Bibles Bible Studies Books

This book arrived in better form than was described! Also, VERY SPEEDY DELIVERY! I'll buy from you guys again! Thanks!

This book is a wonderful resource for those endeavoring to do a self study of the Pauline Epistles, or for those leading a bible study. I found this text to be both challenging and informative for teens and adults alike. This text is very easy to read, while not being over simplistic. Also, the author gives questions at the end of each section to help the reader focus on what Paul is saying to the reader in todays world. A wonderful text.

This was a gift for my son and he really enjoyed this and he said this
will be of great help in learning Hebrew.

Kittel has been received with great enthusiasm by reviewers at Amazon.com and on the Internet. I walked away from it with an entirely different reaction. Perhaps the best way to describe the difference I see between Kittel and other texts like Pratico, Kelley, Weingreen and Lambdin is through the use of an analogy:

Imagine someone who has decided to take up ballet and who is, understandably, motivated by visions of doing leaps and turns across the stage. If you were our prospective dancer, you would be able to find classes that would teach you an entire routine right from the start - including all those leaps and turns you are so anxious to learn. In the alternative, you would be able to find classes that would force you to work at the barre every day doing mundane exercises instead of complete dance routines.

Reading Kittel is like taking the first type of dance class. There the thinking is that students are more likely to remain interested in (and keep paying for) ballet classes if they are given routines with pirouettes in them than if they are constantly hammered with technique at the barre. Similarly, the thinking behind Kittel seems to be that students will be more enthusiastic if they are not pushed too hard, and if they are given passages directly from the Bible rather than if they are required to memorize rules and translate simplified practice sentences.

I submit that the dancer who learns routines with pirouettes first receives more instant gratification, while the dancer who does the exercises at the barre receives the better education. The feeling of accomplishment imparted by Kittel is illusory because the ability to translate even complex series of words strung together in Hebrew does not mean you understand the language - it means only that you have been drilled in pattern recognition.

In defense of Kittel's approach, we are told that we all learn in different ways. The problem is, no serious dancer ever learns this way. This teaching method is popular with students because it panders to their natural desire to have it both ways: They want to believe they can learn more with less effort because the teaching method has been improved.

We are also told that Kittel's method is better because this is how we learned to speak as children. It is, therefore, the natural way to learn. This argument is fallacious. The "natural" method of learning - one of simply becoming accustomed to using the language without understanding it analytically - is used by five-year-olds, not because it is better, but because five-year-olds are incapable of anything more. You cannot master any language - even your native tongue - without studying its grammar and syntax.

Kittel will teach you as little grammar as possible. The information that is provided will be disorganized and scattered throughout the text. Descriptions will be vague and you will not be given enough examples to determine when a particular form is used. You will be translating verbs for weeks without understanding their underlying tense. Your attention will be directed away from even thinking in these terms.

On the other hand, lest you have any doubt about the method of translating a series of words from one language into another, Kittel will carefully walk you through the process with fill-in-the blank sentences like: "(The word "king") means _____. It has ____ letters." This grade-school level of prodding is the manner in which, and the level of sophistication with which, the entire book is written.

Weingreen, in his introduction dated in 1939, tells us with eloquence that "Hebrew grammar is essentially schematic and, starting from simple primary rules, it is possible to work out, almost mathematically, the main groups of word-building." Weingreen makes that schematic logic of Hebrew come alive. Kittel not only relegates grammar to a secondary role but, through its lack of both conceptual organization and verbal precision, makes these schematic patterns of Biblical Hebrew impossible to find. Weingreen tells us to pay attention to pronunciation, because it is important. Yet, for anyone who does take pronunciation seriously, I would argue that the audio CD accompanying Kittel's text does more harm than good.

Perhaps what disturbs me most about Kittel is that it teaches students to use postmodern thought processes. Students are not bothered by this because they are not thinking about the politics of undermining authority structures when they take Biblical Hebrew - they are content simply to use a textbook that promises to produce better results in less time.

Putting philosophical issues aside, the truth is that Kittel will demand less from you than will a text like Weingreen. You will, accordingly, learn less if you use it as a substitute for a more rigorous Hebrew grammar. At least, if you understand the trade-off, you will be able to make an informed decision about using Kittel based on your own learning objectives.

