Bibles Bible Studies Books

Awesome context, learned alot from it. Recommend it for those who are interested in digging into the book of Romans

We're currently going through Romans at my church, and I have found this commentary to be a FANTASTIC companion piece to our pastor's sermons.

Pastor MacArthur examines each passage and verse in a VERY detailed expository fashion, and really draws out the Biblical principles with attention to Scriptural accuracy.

I heartily recommend this work.

I do find it somewhat ironic that the best price for these is a secular source (Amazon) rather than a Christian distributor, but hey, it's a great work at a great price. I can't complain.

I have enjoyed the MacArthur commentaries I have purchased in the past. I find them accurately in touch with the Word and easy to comprehend. Purchase was good and delivery on time.

Dr. MacArthur's writings are not for the faint of heart. He says what he means without compromise or sugar-coating. This installment of his New Testament commentary series belongs in the library of the serious seeker, along with Romans 1-8 by Dr. Mac.

His exegesis on the blinding of Israel will open your eyes to the sovereigty, as well as the faithfulness of God. Dr. Mac. has poured over the Old Testament prophecies and Paul's revelation as it was given to him by the Angel, to present the believer with a grand portrait that shows his/her position in Christ, which is necessary for a Godly walk and witness.

Romans was Paul's grand work, and this latter-day divine, Dr. John MacArthur, offers an exposition that is worthy of the divines of old, such as Spurgeon, Gill, Pink, Owen, Tozer, and so many others.

Do you know how many seminaries there are in the US who believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God and teach it's inerrancy? TEN! That's all out of hundreds! Do you know who John Macarthur is? The President of the Master's Seminary, one of those ten. If you want accurate, well-written commentary by someone who believes the Bible and thinks like it's authors this is the book you need. He explains every part of the Book of Romans in great detail in a way any lay person can understand. Even if you've read the Book of Romans a hundred times, you will learn new things from John's commentary. The Book of Romans is one of the cornerstones of Christianity and the foundation of righteousness. If you are serious about studying Romans, you need this boook. Period.

I agree with the one other reviewer of this book on the PSALMS and take no issue with that review. However, I wish to review from another angle......that of the beginner to the study of scripture. This book is not a book for beginners. It is very academic. When I purchased this book, because it is short, less than 100 pages, I assumed it would be sort of a "primer" introduction to the study of the Psalms. That it is NOT! My Bible study class is studying the Psalms at my church and I am sure most people in the class studying the Psalms for the first time would be quite put off by this book. One thing that I find quite troublesome, even for an academic treatment is this: Brueggemann cites name of other authors in the text and then does not place a citation for that author reference in the bibliography. The practice of doing this is drilled into any high school student writing their first term paper and Brueggemann is lax in this regard as is the publisher who allowed that oversight and lack of rigor by Brueggemann, an academic author who should know better.

Barbara and I both avidly admire The Psalms and Dr. Brueggemann. Our greatest expectation for the summer is to hear him preach and teach at the Presbyterian Conference on Music and Worship at Montreat. I am deeply indebted to him for his keenly inspired commentary on GENESIS. For two quarters of Preaching Genesis, I have tuned-into his studies in depth to prepare several sermons and hear young students at MERCER/McAFEE School of Theology preach their sermons inspired by Brueggemann.

This little gem of a book is the abridged version of The Message of Psalms. In his final chapter of the shorter version, he focuses on God's Justice. There he sites his thesis of three dimensions of 'orientation, disorientation and reorientation:'
* It is pathological to challenge the present order of economic and political power.
* It is pathological to suggest that God may be unjust.
* It is pathological to speak, as some of these psalms do, in a voice of disorientation.

Brueggemann inserts 'imprisonment' as one crisis in which the seven psalms of disorientation are best addressed. Here is the one place in all of his books on Psalms where I have read his clearest views on the issue of theodicy. "The struggle of the oppressed against the unjust, when cast theologically, is the issue of theodicy."

