Bibles Bible Studies Books

In this book Elaine Pagels gives a review of the story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. This treatment includes early Orthodox thought, primarily from Augustine, as well as Gnostic beliefs about the story from Genesis.

The book explains how the fruit of the tree of life became sex and where original sin and the concept of the natural man being an enemy of God. These beliefs hit their peak in the 17th - 19th centuries with religions like the Calvinists, Campbellites, Puritans and Mormons. This book gives a clear explanation of where these beliefs originally came from and how they became imbedded in mainstream Christian beliefs.

Pagels unravels a tangle of collective feelings about good and evil, like an archaeologist of the Western mind. She explores the history of ancient concerns - What dangers must we fear? What limits on ourselves must we observe, or lose our souls? To these fearful questions, answers have accumulated in our minds for at least 4,000 years. Pagels sifts the residue of ancient texts, exposing the choices we have made. In the growing legend of Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, she finds a powerful cautionary tale. If the original sin was seeking knowledge of good and evil, what does that say about sanity? There are many ways to interpret this tale, but how was it actually interpreted by religious and political leaders over the course of history? Pagels documents the rise of a religious doctrine against the perils of freedom.

For peace and unity to prevail, most leaders of Jewish, Christian, or Muslim communities have felt it essential that ordinary people must doubt their own ability to know right from wrong. They needed to see that free will was the root of evil, and obedience the cardinal virtue of religion. As Augustine put it,

"... obedience ... is, so to speak, the mother and guardian of all the virtues of a rational creature. The fact is that a rational creature is so constituted that submission is good for it, while yielding to its own rather than its Creator's will is, on the contrary, disastrous." (The City of God, 14:12)

So the people must cease trusting their own minds, and turn for guidance to a higher authority. But which external authority should they follow?

In this great inquiry, as usual, Pagels combines the roles of textual analyst, literature critic, anthropologist, and even social therapist. Her work remains important and relevant decade after decade.

--author of "Different Visions of Love"

That's it, last time I buy a book buy Pagels no matter how enlightened she is. This is the second time I've wasted money on a Pagels book because of a misleading title and synopsis. I'm tired of her misrepresentation, and the wtf look on my face after reading is simply not attractive. This is supposed to be a book about how Christians came up with the idea that sex is inherently evil and ended up being about beavers in their natural habitat. For all you literal people, that was called sarcasm.

Elaine Pagels is perhaps best known as the author of the popular text, `The Gnostic Gospels', highlighting a lesser known arena in early Christian history. Her reputation is somewhat controversial, as is her writing, but one thing is certain - she is a good writer, interesting to read, and she will make her readers think. This particular book, `Adam, Eve and the Serpent' deals with issues surrounding sexuality and gender, a hot topic in the social and cultural situations of today, but similarly of concern throughout much of Christian history. There is a tug-of-war between `traditional values' (leaving aside that there are various traditions) and `revisionist' or `modern' ideas, and few are in agreement over where the boundaries should be drawn.

Pagels explores some of the ways in which these traditional roles of gender and patterns of sexual expression arose to become so powerfully ingrained in western Christian society. To this day, most people make the appeal to the early chapters of Genesis both as the paradigm for what God intended for the world as well as the explanation, if not the actual instance, of sin and evil encroaching upon the world. Pagels begins with a copy of the first few chapters of Genesis, and traces ways in which ancient Jewish and early Christian communities interpreted these chapters.

Each chapter in Pagel's book highlights a particular theme. The first chapter looks at the understanding of Jewish culture of the early Genesis stories that would have formed the world view of Jesus, Paul, and the other apostles and church leaders, all of whom were born and raised into this Jewish culture. Jesus and Paul do not seem to see original sin as being a sexual sin or act, according to Pagels, and humanity after Adam and Eve are still called to make a moral choice out of freedom that goes beyond sexuality.

Later chapters deal with the development of interpretation in light of the political and social situation, first as an oppressed minority, then later as a significant political presence in the empire. Pagels also devotes a chapter to looking at the Gnostics and their views toward gender and sexuality, the radicality of which sowed some of the discord between their community and the greater orthodox church. Pagels then devotes considerable space to the Augustinian development of ideas of sexuality, gender and human nature in relation to Genesis, as all subsequent Christian viewpoints in the West have some relationship, pro or con, to the Augustinian foundations. The prevailing idea of original sin as being sexual derives largely from Augustine (although some of it is based upon misinterpretation).

