is that three thousand years later those literary features are not as clear. This chapter was really eye-opening to begin reading narratives looking for those points of deviation from the typical to better understand the author's intended meaning.
In the fourth chapter, Alter shows the importance of dialogue imbedded in the narrative sequence. The author uses direct speech to develop the characters in the narrative. The reader only knows what the characters are thinking by what the author has them say. The narrative events are a mere background to dialogue. Sometimes the speech that the author mentions is a shortened form of what actually must have been said. The reader needs to pay attention to when there is speech, when it stops, and when it seems that the author has purposely not said something that should have been said. This idea of dialogue intersects with the type-scenes and other literary devices to make the Bible a real literary masterpiece.
Chapter five points out the use of repetition in the Old Testament narrative. Alter says that this point of repetition is the one that is the hardest for the modern English reader and also the one feature that is most over-looked. For instance, the writer of Exodus repeats himself when he states the plague that is going to happen to Egypt and then he restates the plague when it happened. The modern reader is not going to think anything of this device; however the original reader was mostly likely hearing this read, and so the author is making sure the hearer gets the full details at least once. He also gives the repetition of key words or "word-roots" in the narrative and called it Leitwort. His example of this idea is the Samuel story and the repetition or emphasis on the words "listen, voice, word". This is not going to be done easily in an English translation, but it will aid the reader in understanding the author's intended meaning. He showed how different repetition is in poetry where there is no direct copying of a phrase or use of synonyms, but instead poetry is styled and creative repetition of thoughts that move the poem. Alter ascribes this use of repetition to the tension between the freedom of the biblical authors to write and the Divine plan for the text.
In chapter six, Alter describes the art of characterization as a literary device. It was already mentioned briefly that much of what is known of a character comes in direct speech. That is true, and it is often the most important things that can be known about that character is by what he says, because when that character acts then the reader has to infer things about that character. However in direct speech the character cannot hide what he is thinking or who he is. The author has the ability to only allow the reader to know certain things about each character. It must be noted why the author would switch names for a person, for instance, Michal is sometimes called the "wife of David" and other times she is called the "daughter of Saul". The author could be telling something simply by changing a name about the mindset of Michal, her current marital status, or another idea laid out by context. This is another interesting literary device that is probably overlooked by modern readers, but it can, like the others, aid in better understanding the author.
Chapter seven explains a literary device that has many authors each contributing to the finished product. Because the Bible has seeming inconsistencies in it, Alter assumes that it must be a book put together by multiple authors in a type of patchwork way. However, later he says that the author may have received differing historical accounts and then purposely put both accounts in the Bible. He says that the author could have contradicted himself and done it in such a way to be artistic.
The last chapter makes the argument that the narrative and narrator give knowledge to the reader. The narrator, he says, is omniscient because they know people's thought and even God's thoughts. The author is sort of "teasing" the reader with perfect knowledge, which the author seems to have and the reader can only see a glimpse of. However, the author often tells the crux of the narrative and then goes back and tells how that happened.
This book's purpose was to show how the Hebrew author's use literary devices to "jolt" the reader out of the norm. Although these devices are often purposely or ignorantly overlooked by modern reader because of the language divide, the literary features here (for the most part) are extremely helpful for the reader. Alter accomplished his purpose, and this text is very beneficial for Hebrew students to better understand the characteristics of OT narrative.

love this book. I am only on page 40 but am really enjoying every bit of it. Anyone interested in the Bible should read this book or any books by Robert Alter. He illuminates subtle literary devises in the text that you wont find anywhere else in Biblical scholarship, except maybe if you were a Torah Scholar and studied the Midrash Tanchuma (Hebrew commentary on the 5 Books of Moses) and understood it completely. But then Professor Alter translates all this into understanding the structure of well-written prose or poetry. Anyone who writes plots or makes film, or is interested in Joseph Campbell will find this extremely rich in content. He suggests that the Bible is not fictionalized History, but historicized fiction, a proposal too blasphemes for most "believers" to entertain, yet in reading this book, we find that it is not so blasphemes at all. This book will push your study of ancient Hebrew texts to a new level. All educators should read and be familiar with Professor Alters work. I think he is a breath of fresh air that encourages, not dissuades, people from going deeper into study of the Bible, from the secular to the ultra orthodox. It is densely written so if you have trouble with big words or lofty word filled sentences, this might be a problem, but I found each sentence strangely palpable and easily digested even for the non-scholar, mostly illiterate-type like myself. The book is magical and I am ordering it for a few of my same-minded friends