Unfortunately, I received only the 3-CD audio program, not the written companion volume, "Supplement for Enhanced Comprehension." Perhaps the latter would have helped, but I don't think so. I found the little mnemonic songs incredibly cloying -- the pretentious and idiotic musings of a bunch of Yalie turds who think they're OH SO CLEVER AND CUTE. The "Hebrew Blues" and little a capella takes on dik duk set to "Frere Jacques" wouldn't be so bad ... if they only taught something. The best of Debbie Friedman's stuff not only is catchy and beautifully performed, but leaves the listener with actual knowledge. This stuff was much more focused on amusing its creators. Worse, many of the songs are incomprehensible without the text -- like "Words 1-99," in which different Hebrew words are simply spoken at random. Very disappointing.

The Yale University Language Program has produced an excellent format in text and CD to assist in the learning of Biblical Hebrew, which often differs in pronunciation and meaning from the standard modern Israeli Hebrew spoken today. Lessons are laid out in an order that makes it easy to build one upon the other, giving the student a gradual process in acquiring both vocabulary, reading skills and necessary grammar to make reading the Tanakh
( the Hebrew Bible ) in it's original language an achievable goal. This is not a "read Biblical Hebrew in 10 minutes a day" type format, and it does require some effort and consistency, but the results are greater in depth and comprehension - and well worth the time invested.

I have just started learning Hebrew with this book. This book is user friendly that skips long introduction and tonnes of grammatical rules in the beginning chapters. After brief introduction on pronunciation and writing system, it starts immediately with phrases taken from the Bible. Each chapter one phrase or a sentence is discussed. I find it interesting that I can read the bible shortly after learning pronounciation. But since it only give short explanation on grammar (may be bit by bit in each chapter, I haven't finished the book yet), I would say that better achievement would be seen if it is used in class with a tutor. For someone who likes to learn the language in "natural way", this book is excellent. But for someone like me as a non english speaking learner and want to know the language systematically, I would recommend another book "Basics of Biblical Hebrew" by Gary D. Pratico. With these two books, one complementary to another, I get deeper understanding of the language while start immediately reading the Bible.

I love the CD attached in the book. The alphabet song truly helps me to remember the order and pronunciation of the Hebrew consonant.

All in all, this is a good book. The reason I give it four stars is it lacks detailed and systematic explanations on grammar. And it is really bulky.

**** Reading the Bible is at once simple and complex. To help you understand the structure of the Bible, having a book like this one can be useful and facilitate your reading plan, especially if you have signed onto a speed Bible reading program, ie, The Bible In Ninety Days or similar plans. However, this book can also be a useful tool for those who are already quite comfortable with the Holy Word. Detailed charts and outlines breaking down the books of the Bible and clarifying where things fit on a timeline are almost worth the price of this volume alone. ****

The IVP Introduction to the Bible is an anthology of essays by learned biblical studies teachers written to help Christian readers of all walks of life better understand both the Old and New Testaments. Offering historical and other background information for each Testament and the Bible as a whole, plus a thoughtful introduction of each biblical book in turn, The IVP Introduction to the Bible will prove especially valuable to novice to intermediate biblical students and scholars. Highly recommended as a solid religious studies reference for public and college library shelves.

I purchased this book for my almost 5-year-old, and it has been a great discussion starter for our family! (My 2 1/2 year old also loves it) The stories are created for short-attention spans and include great practical questions about our every day life. My kids love the illustrations too. We have created a new family tradition by reading one story each evening after dinner or before bedtime. We love this book and it makes a great gift for 4-8 year olds!

I teach Sunday school to pre-kindergarten classes, and have been disappointed each time I've tried to read Bible stories to the children from this book. It uses vocabulary that is not familiar to young children -- I often have to stop the story to explain a word or concept. This does not allow the stories to "flow" very easily for the young children.

this bible is awesome for my children in the church.
All of them enjoy this bible and want to learn from it every second they can and also the people who drew alladin, beauty and the beast, mullian and veggie tales did a awesome job drawing the pictures! A must have!

The book is great for young kids.
Isn't so elementary that it isn't challenging for kids.
Not so challenging that it isn't easy to understand by kids.

