Bibles Bible Studies Books

My Mother, Anne loved this book that I gave her as a gift, since she has started Bible Study!!

Johnna

This workbook is a great way to get introduced to the entire bible and the background of the bible. Of course there is so much more to learn, but this workbook is a great start especially with a group.

This study is good for beginners; folks who 'just want to get started'. It's simple and provides a good outline for the studier to follow. If you're looking for more than a guide through the Bible; or somthing that provokes deeper thought, you may want to keep looking.

I thought (stupid me, for thinking) that this book would cover each book of the bible and allow for deeper understanding of each book. Oh no, not the case at all. The book has you read a book of the bible, then the discussion talks about verses from other parts of the bible. I have gotten nothing out of this, and feel that I've completely wasted my money. I based my decision to purchase it on the customer reviews on this page. I don't know why people rated it so well, honestly I don't.

This book provides a good outline / general overview of the books of the bible based on a literary view. Definitely helped as an introduction to the bible. If you are looking for indepth study of each book of the bible you will want to find another study material but this is worth having in your bible study library.

Between the chart, cd, and the gram cards (all numbered and in order with chapters) you cannot do better even if you did them yourself.

I'm taking a greek class now and boy has this helped. And was I in need of help. The flashcards are great if you are not around a computer and the laminated sheets keep the information you need right at your fingertips!

There are so many topics in this dictionary. It has been a great study tool for seminary and it makes me wish I had purchased it when only pastoring. It would have made life so much easier for simple research.

Even for using it for in-depth research it is amazing. After each article, there is a bibliography for the topic so one can look to other resources if needed.

Contains a wealth of solid and in-depth information aimed at scholars and educated lay persons. Articles are well written (and can be a bit dense), very informative, and contain a select bibliography for further study. An indispensible tool for any serious student of the Bible.

In every respect, Dictionary of the Later New Testament is a magnificent achievement in the study of early Christianity. It is both authoritative and scholarly and takes the study of early New Testament literature to a new level. I found the articles on Hebrews and Acts to be especially well written and helpful, and the book's thorough coverage of other non-canonical early church literature was refreshing. Take my word, Dictionary of the Later New Testament is a "must have" for any serious student of the Bible. I guarantee, it won't just "sit" on your bookshelf, but rather, it will become one of your most trusted resources!

This massive dictionary is one of the latest products of the emerging 'respectable academic evangelicalism'. It is respectable because it is decidedly moderate in its approach on many of the items discussed. While the more flexible evangelicalism exhibited here will win praise from the academic establishment, evangelical readers need to read this with discernment, since more than a few assertions made in here carry the same flaws as more liberal scholarship.

The most obvious positive of this dictionary is its often exhaustive treatment of various subjects that too often get ignored in commentaries and Biblical studies courses. As is usually the case in reference works like this, the bibliographies contained in here are extremely helpful; often more helpful than the articles themselves. As such, it achieves its goal of providing the reader with the tools to conduct more thorough research on most any NT topic. Regardless of how questionable the articles themselves might be, this book is worthy of purchase on the basis of the bibliographies alone.

Having said that, there are more than a few problems with the articles put forth here. Dunn's article on pseudepigraphy is creative in that he attempts to rescue 2 Peter from liberal critics while maintaining that it's pseudepigraphal. But it is nonetheless hopelessly flawed in its mistreatment of the early church's attitude toward pseudepigraphal writings so that not only will liberals reject his thesis, evangelicals should as well. In addition, the evangelical reader will likely be unpleasantly surprised by the degree to which the moderate evangelicals in this book discount the importance of apostolic authorship. Increasingly, evangelical scholars are siding with their liberal counterparts in saying that the authorship questions of the NT writings are immaterial. Liberals use this train of thought to discount the writings themselves. This book doesn't go that far, but seems to suggest that since the Holy Spirit can theoretically inspire anyone to write a canonical book, it doesn't matter whether John wrote 1 John, or Peter wrote 1 Peter, etc. The problem with this is obvious. When the writings become distanced from the apostolic mission, it's easier to cast doubt on their apostolic reliability. This is what liberals have been doing for decades, and this book moves dangerously in that direction.

It's good that there is an emerging evangelical academic respectability. But this respectability should not be the sine qua non of our scholarly endeavors. While the authors here are clearly more optimistic than liberal scholars in regards to the authenticity of the later NT writings, they have, in my view, adopted too many critical tools uncritically. The result is that too many articles in this book contain questionable conclusions based on questionable and even dubious assumptions that are too easy to debunk, and this makes them resemble their liberal counterparts in a way that should give the evangelical church discomfort.

This is an Excellent book about the book of Romans. It is easy reading and very understandable!