Only recenty in someone's sermon I read that, "God prefers the losers in life." While serving as the Chaplain in Georgia's Diagnostic Center, I often wondered if this is not the case for a very few of the choicest and often long-termed inmates. I did often repeat the points of Brueggemann's sermons to the inmates for the Sunday evening sermons. One or two were read back to me by inmates in their rehabilitation group discussions. When I repeated that incident one day in a chance meeting with Prof. Brueggemann, he smiled and replied: "Gee, Thanks!"

Never before as minister, chaplain or teacher have I discovered so many profound yet simple books by one commentator, especially focused upon the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. Thanks and WOW!
Chaplain Fred W. Hood

In both private and public prayer, in reading for pleasure the Psalms as they are published in "The Book of Common Prayer" and in both my King James Bible, and NSRV, I have sought meaning and understanding. In an effort to gain that end, I turn to intelligent commentaries for help. "Spirituality of the Psalms" by Walter Brueggemann is such a book, and it is a readable, slim one from Fortress Press--a mere 74 pages as I note from my copy.

I have welcomed this title into my home, with its dramatic black & white illustration on the cover. It is a favorite not only for me, but for others with whom I've said: "Have you read this book?" Sometimes the blurb on the back cover of a book is hyperbole, but the statement, "Brief, brilliant treatments of vital aspects of faith and life" rings true. I will restrain myself from writing a glowing review, for that measure would betray the dignified and dignified writing style of this book on faith. Categorized under the definition "Hebrew Bible," and this certainly is an accurate categorization I think, the paperback copy I own is for readers who wish explanation, orientation, and educational illumination regardless of being Christian or Jewish.

In this review I have tended towards my own uses for the book, and I could say those are the pastoral uses. The author, in his preface, tells the reader the various kinds of ways he addresses the purposes of his writing. Here I want to pause a moment, and tell you reader that the book is illuminating. It will give you ideas, and explain things to you as a reader in ways that you will find helpful and interesting. But for my purposes, here is a way I found the book useful, in Walter Brueggemann's words from the book's preface:

"In an attempt to be 'postcritical,' I have had in mind especially the pastoral use of the Psalms. By that I mean how the Psalms may function as voices of faith in the actual life of the believing community. So I have sought to consider the interface between the flow of the Psalms and the dynamics of our common life."

I think there are many readers of the Psalms, some for their private interest, and others like me who also follow them in public and private worship. The Psalms speak to us. One cares about them, they offer a wider life, a connection to God, an explanation of our existence. The book offers: "Human life consists in satisfied seasons of well-being that evoke gratitude for the constancy of blessing. Matching this we will consider 'psalms of orientation,' which in a variety of ways articulate the joy, delight, goodness, coherence, and reliability of God, God's creation, and God's governing law." Please note that there is wisdom in this book about the Psalms, and it will be apparent to you on reading the book.

Of the book's direction, the purpose lies in a book of both orientation and disorientation. "This may be an abrupt or a slowly dawning acknowledgment. It constitutes a dismantling of the old, known world and a relinquishing of safe, reliable confidence in God's good creation." For the believer, this is good news.

Is this a book about something written from centuries past that continues and still brings good into our lives? In other words, is the reading of the Psalms and their use in prayer beneficial in our times? Are they worth the trouble to understand and work with? And for the Christian, are they a telling source of knowing Christ and living ones life in the Christian way? The author speaks directly to their value by making them become for us available, and by his authority as a scholar and teacher broadening the meaning of the Psalms. This is a direct statement that tells us what the William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia USA says:

"The Psalms speak of a healthy, oriented life that is anticipated, even if not yet experienced. There moves in these psalms a deep conviction that God's purpose for the world is resilient. That purpose will not yield until creation is brought to fullness. The Psalms assert that the creation finally is committed to and will serve the Creator." I take that to mean, also, that the world is created for good, and that even the universe is a friendly place.

These are some notes on commentary from the book: The personal complaint song shows a great variety of "...psalms of disorientation." Communal complaint songs take more effort, for "...the category of the personal, even psychological, has become our mode of experiencing reality. We have, at the same time, experienced a loss of public awareness and public imagination." The result is we have "...little experiental counterpart to the communal complaint psalms." There are religious dimensions for such complaint and loss, the author explains. This book will be satisfactory for those who have religious inclinations and practices.