This book is dense with fairly small print, small margins and long chapters without section breaks; but, it is well written and does a good job showing the complexities and intricacies of scripture that lend credence to its inspiration. The author's perspective that scripture is historicised fiction can be ignored for the rest of the benefits of reading this book. Frankly, the argument for historicised fiction could just as well be used to suggest its inspiration.

Needless to say, as a result of reading this book, I bought Alter's book on Biblical Poetry.

The intricacy with which the author compares his job as a sheep farmer with the love of God opens one's mind to the all-incompassing work of the heaven Father on our behalf. However, just as he used his experiences to describe the shepherd's work which gives the reader a broader prespective of the attributes of God, I would have liked a little more of the mini steps that we, as sheep, can use to gain spiritual growth and be overcomers in the faith.

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 This is a wonderful book. I have always loved Ps 23 and this book gives a clear meaning to what David was writing. I highly recommend.

I did not read the book right off but put it on a shelf. When I did start to read it I finished it in 2 days. It is really easy reading..it pulls you in the story and you feel like you are taking the journey with the shepherd yet you also begin to see yourself as the sheep and how Jesus is taking care of you. You get the views of both the shepherd and the sheep. It is a great book to give in lieu of cards or in addition. I gave copies to friends who lost loved one..when you don't know what to say but want to say something...the book speaks volume without speaking too loud. Many write that it's great for leaders of the church but it is also a great bedtime story for children. The sheep and what happens to them is great and the children learn the Psalm 23 in the process. It has helped me explain a grandparents death and child neglect to a child of one of their friends. The shepherd not taking care of his sheep as one stories is told was great explaining to a 5 yr. old why a friend was taken from her parent..she actual got it an said the parent must have been like the shepherd in the book who did not take good care of his sheep. This is a great book to give to a parent, leaders in any setting to understand their role in caring for those that they are leading in someway. Best book I've read on Psalm 23.

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Philip Keller is the perfect book for anyone who wants to understand the analogy of the relationship between an actual shepherd and his sheep and the relationship between Jesus, our Shepherd and us, the sheep. Each sentence of Psalm 23 is explained from both perspectives. The earthly applications bring light to the spiritual truths.
I would recommend this book to anyone, young or old in the faith. It is as good as any devotional, always pointing back to the Savior and Shepherd of our souls!

The 23rd. Psalm is certainly one of the most familiar passages in the Bible. Despite that fact, author W. Phillip Keller adds new depth and meaning to it as he shares his experiences as a shepherd as they relate to Psalm 23. He shows us that a good shepherd is sufficient for all of a sheep's needs if he will but follow and obey him. He describes how a shepherd sets up a cast sheep (one who has fallen on his back)on his feet just as our Good Shepherd can set us up on our feet after problems. He tells the reader the importance of the shepherd providing water and good food for a sheep just as God provides us with physical and spiritual nourishment. I would recommend this book to anyone--believer and non-believer alike, and to anyone who is going through tough times and needs reassurance of God's love and guidance.

A study Bible such as this, beautifully rendered as to readability, paper quality and binding, must nonetheless be assessed according to the nature of its study apparatus. The Discipleship Bible's treatment of the commandment to "not kill/murder" (Exodus 20:13) illustrates the risk of maintaining that no significant question remains regarding a text, when in fact it does. Commentator Nancy Bowen claims herein that capital punishment and war may not be addressed with the Ten Commandments, because elsewhere in the Bible they may be sanctioned as of God (though she does not mention Jesus' own prohibitions against violence). In citing Exodus 17:8-12 (on warfare) and 21:12-13 (on capital punishment) in support of her claim, however, she fails to inform the reader that neither of those passages uses the word in question in 20:13.