My daughter loves this book, and I was so excited to see her finally become enthusiastic about praying and reading Bible stories. This is the book that helped her truly understand God's importance in her life. The "Pray" and "Live" sections really bring the book to life, the questions throughout each Bible story ensure that the child understands and is thinking about the story, and the illustrations are lots of fun. When I adopted my daughter from foster care, she had had very little exposure to religion, and no positive exposure at all. Religion scared her and was unfamiliar. I tried various books and experiences, and while our church community helped her feel loved, My First Message was what really got her to feel a sense of God at work in the world. I am so grateful!

Best exegisis of Hebrews currently available. This should be on everybody's reference list or bookcase.

this is one of the great commentaries around, i only wish i could afford the whole set, but buying them one at a time will do. This is a must have.

As I was preparing to teach an adult Sunday School class on the book of Hebrews I bought three books on the epistle. One was a "common man's" explanation, another was a commentary from a famous preacher, the other was F.F. Bruce's commentary. My thought to use the "common man's" version for simple breakdown of the book, the famous preacher for color, and F.F. Bruce would fill in with scholarly commentary and insights.

By the end of our class, I never even cracked the other two books. F.F. Bruce does it all. What I found was that the common man's explanation was a mess, and the famous preacher nearly identically copied F.F. Bruce's structure and argumentation (but he had cool stories).

The surprising thing about this commentary is Bruce's use of Evangelical poetry by Charles Wesley, Isaac Watts, and John Bunyon to illustrate points the writer of Hebrews was trying to make. His use of historical documents to bolster points was also helpful to me. In one instance he used a portion of a letter Lucian wrote regarding how Christians were looking after an imprisoned Christian named Proteus Peregrinus. This was used as an example of the type of love being called for in the 13th chapter.

To those who care about such things, it is a solidly Evangelical work. I am guessing Jesus Seminar scholars may want to set their hair on fire after reading some of Bruce's conclusions. His conclusions, though are based on solid reasoning and scholarship. They are not haphazard.

Another thing to warn is that this book is not for a beginner. The format and writing borders on the "dry" side. It's a commentary, not entertainment. But the treasures held inside are worth digging for. I really appreciate the effort he put into this.

F. F. Bruce, long a leader in biblical exegesis, is at his best in this tome on the letter to the Hebrews. Repackaging an earlier work, this edition is a fine addition to any pastor's or biblical student's library.

I have to disagree with two of the reviewers here who have some negative comments on this commentary. As I am preaching through Hebrews, I've been looking at a number of commentaries. I look for helpful exegetical comments and summarizations, interaction with other scholarly viewpoints, and for spirituality in the comments. I believe Bruce gives us all three categories.

Let me illustrate what I mean. F.F. Bruce sees Hebrews 1 as part of a larger section of material extending through the end of chapter 2. He titles this 'The Finality of Christianity'. He then breaks chapter 1 into two parts, v.1-4 (more than prophets, Jesus is God) and 5-14 (superior to the angelic beings-citing seven groups of verses). He points out there are seven statements about Christ in v. 1-4 and seven scripture quote sections in v.5-14. He then goes on to draw implications from these that are helpful for the scholar somewhat, but more so for a bible course teacher or a preacher in the pulpit. One of his applications is the demolition of the JW view that Christ was originally an angel. After all the second section deals entirely with the concept that Christ is superior to angels.

His exegetical comments on the term 'universe' in Hebrews 1 help cut the legs out from under a lynch pin in the heretical view called 'open theism'. Although he doesn't take time to dive into the controversies, if you are familiar with them even a little, his comments are enough to help you realize that these verses are very significant in crucial debates among contemporary Evangelical circles.

I just found the observations he makes skip over the superfluous ones I have read in some other commentaries. His points seem pretty convincing and pretty relevant. I think this is another excellent commentary from F.F. Bruce. It's amazing to me that one man could produce so many good commentaries on so many different books of the bible.

I also think his material would help a SS teacher who goes deep in his classes. Although one doesn't need to know Greek to use this commentary, he deals with significant points in the Greek text.