As I write this review, I am enjoying going through the book to refresh my memory of its message and information, and I believe a reader could easily read this title and come back to it a year later or so, and reread the book. That way one may get more from it. Apparently, the author believes the Psalms have transformative power. There is beauty in the words, and there is spiritual and religious meaning in the Psalms. In the section, "Hymns of Praise," the book clearly leads one to that understanding, and influences the reader rightly, that he or she will benefit from the historical power of the Psalms:

Sung with abandonment in praise to God, as Professor Brueggemann puts it, he says, "...in the pattern of orientation-disorientation-new orientation that we have pursued, these psalms should all be placed at the very end of the process as surprising, glad statements of a new ordering of life, or whether they should be treated as the very deepest and established statement of the old orientation that is firm, settled, and nonnegotiable." There is a thematic statement, a solid remark of learned value that like much in this book leads the reader to understanding the Psalms as instruments for relationship with God, and means of reconciliation.

For those wanting and even needing explanation and commentary of the Psalms that will enhance and even illuminate their use and reading, this slim volume is a welcome addition to a library. And if that library is a small one, make this one of that number. Keep the book, read it again even a year later. "Spirituality of the Psalms," a remarkable book that reads well and may be approached with ease.

--Peter Menkin, Christmas

This little book, which is an abridged version of Brueggemann's longer volume The Message of the Psalms (1984), explains why the "strange literature" of the Psalms has had such an abiding influence on Christians down through the centuries. In particular, Brueggemann shows how and why the "psalms of negativity," largely neglected by believers because they sound so harsh and are thus embarrassing, remain so relevant to the personal, pastoral, and public dimensions of Christian life today. He does not treat all the Psalms, or even most of them, but instead offers a threefold scheme to understand the theological trajectory of these powerful poems--psalms of orientation, psalms of disorientation, and psalms of new orientation.

In my own experience I agree wholeheartedly with Brueggemann when he writes that today "much Christian piety and spirituality is romantic and unreal in its positiveness...But such a way not only ignores the Psalms; it is a lie in terms of our experience." The "psalms of negativity" are thus profoundly subversive because they help us to embrace what we try so very hard to deny, that is, the darkness, self-deception, and overall disorientation that characterizes much of life. Our culture prizes success and control, and even does not like surprises. But the Psalms, says Brueggemann, point us to a twofold movement of faith. First, we move from a settled orientation to a season of disorientation. Then, we move on to a new orientation that comes to us as a surprise gift of God's grace. Of course, this cycle continues and repeats itself throughout life. The "stunning fact," writes Brueggemann, "is that Israel does not purge this unrestrained speech but regards it as genuinely faithful communication" with God. That should be no less true today than three millennia ago when these poem-prayers were first written. Far from a literature that we should shun or explain away, these psalms offer to us a unique "healing candor."

it's a good way of getting teens to even look at a bible. i think if youth rooms had these in them someone would pick it up start reading and it'd start the conversation about different stories in the bible. it's a good book. it has a fresh attitude.

the word on the street

Eye-opening, very useful in developing dramatizations. Gives more understanding of the Bible from a human standpoint.

The Word on the Street is a Paraphrase of the Big B. Lacey using lyrics, poems, and the written word, giving new understanding to some of the writings of The Bible. This is a great reference for helping those that are intimidated by the many versions of the Bible. One will laugh, one will cry, one may find new meaning and understanding. Give it a try!

I like this book, but I wish it had all the books in it and not left portions of scripture out. Maybe a version 2?

Quite a unique paraphrase of the Holy Bible. Rob Lacey does do an excellent job at capturing the minds of post-moderns who may have never read the Bible or young adults who may have never understood the story of God. This gives a clear picture as to the story, just don't rely on it for the details.

This is a very practical application type of commentary, it's a good reference book especially for beginners and even to those seasoned Christians who want to understand how the early church began and how things are being done.

thanks
vince.

If you have a chance to check out any "Top Selling Bibles" lists put out by the Christian Booksellers of America, and other groups, you will usually find the "Life Application Bible" at or near the top. The Life Application format provides useful, practical application to daily living, scholarly insight into cultures and languages, and a wonderful cross-referencing system that unifies the entire Bible under its vital themes. The Life Application Bible is, in a sense, the best of everything.