Pagels discusses briefly the issues of exegesis (interpretation) versus eisegesis (reading into the text, or projection) - it is often said that one can find most anything one wants in the bible by interpretation; Pagels has been charged with this as well. However, as an explanation of the ways in which certain texts were understood and passed on, Pagels is a good voice to include - her scholarship and research support is sound, and her interpretations fit within reasonable limits. This is a book that introduces the reader to ideas perhaps unknown, intriguing, and certainly worthy of conversation.

Two creation accounts were later joined in GENESIS. In the first four hundred years Christians regarded freedom as the primary message of GENESIS. In Jesus's time anti-pagan feelings were strong among the pious and rural Jews. John the Baptist may lived with the Essenes. Jesus warned of the coming day of judgment. Rabbis, teachers, came to replace the hereditary caste of priests.

GENESIS commands be fruitful and multiply. Jesus reversed traditional priorities. He celebrated the single and childless. Within a century of Paul's death ascetic aspects of Jesus's message spread rapidly. Chrisitians attacked the gods and the imperilled pagans.

Christians in different provinces showed great diversity. Christians were distinguished for their moral rigor. Some Christians resented being told what to think and how to behave by the bishops. Some sought to know God directly through gnosis. Gnostics constituted an institutional threat.

After Constantine, heresy became a crime against the state. Jesus had said there were no grounds for divorce. Paul spoke of marriage in negative terms. Paul and Jesus sought to prepare for the end of the world. As the religious basis of society, Christians were to look to one another. They claimed moral equality. Some Gnostics believed in an internal source of desire and action.

Augustine was joyful when he gave up ambition and embraced celibacy. The ascetics were athletes for God. Augustine de-emphasized free-will and affirmed secular government in qualified fashion. He offered a theology of politics. The Christian view of freedom changed as Christianity became the religion of emperors.

The King James-Only cult is an abomination to Christianity. It has nothing to do with the truth and nothing to do with the advancing the Kingdom of God. The sooner it disappears from this earth, the better.

James White does a great job of explaining the variances from the modern translations compared to the KJV. This book helped my knowledge greatly.

Thank you

This book provides well thought out answers for the issues raised by the KJO movement. It also provides ample documentation of sources, something that is solely lacking from the other side. If you want answers and not dogma read this book.

I know some people still love the KJV Bible, but when they go to church, they should bring their NIV. I believe that the battle has been won by the NIV (and other current versions). The KJV Only movement reminds me of the Japanese soldiers that chose to stay on the Pacific Islands 30 to 40 years after the war had ended. They believed they were still defending the homeland. But unfortunately, the war was long over. The KJV Only movement needs to realize that the war is over and the NIV has clearly won. In their selfishness, the KJV Only movement is only pushing people away.

This book is encouraging because it does a good job on making you appreciate how God has preserved His word through all of the 5,300 cataloged manuscripts. The shear number of these manuscripts being so many (5.300) and the varied location of these manuscripts being widespread, and the various dates of these manuscripts being from many different centuries, it really makes you appreciate God preserving His Word. God did not use one English version to preserve His Word. If God had done that it would be too easy for man to pervert the text. Kind of like the Mormon Bible - they had to accept whatever Joseph Smith said was on the golden plates (which they never saw). But like the author says, since we have ALL these manuscripts, it actually makes it hard for anyone to go back and change the text. Having All these manuscript actually helps to show what the original text was. Even with the numerous variants the author shows how these variations can be resolved. It actually is a clear road map to the original. It seems that Ruckman wants to be the Joseph Smith of our Bible.

This book is excellent because the author is well prepared to handle the subject. He has clearly well aware of the history and background of the Bible. This book is a mini course in lower criticism and higher criticism. I love his work on Erasmus. He does a great job on showing that Erasmus faced the same opposition when he created his Greek Bible and translation as the people who translated the NIV. I love the history of the Bible and how through the centuries God has raised up men to preserve and translate His Word into the language of the day. The author shows the irony of people who reject the "new" translations, forgetting how they got their own "familiar" translation. This is truly history repeating itself.