Again in chapter 1 he points out that the scepter of uprightness uses a term which originally meant 'straight'. The idea of just or straight measurements does help clarify the exact nuance of the sort of rule referenced by this passage (I don't think this is an etymological fallacy-but a helpful insight by Bruce).

After reading several commentators besides Bruce, I found others to either lack in exegetical balance but to contain a lot of spiritual vim and vigor...or to be exceptionally boring and technical. This commentary blends scholarship and spirituality well. I would say it is truly superior to most of the other commentaries I have. Other excellent ones on Hebrews include Ellingworth and Murray. Lane is good also.

The concept in this cd is great. The price is fair. The technical features on the cd are very easy to use and to play back. I installed it on my laptop in a few minutes and played it back on Windows Media player immediately. The tracks are labeled correctly. Everything seems fine.

Then I played it for my Hebrew instructor. He started laughing. The pronunciation is not at all like modern Hebrew. So, if you are like me and you want to learn Hebrew in order to read the bible, but you also might want to be able to say something to Israeli's if you ever go there on a trip, then by all means DON'T use this product. It will drill into your head the wrong way to speak Hebrew.

However, if you don't plan to go to Israel and do plan to use your biblical Hebrew in a context where the older American style Seminary pronunciations are in play, then this is the perfect tool. Unfortunately, those pronunciations are falling out of favor more and more.

So, if you are like me, then this product is not something to spend time and money on at all, even thought it is well packaged and priced fairly.

I think products that feature audio recordings of a language ought to use a native speaker of that language. Shame on Zondervan for failing to recognize this and provide us with a native speaker, and for not labeling this product with some sort of declaration that it uses a method of speech that most Israeli's think sounds funny to their ears.

I'm sorry I cannot recommend this product. Someone ought to come out with an audio recording of a real Israeli speaking all the words correctly.

There is so much information in this book, it takes a while to comprehend. However, it is a good overview of how Western society has been in decline and how it started with the ancient Romans. Some little known facts about Darwin: he, himself was troubled by the Cambrian explosion, the complexity of the eye and admitted that "if it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numberous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down." We never hear about this Darwin quote at all. Silence.

Recent scientists write in their books "appears to have been designed" due to the mapping of the gene and the lack of discovery of any fossil links. However, they still hold their faith in Darwinism, thinking that any time now, they will find what they are looking for. Instead, they find evidence to the contrary.

This book goes hand in hand with the books written by the intelligent design movement and exposes Darwinism as a moral movement, rather than a scientific one. In order to rewrite morality, Darwinists had to deny God so that they themselves could take on a god-like quality. Since man is now god, they can themselves determine right from wrong, decide who lives and who dies and when (abortion, euthanasia, cloning, stem cell research etc.) In order to soothe the message, beautiful poems and songs were written (we now have books, movies, songs to get the same message across).

I couldn't put this book down! It portrays how various philosophers, scientists, athiests KNOWINGLY deceived the public in order to push their own agenda. I will not look at our current culture the same way again!

Philip Johnson's "Darwin on Trial" should be regarded as the quintessential example of a nonfiction genre in which Christians complain bitterly of modern America's moral ambiguity, lost to the sins of Godless evolutionism, liberal sexual mores, and liberal moral relativity. Indeed, for most Fundamentalist Protestant Christians, Johnson's book could be regarded as its philosophical "Mein Kampf"; a veritable "Bible" which has set forth the main objectives of those seeking to inject their narrow, intolerant religious values onto all facets of contemporary American society and culture. Benjamin Wicker has continued along the same dismal path, writing a somewhat less vitriolic book than any written by Johnson. However, "Moral Darwinism: How We Became Hedonists" is yet another sloppy example of extremist Fundamentalist Christian doctrine which has cleverly disguised its origins via superb Madison Ave-style advertising. Appropriately enough, William Dembski, whom I perceive as this movement's Josef Goebbels, has written yet another eloquent defense of his sanctimonious moral and religious beliefs, sounding quite righteous and convincing to those unwilling to look deeply at the underlying dark, devious motives of Johnson, Dembski, Wilker and others who wish to change American society into one more reminiscient of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. In plain English, these religious zealots would prefer living in a theocratic fascist state which incorporated their bizarre notion of Christianity as the state-authorized faith, than in the still enduring, successful experiment in puralistic, yet ecumenical, democratic republicanism that is the United States of America.