Although the individual books can be pricey, the Life Application Commentary volumes -- primarily New Testament -- are even a few steps above the commentary in the Bible. All the vital and necessary information is provided, and there is no ducking controversial issues and verses with the verse-by-verse analysis.

I found the volume for ACTS to be the most insightful and helpful, since the narration in Acts can be confusing with a constant introduction of new characters and dozens of settings. The Life Application Commentary boils it down and makes it understandable and easy to track.

I highly recommend any Life Application volume, but especially the Acts commentary.

The thing that has impressed me about the LifeChange series most is that the way it focuses my reading of a book of the Bible in places I might have missed. Like a good group leader, the book has a way of asking a fairly penetrating question on verses I'd skipped over before.

Also a plus are the cross-references that point you to further reading other parts of the Bible and the small history/context portions that give some deeper understanding to the background of what you are reading. I've definitely be happy with the book.

Book was in good shape, delivery on time, and had a good price.

Dr. Adrian P. Rogers, a prince of preachers, shares the fruit of his pulpit prowess in Unveiling the End Times in Our Time: The Triumph of the Lamb in Revelation. By reading this book you will be introduced to the major players in future world events; you will be informed about the culmination of God's plan of the ages; and you will be inspired to live each day anticipating the fulfillment of our Lord's promise to return. I whole-heartedly recommend this book!

Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, pastor, teacher, mentor, writer, author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice

Adrian Rogers explains in very simple to understand terms the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. He believes that the Bible is the inerrant word of Almighty God. From this basis, all Scripture explains Scripture. Therefore, I believe this book to be a very helpful tool to open to the reader an understanding of the Word of God. In Genesis, God created heaven and earth. In Revelation He comes as King of kings and Lord of Lords and creates a new heaven and earth with no more suffering and no more death.

Adrian perpetuates of the church age (which is a harmful myth to perpetuate) when he says started "when Jesus came the first time" and will end "when he will come a second time". Actually, if there was any so called church age, it started with the angels when they were created, who then worshipped Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit, and at the very least when Adam, Eve, and Abel existed. Contrary to what many confused Christians think, these three and the ancient Jews of the OT were not saved by sacrificing sheep, but rather the gospel, as the NT clearly teaches, so, so much for the "church" age. And the church will certainly not cease to exist, so I don't get how it can end.

In his explanation of when the rapture is going to be, he explains himself poorly. He says he doesn't no when it will be because no one knows the day or hour when Jesus returns (which implies he believes that that is when it will happen.) It would have been much better if he had just said, "The rapture will happen when Jesus will return to judge the world." And most Christians already know that you can't know the day or hour Jesus will return. The good thing is that he didn't teach that the rapture would occur before the tribulation.

He also seemed to imply that you can't get a good idea as to when Jesus will return with the day or hour comment, but that would mean all the prophecies in the Bible are useless, and obviously they are not.

So aside from that apparent contradiction, this book is decent, but I would try and find something better that is more clear in the rapture area.

Adrian Rogers recently passed away, and with him, some of the finest teaching skills in Christendom.

His Revelation is one of the best books on the subject. His strength is talking to the reader--not at the reader.

If you want Revelation in-depth, you might seek out "Revelation for the Complete Idiot". If you want a scholarly work, read Mounce.

If you want a teenager-oriented (or brand new believer, or teacher) book on Revelation, there is nothing better than: "Dragons, Grasshoppers, & Frogs!" by Jerry L. Parks.

But if you want a conversational-style commentary--one with wonderful alliteration (which Rogers was the best at!) look no further than this book. You will not be disappointed!

As a crib catholic, The New Catholic Answer Bible is a perfect reading/study Bible for the Catholic and non-Catholic individual. Clear and easy to read.
I highly recommend the leather "Librosario" edition - it is a beautiful book! GO FOR IT!

I bought this bible a few months ago. I wanted to find out more about Catholicism because I was considering joining a Catholic church in my area. I found the explanations of Catholic beliefs very useful, with Scripture references for further study. The translation is clear and easy to read. I recmommend the leather "Librosario" edition - it is a beautiful book!