On the other hand, Wilma Ann Bailey argues in her study-book on the question ("You Shall Not Kill" or "You Shall Not Murder"?) that the alteration by most modern, Protestant Bible translation committees of KJV's "thou shalt not kill" is based not on some shift in the lexical understanding of the underlying Hebrew, but rather in response to shifting politics in 20th century America. It would be intriguing to see a discussion on this by Bailey, Bowen, and the Discipleship Bible commentator on Genesis, Terrence Fretheim, who, in his stand-alone commentary on Exodus, expressed a preference for translating "no killing" over "no murder" himself. Illumination of textual and societal complexities, accomplished with sensitivity elsewhere in the Discipleship Bible, is more helpful for this reader than an inaccurate assurance that all has been settled.

I am glad to be the first reviewer of this study Bible. I have New Interpreters, HarperCollins, Oxford, Zondervan NIV, Spiritual Formation and other study Bibles; but this one is now my personal favorite. It lacks the academic technicality of New Interpreters and HarperCollins, which is a plus for nonscholars. There is no serious focus on documentary sources nor on historical criticism. Questions of historicity ( Were the patriarchs real people? Did Moses lead Hebrews out of Egypt?) and authorship are left up to the reader with only minimal guidance. The annotations deal with the final form of the Biblical text, and focus on theology and life-application. The commentators are obviously left-leaning thinkers as they comment frequently on socio-political, economic and ecological issues. Issues of personal piety and response to Scripture are not left out, however. And there is little in these annotations that would offend any reasonably open-minded conservative. As far as I can tell so far, the commentators have avoided abortion and capital punishment, and deal very diplomatically with homosexuality. However, these commentators are very concerned about exclusion, religious snobbery, global warming, poverty, etc. This book is published by WJK Press; in other words, the Presbyterian Church USA. I totally recommend that you read this regardless of your social or political views. I have many conservative or fundamentalist study Bibles and commentaries, so give this one a shot, regardless of where you stand.

I would also like to comment on the physical attributes of the book: very light weight, unlike most study Bibles, and almost personal size.

Having recently finished reading the NIV Study Bible for the second time I was looking around for a different translation and study bible to read and came across the promotional literature for this one on the internet. I welcomed the fact that it included the Apochrypha/Deuterocanonical books including some I have not read before. I was concerned it would be too American (I am writing this from Scotland) in its language and comments but have not found this to be the case. I welcome its insightful comments that relate to the contemporary world. I am not a theologian, simply a Christian who has been reading bibles and bible studies for over thirty years and I have no hesitation in recommending this one.

Anyone who's been involved in mainline churches and/or the emergent church movement knows: study Bibles are either overbearingly conservative and focused on personal piety or so terribly full of historical-critical details that the average reader would certainly give it all up in frustration. This is an excellent balance for mainline Protestants, Catholics, Anglicans, progressive Christians and Evangelicals and yes, even conservatives. It has a strong emphasis on issues of social justice and service while also respecting the importance of personal spiritual growth, a combination that both speaks from- and to- both the liberal and conservative ends of the church.

Besides that, I also appreciated that it came with colored maps (something the Renovaré Bible didn't have) and a good amount of concordance. The paper quality is decent and while there's a little text bleed-through, it's not too bad.

Before this, my Bible of choice was the Renovaré Spiritual Formation Study Bible, but it was still not quite what I was looking for. Thankfully, the Discipleship Study Bible fills a much needed gap that'll be great for all followers of Jesus.

Books like these are tediously boring. At least most of them are. But this book was actually quite interesting. Nancy Vhymeister discusses how to choose a topic, write a thesis proposal, conduct research, take notes, create bibliographies, contruct footnotes and end notes, and she also introduces the student to software and internet websites which will provide the most help.

She even has a final chapter about how to prepare a final project for the Doctor of Ministry degree.

I'm not looking forward to all the other books in this genre that have been assigned to me, but I am happy to report that this one was helpful and held my interest.