Anyone who has read critically the superb histories of such eminent American historians as Gordon Wood - one of my college professors - Bernard Bailyn and others, should realize that the United States in its early Federalist Period was a state rampant with ample moral decay. Indeed, most of Wiker's criticisms could have been made back then, without having to trot out the dubious bogeyman of "Moral Darwinism". In many respects, contemporary America is a more vibrant, democratic state than the one established by the Founding Fathers over two centuries ago. It has enriched itself by extending the democratic franchise to women and racial minorities such as Blacks and Asians. If one wishes some thoughtful criticism of Liberal politics in the United States, then I can think of other, more profound commentators like journalists George Will and Charles Krauthammer, and eminent economist Thomas Sowell (Incidentally he is among the most distinguished alumni of my prestigious New York City public high school.). Unfortunately, all you will get from the likes of both Wilker and Dembski is sanctimonious moral moronic nonsense; if you insist on paying heed to their nonsense, then I strongly advise buying instead a superb book on Klingon Cosmology.

I've read many books that have made similar points as this one, but the difference is that this book IS the point. Benjamin Wiker clearly and logically boils the culture wars down to the two primary foes: Christianity and Materialism. Once the reader understands this perspective, the reasons why we have experienced such disastrous upheavals in our culture become crystal clear.

For several hundred years, the Materialists thought that they had all of science to back them up. This is why the very word "science" has become synonymous with Materialism. But more recently, science is beginning to undue some of the most cherished and foundational assumptions of Materialist philosophy. For example:

Materialists thought science had proved the universe was eternal and infinite. (...wrong).

Materialists thought science had proved that atoms and cells were very simplistic building blocks of life. (...wrong).

Materialists thought science would very soon discover that the universe was teeming with life. (...wrong).

Materialists thought science would very soon discover an over abundant fossil record to fill in the gaps between species. (...wrong).

Materialists thought science would very soon discover a fossil record to explain away the Cambrian explosion of life. (...wrong).

The list goes on, but my point is this: Science, the very tool which Materialists claimed exclusively for themselves, and with which they bludgeoned Christianity for centuries, has now turned against them. It seems like almost every day, the closer we look in our microscopes, and the further we look in our telescopes, the more evidence we find showing that the Materialists philosophical world view is not accurate.

But these guys aren't going to give up without a fight. You don't think they're going to let a little thing like scientific discovery get in the way of their agenda, do you? To give you an idea of the ridiculous lengths these guys will go to in order to avoid the truth, I'd like to relate the following true story:

You all remember Jane Goodall, the woman who discovered and filmed chimps in the jungle sticking sticks into an ant hill. This, as we were all told in grade school and on PBS, was "proof" that chimps were almost exactly like humans because, after all, they were making tools. Wow. Well, not too long ago, it was discovered that crows (who have bird brains and no thumbs) could actually fashion fish hooks out of metal wire and catch worms in a long, thin beaker. In one fell swoop, the crows out did the chimps, making even more sophisticated tools, and utterly destroyed Jane Goodall's old assumptions. So what was the Materialists' reaction to this new, earth shattering, scientific discovery? They gave Jane Goodall yet another award for her outdated work (...I kid you not).

Take heart, these guys can't keep up this charade forever.

According to John Maynard Keynes, great intellectual and cultural movements frequently trace back to thinkers who worked in obscurity and are now long forgotten. But some thinkers are both famous and influential. This book focuses on two such thinkers, one largely forgotten, the other a household name. The largely forgotten thinker is Epicurus. The household name is Charles Darwin. The two are related: Epicurus set in motion an intellectual movement that Charles Darwin brought to completion.

Believers in God often scratch their heads about Western culture's continual moral decline. What was unacceptable just a few years ago is today's alternative lifestyle and tomorrow's preferred lifestyle. Abortion, euthanasia, divorce, sexual preferences and drug abuse are just a few of the moral issues that have undergone massive changes in public perception. Too often believers in God take a reactive approach to the culture war and throw their energy into combating what they perceive as the most compelling evil of the moment. In the back of their minds, however, is an awareness that something deeper and more fundamental is amiss and that the evils they are combating are but symptoms of a more underlying and pervasive evil.