This book is enlightening because he has clearly done his homework. He shows the hysteria and in some cases the meanness of some of the KJV only people. He covers verse after verse showing how KJV people try to scare and deceive people into believing that the NIV and other translations have deleted passages. He has so many examples it is mind-boggling. He does a great job showing the great ignorance and the cruelty of the KJV only movement. This book should be a great encouragement to people who are still in bondage of the KJV Only movement. They no longer have to believe the deception of the KJV Only movement.

From reading the many reviews, it is clear that the truth about the KJV Only movement has long been out and people are aware of it.

The writer of the forward assures the reader that "White's treatment is sensitive to the King James Reader as well as the NIV reader." Is it? Anyone who has actually bothered to read Mr. White's book will find the opposite to be the case.
Mr. White makes the rather unbelievable statement, "The body of the work will demonstrate that the KJV Only position is forced to make statements about the Bible that in reality undercut the very foundation of the faith itself." As if they could. I've read their materials and I find that not only is this statement unsupportable but those in the KJV Only movement affirm the biblical, historical and foundational truths of the Bible.
"I am no friend of those who would seek to undercut the very foundations of the Christian faith. Indeed, it is a concern for the integrity of the faith that drives this reply to the KJV Only position..." Advocates and supporters of the KJV are in no way engaged in a campaign to undercut the foundations of the Christian faith, regardless of what Mr. White may think. Nor does their position in any way compromise the integrity of the faith.
"It is very common to find the KJV Only advocates dismissing any appeal to the Greek of Hebrew manuscripts." Actually, I have found the opposite to be the case. I have found KJV Only materials are very willing to discuss the Greek and Hebrew when the situation calls for it.
Mr. White's contention that KJV Only advocates are "fuzzy" on the particulars of how we got the Bible should appeal only to those who have failed to read any KJV Only materials.
Mr. White contends that "Anglican ecclesiology had an impact upon the KJV's translation" but failed to provide any examples where any Anglican theology has influenced the translation. Mr. White had every opportunity to make the case in his book but for reasons unknown does not.
Mr. White wrote, "Misrepresenting others-even those we wrongly feel are in error-is not an option for one who follows Jesus." Yet when reading this book one believes the author is free to make such misrepresentations about KJV Only advocates.
The author wrote, "And finally, there is no conflict between obedience to Christ and belief in Christ." One does not have to believe in Jesus Christ in order to obey Him. Unfortunately, Christianity is rife with such examples.
When discussing an omission or deletion Mr. White wrote, "Of course, someone might argue that the omission in such a small number of manuscripts could have been due to single scribal error, and such is, or course, a possibility." But, no doubt, far from certain. This leaves one to wonder why he would write such a statement when on the next page he wrote, "The difference between textual criticism done on the basis of facts and evidence, and that done on the basis of conspiracies and prejudgment, is plainly evident." Well, apparently then it's not evident to Mr. White when the proceeding quote is more supposition that factual! What sort of evidence does Mr. White appeal to if all he has is a possibility?
On page 174 Mr. White wrote, "...including a reading that has fallen out of the majority of Greek manuscripts." I think Mr. White's cause would best be served if he could somehow show that this had actually happened. Mr. White makes the same mistake in discussing Acts 16:7 by writing, "The phrase `of Jesus' has dropped out of the majority of Greek Texts." He again fails to provide us with any objective reason to believe that this is what has actually happened!
Words such as probably, could have, most probably, may be, quite certain, possibility, could have been, quite possible and almost certainly are scattered throughout his book and use of words such as these lead to less than definite conclusions and leaves the reader that Mr. White is engaged in guessing.
In this book Mr. White has labeled KJV Only advocates as indoctrinated, anti-intellectual, anti-scholarship and anti-freedom and the like. I find it unsettling that one who calls himself a Christian would describe his fellow believers in such a slanderous manner.
Mr. White does a great disservice to his cause by displaying his obvious prejudice against those who advocate the KJV and his doing so leads him to make some rather unsupportable claims. Mr. White could have and should have used his book to help bridge the supposed gulf that may or may not have existed between the two but instead uses the opportunity to push the two parties even further apart.

In closing Mr. White wrote, "Finally, as I said at the beginning, my desire is for the peace of Christ's church." I find it difficult to believe that he is indeed desiring peace if he is willing to mischaracterize his fellow believers as he has done. If he indeed wants peace I can only believe that he will accept it only on his terms.