I am a seminary student in the process of writing a master's thesis, and Nancy Jean Vyhmeister has been very helpful.

Nancy Vyhmeister's Quality Research Papers for Students of Religion and Theology is an excellent handbook for the writing of quality research papers. The book provides a comprehensive and balanced perspective on the different aspects of research writing. Most of the chapters are concise yet replete of straight forward instructions, practical tips, and suggestions of additional helps from books, journals and websites. There is much to appreciate from this volume.

This book turns out to be a very good handbook. Definitions of how to go about doing research for a disortation are concise and very descriptive. For instance Chapter III Choosing a Topic, helped me to understand how to narrow down the topic so it can be specific. According to Vyhmeister, when a topic is specific, it becomes easier to research the disortation. The author says that "it goes from impossible to feasible." (17) The chapter on Planning Research is also very helpful. This book covers all of the examples necessary to write a very good paper. Case studies, designing programs, and sampling are also covered in great detail. This is an excellent handbook for the doctoral student.

Vyhmeister sets out to provide step-by-step guidance to completing all manner of written works for students of 'theology'. By theology, it is really meant any type of Christian religious instruction, not just an M. Div. With this in mind, Vyhmeister largely meets the goal, giving instructions (sometimes often very basic ones) for selecting a topic, organizing a paper, conducting research, etc.

Where this work shines is in the bibliography examples. If you need a bibliography entry for a multi-author, multi-volume commentary, there is an example. Indeed, there are a bewildering variety of examples, many of which I never hope to meet, but I rest in the assurance that I have an example. This work also has a very good, simple process for conducting research, something that is often not taught. Had I followed it, I could tell you where Vyhmeister declares that my papers can become works of art. Alas, I just don't remember!

On the other hand, the section on statistics, graphs and tables, is cursory at best, and any true research effort involving statistical analysis and presentation of same would require a more specialized work. I say this as a warning to users of the book, not as a negative of this work.

Additionally, the work is very helpful if you are entering into theological studies from another career, such as engineering. While not explicit, one can gain a very good understanding of just who theological papers differ from other types of research.

Finally, Zondervan's paper back binding is terrible. My copy showed significant wear after its first reading, and I suspect that it will wear out in short order. That is all the more surprising, considering it is a very useful desk reference. Indeed it even says that it is an "... Indispensable Guide to Writing...". If you really feel that way Zondervan, make a hardback!

Tim Challies' amazingly thorough exploration of biblical discernment should be high on the reading list of every Christian who is concerned about what is true, and what is not ... who wants above all to know God's truth in order to know His will ... and who wants His will to replace his own. "We will find joy and peace not in following our own path," the author points out, "but in allowing our minds to be so changed that our desires are the same as God's." I believe this book can make a significant contribution to that process.

I triple-starred many sections, but perhaps my favorite is the chapter entitled "The Practice of Discernment." Here, Tim describes in compelling detail 17 steps for distinguishing between truth and error. He walks us through the process using an interesting example - the seemingly benign premise that we need to forgive ourselves, endorsed in a contemporary Christian song called (surprise) "Forgive Yourself" as well as by every fan and proponent of the self-esteem movement. I've already had the opportunity to apply his suggestions to a theological issue I've been wrestling with for months. Guess what: They work! They actually broke the pattern of circular thinking I'd fallen into over this particular issue, leading me to biblical truths that have restored my peace.

The first line of a favorite hymn kept dancing through my head as I read: "Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart." I'd always thought the writer meant that he wanted the Lord to be all that he sees, and that may indeed be the case. But this book has given me a new spin on these words. As Tim writes, "Our goal in discernment is to do just this: to see things through God's eyes through the Bible and thus to see things as they really are." I'm already finding that a little easier to do.

I suspect that the topic of discernment is one that, while important, is not often examined by Christians. That this is the case is evident when looking at life in our mainline evangelical churches. Anymore, anyone that mentions that name of God or Jesus is considered part of the crowd. Too often, barely any thought goes into which shepherds the flock is following or which wave the church is riding.