THIS BOOK REALLY HELPED ME TO UNDERSTAND PAUL'S WRITING. IT IS VERY ENLIGHTENING. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT ! :-)

The NIV Life Application Study Bible is great BUT this is not the 'best' one ... The 'best' one has a genuine leather cover (rather than bonded leather) AND indexed thumb tabs to make finding the books of the Bible easier. The 'best' one is available here on Amazon for just a few dollars more -- it, and my full review, is at: NIV Life Application® Study Bible (New International Version).

This is a great one volume bible commentary but don't be fooled into thinking this is a study bible. There is just too much info in it to be anything but another single volume commentary. At times, especially in the new testament, the commentary takes up 90% of the page with a few lines of scripture at the top. The best thing about this bible in my opinion are the various lists, charts, and diagrams. They really help me understand.

Now, if I only read the Bible daily, pray about it, and execute the inspirations, I will be OK. Dealing with cancer is tough, but my experience since reading daily is that I am grateful for the chance to change my lifes direction. I no longer am living for money,power and ego, I live to help the 'poorest of the poor'

I love the Life Application Bible. It tells you how to apply what the Bible is saying to your everyday life. I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about putting the Word of God to work in their lives. I also like the NIV version Jo Price.

This study bible is so detailed and complete. This bible will make your study time very enjoyable.

This is a very handy little book for anyone interested in biblical studies. It's set up in alphabetical order, from acrostic and advocacy criticism to Walther Zimmerli and zweiquellentheorie, the two source theory. Want to know what 'mashal' means in biblical studies? It's all right here, in an easy to use format. This is especially useful for people who may not be familiar with German terms, for biblical scholarship for centuries has been dominated by German scholars. So if you come across "religionsgeschichtliche schule" it's a mention of the old History of religions theory.

One small caveat: it doesn't include the most modern scholarship.

This handbook is a good tool any student of Biblical criticism will want. It offers definitions, histories and other information concerning important figures and terms in Biblical criticism. Whether you want to look up B. H. Streeter or KJV or Heilsgeschichte or anything else related to Biblical criticism, you can find it in this book.

It's required reading for the NT 1 course at Covenant Seminary so I picked it up to accompany the free course download at http://www.covenantseminary.edu/worldwide/en/NT220/NT220.asp . Haven't read it all yet but so far it's a keeper.

Here is a book that works towards making a case for the New Testament gospel accounts as being historically reliable. This is an apologetic work by a conservative christian new testament scholar. This book contains intelligent and plausible content on it's subject matter. It is certainly worth an honest read and studied consideration. The author has produced a fine conservative "take" on the subject. With this being so, I wouldn't want this to be the only perspective one gets on the subject.

This new edition of Craig Blomberg's THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITY OF THE GOSPELS should be an essential addition to anyone's New Testament library.

This book serves almost as an introduction to the study of the Gospels. Blomberg discusses form criticism, redaction criticism and other methods used for gospel interpretation. He also provides generally sensible harmonizations of apparently divergent accounts which avoid some of the overzealous attempts of harmonization of the past. Blomberg persuasively argues that reading the Gospels in light of ancient standards of biography and history leads to the conclusion that they contain reliable accounts of Jesus' life. (Contrary to what someone else said, Blomberg does not argue for "camcorder exactness," but instead contends that ancient history allowed for summaries, reordering and a certain amount "creative interpretation" of source material).

Along the way, Blomberg discusses miracles, the evidence for Jesus outside the Gospels (both inside and outside the New Testament), and textual criticism, among other topics.

Blomberg is a prolific New Testament scholar. Among his other books, I particularly recommend INTERPRETING THE PARABLES.

The gospel accounts have ZERO historical reliability. After the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD, a great deal of material was added to the gospel of Mark to make it appear that Jesus had predicted the event. Then, the Pharisees re-wrote much of that account to make it support their belief in (a) exorcism and demonic spirits, (b) angels and (c) a general resurrection of the dead on the Day of Judgment. The version we have (which appears with minor changes under the names of Mark, Matthew and Luke) is completely fictional, an attempt to reinvent a dead Galilean as a "son of theos" using the title of the Roman Emperor Augustus.

Let me give you a superb example of the so-called historical reliability from a letter written by Paul:



2 Thessalonians 1:6 .... when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, (end)

What is the historical reliability of a prediction that Jesus will appear from behind some clouds to take a fiery vengeance on all who do not obey the gospel? And by some weird coincidence, he just happens to be leading a company of angels?

There is no Historical Reliability in the New Testament. None. ALL of the gospel story, with the possibile exception of Peter denying that he came from Galilee, was invented after all the people who actually knew Jesus had died, and replaced the original version of the gospel. (See Secret Mark for a glimpse into the original, where Lazarus was not brought back to life, but merely slept in a tomb as part of an initiation ritual.)

Biblical scholarship is the only field I know.... where all of the leading experts are so dim, they can't figure out the difference between a History Book and a Sales Pitch for a resurrection cult.