Instead of this book a better treatment on the subject is
Which Bible? (5th Edition) edited by David Otis Fuller.

The author helps the reader rightly divide the Word of God and understand what the human author of Scripture is trying to say. The idea is that if the Bible is the final authority, we must find out exactly what it is saying. If we misinterpret the Bible, we become the final authority. Very good stuff for teachers, preachers, and even laymen.

Need help understanding what the Bible says? This book is the basics of Hermeneutics (the science of interpretation). It reviews all biblical genres of literature including poetry, prophesy, didactic, and narratives. Also, interpretation is not finished until the interpreter has applied the truths to his own life. This book also shows you how to rightly divide the word of truth in proper application to yourself.

I used this text in a biblical hermenuetics course at my college, and it was one of the most satisfying and meaningful courses I have taken. McQuilkin's book was the basis of it. Clear, insightful, and delightfully correct! Highly recommended.

This book has lots of basic info that you'll learn in an "Introduction to the New Testament" type of course. Easy to read and understand.

This book was used for one of my undergrad classes on the gospels. It's a very good introduction, indeed. It covers the basics keeping in mind Jesus. The language is very clear and the author doesn't go into too many details, which is a good thing. The book belongs to a series that follow the same guidelines. If yuo're looking into deepening your understanding of scriptures but are afraid of the amount of books that are out there... start with this one.

For anyone seeking a better understanding of why there are four Gospels in the New Testament, not just one, this book is excellent. Stanton, after a good introduction, delves right into the first section of the book: a systematic explanation of the purpose, focus, audience, and author of each Gospel. Stanton presents the reader with a clear outline of key differences among the Synoptics, and among the Synoptics and John.

After this excellent explanation, the second half of the book focuses on Jesus: his life, times, attitudes about himself, political situation, etc. I was very pleased with the clarity of Stanton's writing. It was scholarly, carefully crafted, and easy to understand. A fine basic reference text for anyone creating sermons or doing New Testament study.

I used this book for a grad-level class in the Gospels/Acts. Overall, it is an excellent introduction. Stanton covers each Gospel individually and then spends the second half of the book discussing various topics/themes, such as Jesus' miracles, the Kingdom of God, John the Baptist, to name only a few. Stanton also brings in many modes of biblical interpretation including literary and social-historical (as well as the various sub-categories within each); moreover, he brings in other scholars' opinions on various aspects of the Gospels and discusses them according to their relevance within the field. For the chapters on the individual Gospels, Stanton first tries to determine (or at least discuss) the perspective of the evangelist (aka author), as well as the community from which these gospels may have been written. He then turns to the portrayal of Jesus within each. Some of the chapters lacked depth (particularly the chapter on the Kingdom of God), but, all-in-all, it is a good introduction from a well-balanced, scholarly point of view. Stanton clearly has his own theological stance, but he also obviously tries to take other scholars' offerings into consideration and give the reader an overview from which she or he may make her/his own decision. You will probably want to supplement this with more in-depth material on each Gospel (for instance, articles would be an excellent choice...or commentaries such as the Anchor Bible series). However, this would be an excellent text for the classroom and Bible studies alike.

This book relates history to the Bible, giving readers a new perspective on world events at the time of events recorded in the Bible. It's certainly not a fast read, but it's interesting.

This book has proved more and more valuable over time. As a pastor and seminary student, it helps to place Biblical events in the proper context. As an aspiring Ancient historian, the clear, concise text and apt photos and illustrations make sense of some pretty dense reading in other texts. It's even a fun read for enjoyment!

I must admit that my expectation was for greater accuracy to proper verbage than was printed. Much of the time the authors used location names, like 'Palistine', when referencing 'BC' (BCE) rather than the true name 'Isreal.' Small verbal goofs like this was unexpected from an institution like the Oxford press. Most of the information, though, was excellent, and informative.

This truly is an excellent resource, as discussed by other reviewers. Unfortunately, though, the paperback version is not just a reprint of the hardback in floppy covers. Instead, many of the visual features that contribute so much to the appeal of the hardback edition have been removed. Admittedly several remain, including a section of color plates in the middle of the book, but one who is familiar with the hardback likely will be disappointed by the paperback.