It's a bit scary that I remember the last time I heard about a book on the actual topic of discernment. True there are many books critical of unbiblical theology, and for good reason. What we don't see are book written on how to think about these matters Biblically. In this respect, "The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment" by widely-read blogger, Tim Challies, provides a good entry into a seldom examined and yet critical aspect of Christian life.

For the most part Challies is clear and gets quickly to the point. On occasion authors seem the subject accessible enough that the reader doesn't feel overly challenged. It is a strength for an author when they can make a useful book understandable and not overly daunting. This is nearly the case here, though it is offset by it's isolation in the landscape in Christian publishing.

My favorite chapter, Chapter 8's "The Dangers of Discernment", is a wise anticipation of the abuses of testing all things. Every discipline suffers from under use. In American culture, under use of discernment is the spirit of the times. However, those pockets of hyper-vigilance have historically bred the disdain for doctrine that is so popular today. Challies lists several kinds of abuses in discernment that pain me to agree. For my money, I'd like to see future printings use a larger font for this entry.

This book, short as it was, probably could have been a bit shorter. At several points throughout the book I wasn't convinced that subsequent points were distinct enough to warrant elaboration. The final chapter, an exercise in practicing discernment, went counter to the simplicity of the book by rolling through seventeen steps.

Challies' book makes a good tool for ministering to fellow believers who need to be introduced to discernment. Where I see this book being most useful is for a particular Christian demographic: mainline evangelicals who have not learned to be critical thinkers. Many of these Christians do not read outside of popular Christian literature if they read at all, they consider theology proper inaccessible and even divisive, and they tend to value the unity of the visible church above truth or being "correct". Furthermore, this book would be very helpful for folks who are moving out of churches where there is not a premium on connecting theological dots and into congregations that encourage more intentional biblical consideration. Challies can be helpful in these cases because it is not heavy handed and yet it makes a convincing case.

Survey after survey shows that most American Christians' behavior and even beliefs differ very little from the culture at large. Yet Christ commands us: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Rom. 12:2). The new book The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment by Tim Challies is designed to help believers become more discerning and biblical in their thinking. He writes of his goal: "This book is written for the general reader who wishes to understand discernment and to understand what the Bible teaches about discernment, and who wishes to equip himself in this discipline....It is written for you and for me--average Christians living in a culture and in a church where it so often seems that anything goes." (pp. 15-16). The writing is clear, the reasoning is Biblical and he clearly lays out the Scriptural data in making his case. He also summarizes each chapter at the end in a "Key Thought" paragraph. He also has prepared study questions for each chapter in the back of the book.

Challies starts out by showing how the Bible calls us to discernment, and that according to Scripture, lack of discernment is a clear sign of a weak faith. "Scripture makes it plain: if you are not a person who exhibits and exercises discernment you are not a mature Christian." (pp. 23). And he adds, "Sadly, many who consider themselves Christian have a worldview that is completely inconsistent with their profession of faith. It is a worldview premised not on truths revealed in the Bible but on a person's flawed understanding of the world. It is ultimately a worldview rooted in a person's own sinfulness." (pp. 45).

So how does Challies define discernment? After a chapter showing the importance of discernment, and the another showing the challenge of discernment, in the third chapter he defines it. "Discernment is the skill of understanding and applying God's Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong." (pp. 61). The author spends most of the rest of the book describing how the Bible presents truth and error, and how the Spirit works to develop our gifts in discernment and wisdom. He also shows how discernment must be linked with Christ-like character traits such as humility and kindness; otherwise a discerning person can easily turn into a proud and critical person! In Chapters 9, he specifically gives direction on how to develop discernment in your life, and then in Chapter 10, he takes the reader through the steps to take in discernment - using some lyrics from a "Christian" song as an example.

This book is thorough, clear, practical and incredibly timely! Best of all, it is very Biblical! Scrpture reminds us that we are called to mature in our faith, so that "we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes." (Eph. 4:14). This book will go a long way in helping you grow up in your faith and practice. I cannot recommend it highly enough! Take up and read this- you'll be better for it!