Blomberg, an expert in the Synoptics, does a superb job, showing the inadequacies of much liberal gospel scholarship, and making an eminently credible case for the overall historical reliability of the canonical gospels. This is clearly going to be a classic, and anyone interested in Biblical Studies should read it.

Great book - as usual Davis explains the basics and makes you aware of things you thought you knew about in a different light. His books are always informative and easy to read and this one is no different. The Bible is challenging to understand and he helps make it more clear showing the whys and hows of the times and social mores in comparison to present times.

This book is filled with interesting information, and regardless of any claims the author makes, he truly doesn't believe the Bible is God's Word. He always gives the benefit of the doubt to the scientific information that refutes the Bible stories. He never considers that God can provide information to the authors of the Bible that may be true, even if it doesn't appear true to science. Basically, he considers the Bible a very interesting series of mythical books.
It's an interesting read, but I admit, I would have appreciated a balanced point of view. He really mocks the point of view that believes the Bible is the inerrant word of God. He may know a lot about Bible stories, but he doesn't know the most important thing, that it is the very word of God. If you don't believe the most basic claim of Biblical books, that this IS God's Word, then I don't understand why you would take the time to study it. Without faith, it's just folly and that is what the author presents the Bible as: folly.

Davis has the right title for this book. Except the title is more adaptable for himself than the readers. From reading his book I can see that he obviously doesn't know much about the Bible. As other readers have stated, I am not one of those close-minded conservatives who won't hear opposing arguments. This book is just downright amusing and angering. I'm not a monk or a priest & I haven't read the whole Bible, but I have plenty of knowledge and even a normal churchgoer has enough knowledge to be able to knock down Davis' so-called truths regarding the Bible. He presents a one-sided argument that is meant to discredit the Word of God. Like saying that the Four Gospels are contradictary. The 4 Gospels are like watching the same news story on 4 different channels. It's the same story told from different angles by 4 different people. Police can question a group of witnesses who saw the same crime but they will all recall it a different way. This book is great for anyone who wants an excuse for not believing in God. Davis presents what he thinks are inconsistencies and you wonder if he even took the time to read the verses he's writing about. For example, he tries to discredit Noah's Ark by saying the Bible says it rained for 40 days & 40 nights and that water covered the earth for 150 days. Is that your argument? Of course if it rained for 40 days & 40 nights then the water wouldn't evaporate the second the rain stopped. It would still be covering the earth, DUH! Davis is more content in calling truth the Greek myths, ancient folklore, Egyptian fairy tales, etc. This is nothing more than a work of blasphemy. Davis is an obvious nonbeliever and he doesn't even have enough of an argument to debate with. He basically calls Christians people who believe in God (yeah Davis doesn't know WHICH God) because Christians blindly believe what our ancestors did & believing in God is better than the alternatives because we might as well believe in something while we're down here. Oh yeah sure. And belief in God has been going on for how long? So how come this "myth" has outlasted any other?

Kenneth C. Davis's "Don't Know Much About the Bible: Everything You Need to Know About the Good Book but Never Learned" is an interesting popular history/theological discourse on the Biblical stories many of us don't know or don't remember. Davis, the author of other books in the "Don't Know Much About" series, has written an interesting and entertaining book, but, while I did learn something about the Bible reading this book, I have little faith that Davis's views on many of these subjects are correct.

Davis tells many of the Biblical stories in blunt, revealing language. He enjoys shocking the reader and bringing out the unsavory portions of the Biblical stories - the sex, the murder, the intrigue - that many people don't realize are there. He gives the historical context of Israel and tries to explain the role of many of the Biblical stories to the early Jews. Davis also recounts and explains the recurring themes of the Old Testament and helps tie together the stories and morals in ways that short Biblical readings every Sunday don't or can't do. This is where the book is the strongest.

However, although I am not in any way a Biblical scholar (else I probably wouldn't have been reading this book), there was enough in the book that made me mistrust too many of Davis's perspectives and his factual statements about the history of the Bible. Davis presents his perspective as the "truth" about the Bible, but two particular nuggets made me doubt his perspective:

-Davis wrote that "most scholars agree" that the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch) were written by four authors: J, E, D, and P. This is the "documentary hypothesis." However, some basic research reveals that the documentary hypothesis began to lose favor by most scholars in the 1960s and now is only one of several competing hypotheses behind the authorship of the Pentateuch.

-During the Proverbs discussion, Davis quoted: "Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die" (Proverbs 23:13). He said that equating discipline with beating is a bad idea and that it turns morality upside down. Then he went on to say, ""In an era of commonplace child abuse, even hinting that the Bible condones such behavior is a grievous mistake." That method of "analysis" - condemning a Biblical proverb because of a perceived modern problem - is completely out of place in a supposedly-historical treatment of the Bible and made me doubt Davis's entire approach.