Buyer beware. The chapter on the time of Jesus reads like an op-ed piece, not a history book. The author of it is Amy-Jill Levine, who describes herself on her website as a "Yankee Jewish feminist . . . with a commitment to eliminating anti-Jewish, sexist, and homophobic theologies." If you are a Christian looking for a neutral, scholarly source of information, keep looking.

Yancey is a fabulous writer. This book made me think long and hard at how do I view Jesus. Yancey does a good job of pointing out things in a way everyone can understand.

I READ THE JESUS I NEVER KNEW BOOK OVER 10 YEARS AGO, AND FOUND OUT THAT WHAT I HAD THOUGHT I KNEW ABOUT JESUS WAS NOT WHAT I NEEDED TO KNOW TO SAVE MY SOUL. I HAD GONE TO CHURCH ON AND OFF MY WHOLE LIFE AND THOUGHT I WAS SAVED AND WOULD GO TO HEAVEN WHEN I DIE.
BUT DURING A FLOOD IN FEB 1997 MY FAMILY AND I WITH ANOTHER FAMILY STAYED IN MY RV IN THE MOUNTAINS TO KEEP DRY. I SAW THE BOOK THE JESUS I NEVER KNEW IN A YARD SALE FOR FREE AND PICKED IT UP TO READ WHILE WE WERE ALL WAITTING FOR THE FLOOD WATERS TO GO DOWN SO WE COULD MOVE BACK HOME. AFTER READING THE 1ST. PAGE I COULD NOT PUT THE BOOK DOWN UNTIL I READ THE WHOLE BOOK. MY THOUGHTS WERE ALL OVER THE PLACE AND MADE ME THINK ABOUT MY FAMILY AND WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE HAD DIED IN THE FLOOD. I THEN TOOK A WEEK AND READ THE WHOLE BIBLE AND TALKED TO MY PASTOR AND OTHER PASTOR'S DURING THAT TIME.
I WANTED TO BE SAVED AND BECOME BORN AGAIN SO I COULD BE WITH JESUS. I HAD OPEN MY HEART UP AND ASK JESUS TO COME INTO MY LIFE AND DID STUDIES AT MY CHURCH WHILE WAITTING TO BE BORN AGAIN DURING A SPECIAL TIME WHEN MY CHURCH MEMBERS WERE SAVED TOGETHER THAT HAD FOUND CHRIST IN THERE HEARTS AND KNEW HE WAS THE ONLY WAY TO GET TO HEAVEN WHERE WE WOULD BE WAITTING FOR THE SECOND COMMING OF CHRIST, SO WE COULD BE WITH GOD ON THE NEW EARTH WHEN IT WAS TIME.
SO I AM NOW BORN AGAIN AND AM ALWAYS WITH JESUS WHO IS PART OF ME.
AFTER ALL OF THIS HAD TAKEN PLACE I FOUND OUT THE I WAS ILL WITH PPH. NO TREATMENT AT THE TIME AND MOST PEOPLE DIED WITH-IN TWO TO FIVE YEARS WHO HAD PPH. IT HAS BEEN 10 YEARS NOW AND WITHOUT MY FAITH I WOULD HAVE DIED A LONG TIME AGO. MY DOCTOR HAS TOLD ME I HAVE NO MORE THAN SIX MONTHS LEFT TO LIVE AND COULD DIE AT ANY TIME NOW. BUT I SMILE AND STAY HAPPY BECAUSE I KNOW WHEN THE TIME COMES I WILL BE WITH SOME OF MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE ME.
MOST PEOPLE DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY I AM ALWAYS HAPPY AND HAVE A SMILE AND TRY TO HELP OTHERS AS MUCH AS I CAN. THEY KNOW THE PAIN I AM IN AND THAT I AM IN BED 24/7, BUT I HAVE A PHONE AND A COMPUTER, SO I CAN TELL EVERY BODY I REACH TO READ THE BOOK " THE JESUS I NEVER KNEW". MOST HAVE COME BACK TO SEE ME AND TO THANK ME FOR SAVING THERE LIVES BY SHOWING THEM THE WAY.