The inserted question and answer pages are topical and relevant for my 17 year old son who I purchased this for. He is better able to defend his faith and gained knowledge as to why we Catholics do the things we do. Excellent way to get my teenage son interested in reading the Bible on a regular basis. I really like the rosary that is tooled into the leather cover....when I asked my parish priest to bless it for me...he too thought it a very nice looking Bible...great gift for young people who have graduated beyond the Bibles geared towards them.

I am not a big fan of the NAB. Yet I must say, if you want a bible that simply explains the Catholic faith, This is it.This bible contains simple question and answer pages inserts scattered through the text. They are simple and contain helpful imformation. It feels good. It also has a rosary embedded on the cover.

This bible is--IMO--the standard by which all other New American versions should be measured. It is perhaps the most beautiful book inside and out I have come across. The leather is soft to the touch and does not show fingerprints, the pages are edged in gold, there is a rosary ENGRAVED into the back leather cover, the modern print has beautiful contrast with the page color, and the full color Q&A insert pages are superbly written and incredibly relevant (i.e. "What are apologetics?").

Inquiring minds will also love the explanations in the footnotes of every page (i.e. "What is manna?").

I HIGHLY recommend this book to ALL Catholics--and Christians in general. You will not regret this purchase. 100% top notch from cover to cover.

In 1899, the German scholar Adolf Julicher published his two volume work on the parables entitled DIE GLEICHNISREDEN JESU. In this work, which has never been translated into English, Julicher set the stage for subsequent interpretation of Jesus' parables. First, parables are not allegories. Second, a parable makes one and only one main point.

Part of Julicher's rationale was to reject the allegorizing of the past, in which every character in a parable represented something else. Julicher was also a theological liberal who wanted to portray Jesus as a simple Jewish teacher whose message was in line with the teaching of his day.

Noted evangelical New Testament scholar Craig Blomberg rightly takes aim at the two presuppositions of Julicher's method. While conceding that the wild allegorizing of the past must be rejected, Blomberg persuasively shows that parables often make more than one point. Indeed, Jesus himself portrayed his parables at times as allegories, for example the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4.

This book discusses all the parables of Jesus, reviews the history of interpretation, and surveys contemporary literary theory as it applies to the parables.

Blomberg saw the need for contemporary scholarship to provide tools for pastors, scholars, and students to deal with parables. Interpreting the Parables was a thesis to challenge what he saw as misguided approaches to the interpretation of parables in the twentieth century. In chapter one, Blomberg provides a good overview of what to expect in the rest of the book.

Blomberg states that the church has interpreted parables in many different ways throughout history, with the most common interpretation being allegorical - that the narrative is in the heavenly realm where the physical characteristics have spiritual meanings. Many modern scholars have rejected the allegorical approach in favor of the view that each parable only makes one point. Others do not interpret every aspect of parables as allegorical, but see allegorical elements in every parable. Yet another group uses form and reduction criticism to interpret parables, believing that the early church modified parables and that the text does not accurately record the words of Jesus.

Some scholars believe that parables revolve around one main point of comparing a story's activity to Jesus' understanding of the kingdom. In contrast, Blomberg defines an allegory as a complex story told in a parable with numerous details to be decoded. This complex approach was popular among Christian scholars in the nineteenth century. Chrysostom, Aquinas, Calvin, and others had challenged this idea earlier, but even they used some allegory in their exegesis. The scholar Adolf Julicher, at the beginning of the twentieth century, attempted to demolish the allegorical interpretation of the parables. His main argument was that words such as "like" and "as" point to a straightforward comparison in the parables. Most commentators after Julicher would not agree with him on everything, but would hold to his view that each parable has a single proposition. The majority of recent scholarship has viewed the literary form of the parables as allegory. They do not believe the problem lies in an allegorical approach to interpreting parables, but rather in an overzealousness of some in the use of allegory.
The reader may be overwhelmed by the information from the interpretive debate as presented in this book. It would have been helpful if Blomberg had presented the information in the form of an outline and summarized his data.