Davis's book is interesting, eye-opening, and thought-provoking. Ultimately, though, I doubted Davis's arguments and questioned his agenda. Still, this book may spark interest in the Bible and provide a loose framework, however flawed, for further learning about this book that so many of us know, but few know well.

Even non-believers should find this book frustrating, incomplete, and hypocritical. The author obviously just picked up a few of the most prominent humanist analyses of the bible and regurgitated a summary. I often found myself questioning whether he even read the passages he was talking about. He obviously had no idea of the over-arching themes of the bible nor how it all comes together to tell a coherent story.

This man is obviously not a scholar, and basically admits it by his most common quote,"most scholars believe". A good example is his tired re-telling of the JDPE theory of pentateuch authorship, a theory that has been refuted so often and so well by so many actual scholars that anyone who advocates it today is simply parading their ignorance for all to see.

The book is hypocrital on multiple levels, from the basic assumption by the author that his morality is superior to god's, and therefore he can cast judgement on anything in the bible and be right, to the ludicrous attempts to say that the bible doesn't condone corporal punishment, doesn't condemn homosexuality, etc.

If you want to spend a few hours reading a book and still not know anything about the bible, go ahead and read this one.

The Gospel of Ruth has the potential to strengthen the cause of Christ in churches around the world. It's well written, engaging, even downright eye-opening. It's a great book for anyone who takes the Bible seriously. I hope just as many men as women read this book. You might as well purchase 5 copies when you get it--because you'll probably want others to find out too what the book of Ruth says that most people overlook. Note: it's also an excellent book for anyone in pain who wants to hear a Job story that is DIFFERENT from Job, yet as biblical as Job.
The Gospel of Ruth is a great, great story about God.

A real winner. A must read for everyone . This would make an excellent study book and will certainly bring out animated discussion, The author's insights into issues surrounding women, widowhood, immigrants, breaking social customs etc. are pertinent to contemporary problems. It gives us some real meat to nibble on.

This book is a serious, scholarly dig into the Bible's book of Ruth, but reads so easily it was almost novel-like. I've read Ruth, studied Ruth, and even read other books on the topic, but this book brought my understanding of it to a new level altogether. Carolyn Custis James does an amazing job of setting the cultural backdrop, which really puts the story into a different light than I've ever heard before. She challenges "traditional" views regarding submission, the role of women in God's story, and even what the book of Ruth has to offer.

This book tells the tale of Ruth - her pain, her courage, and her dedication to her mother-in-law Naomi - while still demonstrating that God is at the center of the story. Instead of focusing on the love story between Ruth and Boaz, James shows the relationships between them, as well as Naomi, in a completely different light. She reveals how their actions were risky, courageous, and deeply self-sacrificing, done out of love for and trust in God.

James, through examining the well-known story, seeks to answer the question, "Is God good for women?" Even poor, barren, widowed women in a patriarchical society? Can God still have a purpose, and see it through, for women in painful circumstances? Instead of trivializing pain and giving trite answers, the author delves into the sorrows of infertility and losing a husband, and even shares about her own pain. In a very seamless and authentic way, she then leads the reader to examine Ruth's story, where God's purposes prevail against all odds.

I started reading this book a bit skeptical that a whole new perspective of the story of Ruth was going to be revealed by Carolyn James, but I was profoundly mistaken! This is a fascinating book, and James has done a tremendous job in researching and explaining the biblical text.

By expertly teaching about the historical context of ancient Israel, James reveals the deep meanings and undertones found in the book of Ruth that remain hidden to the typical reader. James also bridges the time-gap by applying the truths and principles found in Ruth to our lives. Many times that sort of application can feel like a stretch, but not here.

Okay, but is this book just for women? Definitely not. First, it's wonderful exegesis of biblical text. Granted the story of Ruth contains women, but that shouldn't impact the readership. Yes, many of the applications are for women, but not exclusively. Think that submission, love, kindness, generosity, etc. are primarily female virtues...then you need to read this book! Highly recommended.

Wow!!!
Carolyn takes a fresh perspective and gentle approach toward the book of Ruth. This book gently peels back the traditional lenses of Church Theology, male egotism, and various other biases that are normally associated with this often overlooked book of the Bible.
She paints Ruth as a female version of Job, and takes her time to reveal the many aspect of Ruth's story. Carolyn does a beautiful job in taking the reader into the mind of Ruth and allowing us to walk in her shoes.
Simply put, this is a WOW book. Once you read it, that will be the first thing you say. So many of us think we know the book of Ruth and all it has to offer....but after reading this book, you might be surprised.....

If you want a good beggining to the historical bible, this will not lead you astray. Full of useful information and unbiased in it's approach, by far the best book of it's kind that I have come across.