As a recently saved sinner, or, as Joyce Meyer refers to us, "baby Christians", one of the difficulties I have encountered was coming up with a sense of the real-life-as-it-was-then aspects of the Gospel. Jesus was more of an idea, a paper-doll-like figure, than a real emotion beset human. Philip Yancey got my frequently misty eyes to see a truly devine, but fully human man that I can understand and willingly follow, or, at least, attempt to follow. I will read more Yancey....soon!

This book of Philip Yancey gave me a new and beautiful view of the pure gospel of grace and the wonderful Savior that I have. A must read for every christian that wants to live a real christianity in every aspect of his life.

Philip Yancey is a good if wordy author, and one can't help but admire a dude for making a decent living by churning out book after book on a subject that obviously means a great deal to him. Unfortunately, Mr. Yancey has only spewed out another in a "great flood" of such embarrassing works that have cluttered the world during the past several hundred years. Jesus was slumming when he came to Planet Earth, and he happily taught that the next world would be oh-so-much better than what was to be found here. With that I concur. Too bad his wanna-be followers don't follow His teachings: give all of your belongings to the poor, turn the other cheek (literally!), pray alone, be utterly humble, etc. etc. etc. I followed this up by rereading Nietzsche's THE ANTICHRIST (a misnomer, to be sure, since Nietzsche actually admired Jesus but certainly not His confused followers), and soon felt much better! Recommend you do the same. All this said ... LONG LIVE FREEDOM OF RELIGION and MAY ALL THE GODS OF THE UNIVERSE BLESS OUR SILLY LITTLE PLANET!

This was a very good Bible Study for our group.

This is a great first book for small groups. It reveals the important elememts of relationships and sets the stage for some good self examination coupled with the truth of Scripture. The leader notes and questions also make leading the group a snap. The study portion takes about 1 full hour each week.

This is the first curriculum chosen for our 350 member church's launching of 'small groups'. We used it in advance to train the Leaders and each Leader is now using it to kick off his or her own small group. It has been profoundly useful and inspirational. Each participant gets this book for study and note-taking. The Scripture content is exactly what the 'small group' movement requires as a Bible study component.

This book is a good tool to use for small groups, fellowship studies, or sunday school class. I used it for my college sunday school class to place emphasis on embracing our Christian community. While John Ortberg does a good job at painting the picture for us, it is basically his "The Life You've Always Wanted" book re-done for small groups in a practical way. I enjoyed using this guide but had to restructure the questions and format to cater to a sunday school environment. I would recommend making sure you know your group, and understand their needs, and perhaps come up with additional questions to meet the needs of your group.

I purchased one book and my boys (three at the time) loved it. I purchased another in the series and then finally the last two. We've got a lot of bible story books my kids had no or little interest in. These are so engaging--the writing, the pictures, the selection of stories. These stories inspire them to pretend and re-tell the stories themselves. They are also easy to use as a lesson--the story, acting it out, doing a craft. I only wish there were more in the series!

I bought the first two books of the series over a dozen years ago when my youngest son was little. I was a preschool teacher of four year olds for many years and used these stories. I have also have used them with two-year-olds in Sunday School and the children like them.They get to the essence of the story with simple words and explanations. I love the simple and clear artwork with watercolor drawings. I think the simple story and artwork allows the feeling of the story to come through. I had looked for these books in stores over the years with no luck. Now with a grandson, I was delighted to find them to complete my collection. I can't wait to read the stories to him.

We used this book for our children from the time they were born until they were three years old. They loved it! The illustrations are fantastic and beautiful. Any time I give a baby gift I always include this book. Highly recommended!

When my son was in preschool, this was hands down one of his favorite books, along with Vol. 1. The stories are simply written yet remain true to the spirit of the Word. We highly recommend these books!

PERFECT FOR TODDLERS! This book offers short bible stories in language that is perfect for preschoolers!

This is a study guide that will help you direct your thinking practically after reading the book. It is very helpful, not a light- hearted, fill in the blank book, but something that can help you apply the principles discussed in the book into your own life. Check your book first--some editions have the study guide questions in the book already--just no space to write.

This study guide is a great way to understand and memorize scripture. The author does an excellent job using application questions and scripture to point you towards Christ. This is the third time that I have been through this and the first time as a facilitator. I enjoy using this tool to assist me in improving my relationship with God. Thank you for making the books available and getting them delivered in a short amount of time.