According to Blomberg, there are two extremes in the study of the differences between the synoptic gospels. The first extreme is to ignore the differences and to combine all of the information from the synoptic gospels into one unified narrative. The other extreme is to claim that the gospel writers fabricated unhistorical material with no foundation from the life of Jesus. Blomberg believes the balanced approach is to realize that differences are due to distinct themes of individual writers. Another reason Blomberg offers for the differences is the significance of the larger context of each gospel. Blomberg offers good examples to support his position for the differences in the synoptic gospels by referring to the biblical context and a variety of word studies.

In chapter six, Blomberg interprets simple three-point parables. He does this by pointing out the three main characters and who they represent. He points out how the parables fit into the particular emphasis of the individual gospel writer compared to the other two gospel writers. Blomberg discusses when allegory is necessary and the dangers of over allegorizing. He provides examples of interpretational errors, as well as practical lessons to be learned in each of the parables he deals with.

In chapters six and seven Blomberg seems obligated to mention those who reject the authenticity of the complete biblical text. This doesn't seem necessary after his extensive treatment of higher criticism in chapters three and four. Blomberg is so rigid in his three-point format for interpretation that details not directly tied to those points are merely preface to the plot of the narrative. This leads him to criticize other commentators who place value on these points. For example, Blomberg believes that James Montgomery Boice erroneously emphasizes that the word "today" implies a sense of urgency in the parable of the two sons. Furthermore, Blomberg's interpretation of the parable of the faithful and unfaithful servants does not allow him to deal with the knowledge of God's will because it does not fit into his three-point model.

Blomberg follows a similar format in chapter seven, with greater detail in dealing with complex three-point parables. He mentions several commentators who reduce those parables to one main point. At times Blomberg does refer to the Greek to aid in his interpretation in this chapter, but not nearly as much as one would expect at this level of work. He incorporates historical data when it clarifies a parable (such as the king's offer of dress in the "Great Supper") and the Qumran texts reinforcing the view that "unrighteous mammon" was a common idiom for money in Jesus' day. By the same token, Blomberg points out that some historical information may not always be relevant when interpreting the parables (e.g., it probably was not self-evident to Jesus' original audience that the unjust steward merely removed his surcharge when collecting the master's money.)

In chapter nine, Blomberg classifies several different parables by topic. He explains the necessity of understanding the multiple themes of the parables to be able to categorize them under central themes (e.g., the kingdom of God). Blomberg communicates the need to correctly understand the present and future aspects of the kingdom of God to correctly interpret the parables. Blomberg cites several examples of how pre-critical exegeses saw Christ as the key character of the parables. By contrast, Blomberg sees the parables as pointing primarily to God, God's people, and God's enemies. Blomberg does mention the indirect Christology expressed in the parables, including Jesus' claiming to be the unique bearer of the kingdom, and claiming divine authority and the ability to forgive sin.

Craig Blomberg is a professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary and has authored other books on the Gospels including "The Historical Reliability of the Gospels" and "Preaching the Parables." This book, "Interpreting the Parables" is an attempt to a) first trace the history of parable interpretation through the centuries and b) then provide an analysis of several New Testament parables. The book closes with a chapter examining the theology of the parables. Like a sandwich, the meat of this book is in the middle; the best part (by far) is the parable analysis while the less appetizing parts are the interpretive history and the chapter on the parables' theology.

The first half of "Interpreting the Parables" examines how others have interpreted the parables; it examines the various competing hermeneutical approaches to these highly debated sections of Scripture. Beginning with the Church Fathers' allegorization attempts (where every little detail has some theological significance), Blomberg examines Form Criticism (which looks for oral sources behind the text as we have it), Redaction Criticism (which assumes that an editor wove together various independent works and seeks to determine how he did it), and other lesser, still-emerging hermeneutical methods. For each, Blomberg gives a brief history of the interpretive method and points out some of its strengths and weaknesses. This reader didn't find this first part of the book very helpful. While it does point out contribution each interpretive method has made to New Testament scholarship as well as fallacies associated with each method, these discussion did not increase my overall understanding of the parables. Nor did this section help my overall understanding of hermeneutics as Blomberg's treatment of each hermeneutical method focuses not on the method itself, but rather on the writings proponents of this method have produced and their take on the concept of allegory in parables. During this course of this part of the book, Blomberg comes to three conclusions: 1) each school of thought has made positive contributions toward the study of parables, but no school of thought is flawless, 2) a balance must be struck between allegorizing parables and refusing to see allegory where it clearly exists, and 3) parables often make multiple, inter-related points.