One word really stands out in my mind after finishing Tim Challies' book that is "timely." We live in a day and age where the term evangelical has lost its meaning and everything under the sun is in Christian bookstores, so the call for discernment is certainly high. I found this book to be written with a well-expressed style, yet very easy to comprehend. In the words of Tim himself, "This book is written for the general reader who wishes to understand discernment...It is not written primarily for people with theological training, though I trust they too, can benefit from it. Rather, it is written for you and me-average Christians..."(15). As soon as you begin the book you will realize its intent is not to provide you with a massive list of good and bad authors, but to help the reader better understand how to develop and begin practicing discernment..

Tim defines discernment as "Discernment is the skill of understanding and applying God's Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong" (61). Concisely, this is thinking biblically, which all Christians are called to. I certainly recommend this book to any one that is looking for a better understanding in the area of "separating truth from error and right from wrong."

Ug ... what a dreadful book. I'm sure the author was well meaning, but wow ... could this be any more dry and dull?

Also, I am concerned how "deistic" sounding the entire book reads. Deists take pride in their reliance upon the knowledge and logic inherent in their worldview. Although these things are good, they fail to answer the big questions that cannot be addressed by science or logic. The assumption that God acts impersonally leads one to conclude that the god of deism must either be a really bad designer or hideously cruel. There is also very little (2 pages) which even bring up the idea of the Trinity on this matter. I find that deeply troubling considering this topic.

If people want discernment, here is a clue that will save you almost $15. Get a good Bible, and study it.

You can thank me for saving your money later.

Cardinal Martini has provided a special meditation on St. Paul especially useful for the Holy Year dedicated to St. Paul. I have enjoyed many of Cardinal Martini's books over the years.

This book is very well laid out and full of good information for the serious Bible student.

I'm reading Traina's book for an internship I'm doing with a college ministry. It has been a great help in understanding how to prepare for doing Bible studies on a college level and even during devotions and daily reading. However, the book can be dry and sometimes difficult to get through. It is worth the struggle, though, for anyone wanting to learn how to dig deeper into God's Word.

For those who want to look at the Bible in a objective manner, this book presents the tools needed to accomplish such a task. How can one construe Biblical passages in such a way that his interpretation is not tainted with his own pre-conceived ideas? This book shows the method that makes this goal available to all. For the layman of the Bible these techniques are not vital, but they are worthy of consideration for any student of the Bible. The methods laid out in this book will help aid the student of the Bible to be able to make the best interpretation possible in the given context of a passage. This could be a tedious process for anyone but beneficial to the dedicated reader of scripture.

Most of this books content is useful for all but not the entire book. That is why I gave it four stars.

This guide to Bible study would be of use to some folks, but not most. The limited appeal of it doesn't really have anything to do with a reader's level of experience with the Bible, a novice could start off with Robert Traina's technique as well as a seminarian could adopt it, if they had the right 'reader personality'. This book would, I believe, appeal to the sort of reader who diagrams sentences, flow charts plot lines, draws up Venn diagrams to show relationships. For most readers, who take notes but don't process the information into formal presentations for themselves, the method taught would seem tedious. For the rest of us, I would recommend Fee & Stuart's "How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth".

All in all, Traina's isn't a bad book, just not very accessible.

This book was written by a 29-year old man in love with the Bible. In his life he has become a widely known, read, and beloved man of the Word, as well as teacher, mentor and friend of countless men and women.

If we are to live as Christ would have us live, we need to know what Christ wanted and said. The Bible is our primary and foundational source for this. The question becomes, can we understand what the Bible means in this age of relativism and post-modernism? Is there meaning in the text? How do we get that? Can we?
This book, truely written as a pioneering text in the field of inductive, methodical Bible study, gives its readers the tools they need to become people of the Bible.

We all say, if we are Christians, that the Bible is the authority for faith and practice. Well, is it? What does Jesus want you to do with your money? Your lovelife? Your gifts? Your children? Your church attendance? Your relationships? Why does he want that? How?
The Bible is the source for the answers to these and many other questions. This book will help you find them without your own biases or flimsy notions of what the Bible really says. Great buy!