Benjamin Wiker has done a brilliant job of tracing the roots of that evil in this book. Insofar as traditional theists sense an underlying cause for the moral decline of Western culture, all roads lead to Epicurus and the train of thought he set in motion. For Epicurus, pleasure consisted in freedom from disturbance. For Epicurus, to allow that God might intervene in the natural world and to take seriously the possibility of an afterlife, (with the moral accountability and judgment it implies) were incompatible with the good life.

To short circuit belief in such a God, Epicurus proposed a mechanistic understanding of nature. Accordingly, Epicurus conceived of nature as an aggregate of material entities operating by blind, unbroken, natural laws. God or the gods might exist, but they took no interest in the world, played no role in human affairs and indeed could play no role in human affairs, since a material world operating according to mechanistic principles leaves no place for meaningful divine action. Moreover, since humans belonged to nature and consisted entirely of material entities, death amounted to a dissolution of a material state and thus precluded any sort of ongoing conscious existence.

Epicurus' most prominent disciple is without question Charles Darwin. Darwinism is not only the most recent incarnation of Epicurean philosophy but also the most potent formulation of that philosophy to date. Darwinism's significance consists in the purported scientific justification it brings to the Epicurean philosophy. But the science itself is weak and ad hoc. As Wiker shows, Darwinism is essentially a moral and metaphysical crusade that fuels our contemporary moral debates. Further, Wiker argues that the motivation behind Darwinism today is its alternative moral and metaphysical vision rather than the promotion of science.

Is reality at its base purposive and intelligent or mindless and material? Wiker brilliantly traces this divide to its metaphysical foundations. In so doing, he shows how the challenge of intelligent design to evolutionary naturalism is not the latest flash in the pan of the culture war but in fact constitutes ground zero of the culture war. If you really want to understand why our culture is in its current state, you must read this book.

(Adapted from the Foreword by William A. Dembski.)

This is a bombshell of a book, not because it unveils radical new ideas or a shocking revolutionary viewpoint, but simply because it inconveniently unearths long-buried and decently dead history. In that sense it's less like a grenade than a ticking time bomb.

It's about a dirty little secret called Eugenics or social engineering, widely promoted at the turn of the century in America and reaching its culmination in world war II. It's heyday was the '20s in America when immigration was restricted by race, Germans being the most desirable immigrants. Margaret Sanger originally started Planned Parenthood to limit the number of blacks, Jews and Irish Catholics--considered undesirables. Later she travelled to Nazi Germany and gave their eugenics program her stamp of approval.

Fast forward to the '60s and an example of lying with statistics called the Kinsey Report. The so-called poll came from convicts jailed for sexual crimes and was extrapolated to provide a survey of the sexual proclivities of Americans. Kinsey decisevely divided sex from marriage and procreation, saying there were only six types of sex and including in that sensual activities which previously wouldn't have been considered sex. In doing so he led the way for pornography to separate sex from the person. Kinsey's many "findings" and statistics are still quoted today by both friends and foes to inflate the numbers of sexual adventurers when, if anything, the trend is the other way, with a rediscovery of marriage and a return to stable families.

It's not that you can't read the facts that Wiker has compiled elsewhere, it's just that you won't, if the so-called "progressive" media has its way. As Wiker shows, it's all been done before. Desperate Housewives-- that's so last Tuesday.

I have enjoyed this book. It has lots of interesting ideas that I want to further explore someday soon.

This book is helpful. It tells you scripture to help you find your way. People that are looking for a way to feel needed should study from this book.

I used the book for a woman's Bible Study at my church on Sundays. It provided a lot of insightful thoughts on the purposes of women in relationship with God.

This is an excellent Bible study. It has helped me grow in faith & to better understand God's purpose for my life. My only complaint (the reason I gave it a 3 star rating instead of 5 stars) is that the author's reflections at the end of each week's study give an example of the author's 'trials & sufferings' throughout her life. Unfortunately, these examples are so insignificant most people would not even consider them as such but rather a hiccup in life's journey. It would be better to have left them out all together as women who have had 'real' trial such as miscarriage, death of husband &/or children, chronic illnesses etc find her 'trials' irritating & they distract from God's message. I recommend this Bible study but don't bother reading the author's reflections!!!