The second half of "Interpreting the Parables"--the actual analysis of the Gospels' various parables--makes this book worth purchasing and keeping on your bookshelf. Blomberg examines several parables (divided into clusters based on their structure) pointing out helpful aspects of Palestinian/Roman culture, discussing the narrative context in which the parable is told, and analyzing the various characters in each parable. During this analysis, he interacts with other scholars' take on the particular parable and defends the authenticity of each. The result is a thorough, helpful summary of the parables and their main teachings. While I did find myself in disagreement with Blomberg about some of the main points Jesus was trying to convey, I walk away from this point with a great deal of respect for his positions. He has greatly increased my understanding of the parables, challenged my assumptions, and has provided a great resource for preaching and teaching these beloved stories.

The book ends with a chapter on the theology of the parables. In this chapter, Blomberg tries to synthesize the parables and draw out Jesus' main teachings. Through this, Blomberg argues that Jesus believed in a pre-millenialist eschatology (although he wasn't a dispensationalist); that Jesus' inaugurated God's Kingdom on earth which is to be characterized by obedience in the areas of stewardship and social justice; and that Jesus believed he had a special relationship with God, but never spoke of the nature of that relationship. In this chapter, Blomberg's methodology is questionable as one must examine the whole of Scripture to come to doctrinal conclusions (Blomberg himself disagrees with this methodology in his treatment of the Rich Man and Lazarus), his conclusions themselves border the heterodox (e.g. his sharp distinction between the Father and the Son), and the nature of this chapter (the theology of the parables) and its conclusions should be presented in a much more complete and better developed manner than in a short chapter that sums up a book.

In sum, this book will remain on my bookshelf because of its excellent material in the middle. Its writing style is fluid, main points are italiziced (which is really nice) and each chapter is divided in a very reader-friendly manner. Recommended for its middle section.

The title of this book would suggest that the focus was a direct study of the parables. That is true for the last 155 of 327 pages (a little less than half.) The first half of the book discusses hermeneutics.

Considering the implication of the title, I will begin with Blomberg's direct study of the parables of Christ. Dr. Blomberg discusses 40 parables directly in his discussion. Of these, he splits them into 4 categories: Simple 3-Point Parables, Complex 3-Point Parables, Two-Point Parables and One-Point Parables, with the last two being discussed together in one chapter. His view is different from most modern conservative theologians who teach the parable is a metaphorical story intended to teach one precept. He argues that even the most conservative scholars cannot avoid some amount of allegorizing of the parables, and study should include a very limited amount of allegory. His discussion of each parable is interesting, and not allegorical to the point of eisegesis. He does not adhere strictly to the rule that allegorical meaning must be implied in the text from other Scripture, but he does not go overboard in his figurative interpretations. Some of his categorical evidence for multiple-point parables is simply a restating of a previously mentioned precept. Each section describing the parable has an italicized section that summarizes his interpreted teaching points that are to be gleaned from the Scriptural passage.

Over half of the book is a discussion of hermeneutics (study of the methods of interpreting Scripture.) His method is not liberal, but is less conservative than most modern evangelicals are. He begins with a discussion over the debate between two competing ways of interpreting parables in: Parable vs. Allegory and Parable as Allegory. He is somewhat convincing that parables are not allegorical at all, but does not make a delineation between metaphorically figurative statements and outright allegory, which are two distinct genres. If he had looked at metaphorically figurative language in this way, much of his writing trying to convince that allegories were not "evil," would have been moot. He then discusses Form criticism and redaction criticism and their relations to the parables. He writes very briefly about Gospel authorship theories, but only discusses one of three major theories found in modern conservative scholarship. He then discusses the "New Hermeneutic." He concludes at the end that each parable has a central teaching point for each main character, which is how he arrives at the different belief that parables have more than one point.