Whether in a study group or on your own, this book offers an excellent way to explore the scriptures and learn more about God's purpose for our lives. Becoming a Woman of Purpose includes wonderful lessons on both His purpose for us and our purpose in response. The quotes in this are incredible! Very deep, thought provoking and inspiring. This bible study is great for deeping your understanding of God and your relationship with Him. This was the first bible study I've done of Cynthia Heald's, but it won't be the last!

The New Testament Study, by Bruce M. Metzger is a very informative book that has helped me tremendously with my knowledge and understanding of the history behind the Bible.

I purchased this book for my online religion class. Metzger's book is very informative for all of my class needs.

Purchased as a text book for a College religion class. A text book I actually enjoy reading.

This is one of the few college textbooks I did not have to use my highlighter to read. Metzger is extremely easy to understand; he structures his book chronologically, covering, albeit briefly given the spatial limitations of a short introductory text, most every topic the reader must understand to gain a basic knowledge of the context of the NT's development. The reader first will gain a basic understanding of the cultural context from which the New Testament arose, then will learn about the life of and sources for understanding of Jesus Christ, then finally will see the same for the apostolic age. His prose is lucid and lacks the pedantry of much New Testament scholarship, which will assist the reader in understanding such scholarship.

In assessing Metzger's positions, the reader must keep in mind that, as he plainly states in his preface, Metzger writes as a Christian. As such, he does not dispute traditional authorship for the majority of the New Testament (with the notable exception of 2 Peter), and argues that the evidence for Christ's resurrection is "overwhelming." Readers looking for the consensus of scholars on issues so contentious to conservatives will not find this book to their liking. That said, Metzger generally does well, given how little space he has, of presenting most sides of various debates and leaving it up to the reader to do further research necessary for finding his own opinion. Since this must be the objective of an introductory text, the text succeeds.

Surprisingly, this particular work of Metzger's is not as impressive as
most of his other scholarly works. However, it must be acknowledged it
is designed more as an introduction to the New Testament, giving only
brief overview to NT issues.

It is primarily concerned with the background and content, giving little
attention to the growth of the NT. The first section goes over the
background -- the politics, social life, religious life, etc of New
Testament era Palestine (not quite called that at that point in
history).

The rest of the book is taken up with giving an overview of every book
in the New Testament, tedious reading if one has already read it several
times, as Metzger rarely adds anything new. He has a short chapter at
the end about the canon, which is a brief synopsis of his book on the
subject (The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and
Significance), and includes an appendix about transmission and
translation, both synopses of two books he has written on those subjects
(The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and
Restoration, and The Bible in Translation: Ancient and English
Versions). It is better to read those books than merely rely on the
small attention given in this book.

The main impression one gains from an impartial reading is that Metzger
is definitely not impartial in the writing of this book. He is not so in
any of his books, but in this book in particular, it is obvious he takes
an apologetic slant in several instances. One thing that struck me as
just a little intellectual dishonesty was on page 105: he talks about
the many statements and insights given by Paul as one of the most
influential forces by Christianity and states that NOT ONCE has any of
those things made it into the Gospels as sayings of Jesus. Then on page
117, he talks about the "large number of allusions to sayings of Jesus,
so many that some scholars have thought it likely that Paul may have had
in his hands a collection of Jesus' sayings," and puts a note (14) with
many examples where it appears Paul has quoted Jesus. It is very
possible that Paul has quoted Jesus in all of those instances. He never
mentions it is just as possible since Paul wrote all of those letters
before any of the Gospels were written, the gospels may have been
quoting Paul. There is just no way to know, but it is obvious which way
the sequence of writing points.

While he acknowledges (as appropriate for a scholar such as he) there
are many problems -- discrepancy after contradiction after difficulty
after inaccuracy, as well as plenty of adjustments by the church over
the centuries, for good measure -- he nevertheless shows his faith in
the truth of the New Testament. He has more faith than possible for many
scholars in the position of knowing as much truth about the New
Testament as he does. One may still respect Metzger for immense
scholarship in his real specialty of textual criticism of the NT.