Blomberg's discussion of the parables is a useful and detailed look at the parables. He does not delve into discussions of Greek or Aramaic, so knowledge of these biblical languages is not necessary. He does a superb job of pointing the reader to the important matter of his writing by putting conclusions in italics. While at first his book seems to flaunt previously held ideas of parable exegesis, he makes a good case for multiple teaching points within some of the parables. As is the problem with many theological ideas, we try to simplify things into rules that can be easily followed when studying Scripture, but this is not always the best method.

Overall, this is a useful study of the parables, although not the only study on the parables that one should have in a library. Moreover, if one is interested in hermeneutics, the first half of this book does not delve into all conservative evangelical ideals regarding the subject, so augment with other hermeneutical writings.

I read the first two chapters, poked through the third and fourth, and read the commentaries on a few parables. I found this book very frustrating and nearly useless. Blomberg spends the first couple chapters tediously presenting sides to an argument that is largely irrelevant to any one other than long dead german theologians. If you are concerned with whether parables are parables or actually allegories or metaphors and whether they must contain one point or more, than you might be interested in this book. Reading this book after familiarizing oneself with the studies of Ken Bailey and Tom Wright is sort of like reading an alchemy book after digesting the discoveries of Newton and Einstein.

It's a major task "analysing" a book with so many variations and long historical scope. Limiting the parameters to "literary" aspects is hardly a pruning - even when historical elements are essentially stripped away. Alter and Kermode saved themselves some of the labour by farming out much of the analysis required for this job. The result is a collection of essays readable only in selected bits. The variety of approaches will perplex the reader experienced in biblical analysis. The newcomer, however, who perseveres with patience and a willingness to consult other resources, will find the full scope of the collection a worthwhile investment.

Selecting authors for these essays must have been daunting. They should each be familiar with the books and with the essentials of literary criticism. It's said that "anyone can be a critic", but approaching books held in such awe and reverence by large segments of the population takes a certain level of finesse. Most of these authors exhibit that capability. Alter and Kermode note that they don't demand "uniformity of style" in the entries, but the approach is uniformly constrained, but not narrow. The essays are not buried in arcane literary movements, such as structuralism, feminism or post-modernism, which were prevalent when this book was published. Alter and Kermode, in their introductory essays, acknowledge these movements, but they and most of the authors return to more a classical framework in their analyses. This approach is likely motivated by the use of the King James Version, with which most of their readers have at least passing familiarity.

The KJV foundation, however, restricts much of the appeal of this collection to Protestant Christianity. Anything else would be chaotic, but the reader may find a few authors use circular reasoning as they attempt to retrieve literary elements. It becomes "what is said, was said". The KJV, at a midpoint between biblical events and modern times, presents an atmosphere out of joint with the subjects dealt with. The editors caution the reader about this, but once past their introductory comments the individual authors strive, sometimes successfully, to place occurrences in a proper frame of reference. Omitting the historical environment tends to make the literary analyses fragile and incomplete. It limits "literary" aspects to what the modern reader can understand and utterly omits what a reader of the times might perceive. How would people of that era have viewed the various stories and the characters they portray?

The editors make a final attempt to preserve the historical framework in a half-dozen general essays that conclude the book. These writings address the issues of assembling the books into a "canon" - the establishment of the books into a voice of authority - biblical poetry and the impact of Greco-Roman writing techniques and use of accepted mythologies in that world. A serious and scholarly collection, the volume provides an excellent foundation for understanding biblical literary aspects. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

I haven't read the bible for 40 years. I decided to reread it, and found that even the new jazzy translations are often undecipherable. Most it them sound stupid, to be blunt.

I asked my pastor about a Bible Commentary. He suggested the Harper, which I found at a local bookstore. You need a truck for that one.

I simply wanted to know things such as "Who was Matthew?" and other minor, but interesting questions. And I didn't want to ruin my abdominal muscles carrying a Concordance or Commentary.

I find this took to be just about what I wanted. It's superficial, but good lord, to get all the material in the bible, with depth, you need a huge book.

In short, this is just right for me. It doesn't appear to be biased, it isn't filled with cloying hosannas to God. By the way the paperback version is a[lot less expensive.] [$].

Jerry O'Dell