Reasoned Analysis of Biblical Conundrums
358567
Very thoughtful discussion of controversial aspects of the Bible. Also very readable, reasoned, and respectful of views reader may have that differ from his. As Hamilton explains, his goal is not to tell the reader what to believe; rather to convey what he believes, and why.
3273149
Phillip Sherman has written a readable academic analysis of the many interpretations of the Tower of Babel story found in Judaism and early Christianity. Filling in the gaps of the outline in different times, interpreters have developed different versions of the story. In these versions, for instance, the human motivations for building the tower varied from rebellion against God's will, idolatry, oppression, primordial war against God, yearning for human community, and misguided desire for peace independently of God (p. 2).
Sherman's approach is the history of human reception of God's Word. This approach avoids both dogmatic insistence on one version and cultural relativity. In that way his book is useful both to scholars and to Christian educators.
4366331
Given the original "firsthand" sources of the New Testament cannot be found and that the earliest extant texts are copies of copies of copies, etc., the actual genealogical roots of the current printed texts are somewhat fuzzy.  Further, changes occured in the hand copied manuscripts either intentionally or intentionally as copies were first made either by slaves or untrained volunteers and later by trained scribes who might correct or amend text. Manuscripts of groups of various persuasions tended to vary.  And, according to the author, the number of actually variations of actual extant manuscripts is sufficient to boggle the mind.  Thus, questions can be made of the veracity of the New Testament jot or tittle as handed down to us the lay reader.  Bart D. Ehrman offers insight into the interpretive arena and one can imagine that questions illuminated in this volume will cause biblical scholars great fun arguing back and forth.  A fairly interesting introduction to scriptural history for us the laymen.  For even more about authenticity, read "The Great Deception" by Gerd Ludemann.
2097003
The book is worth reading.  Just one man's well-researched opinion, but so many pieces seem to fit together.  The reader should search the scripture references and come to one's own conclusions.  Christians and non-Christians alike can recognize that we are living in uncertain times.  People and institutions once trusted and respected have proven now to be less than honorable.  Something is brewing.  God is not surprised by these events, and I definitely want to hear and understand His Word on these times.
3261200
David Brondos does an excellent job explaining why Christians who look at the same Bible can come to different understandings of God's will and desire. We have all heard or seen the bumper sticker, "God said, I believe, that settles it." Unfortunately this "sound bite" theology concerning the interpretation of the Bible is easily communicated to the masses. However, most Christians do not interpret the Bible in such literal ways. Most Christians understand that some of those "settled" issues are not that settled and that the way it has been "settled" doesn't seem to fit the God and Christ we know; however, we are not always sure exactly how to explain how we come to these understandings. David Brondos explains in this book. What is the difference between the "letter" of the law and the "spirit" of the law? Why did Jesus break the "letter" of the law but not the "spirit" of the law? How do we understand Paul breaking the "letter" of the law?

Through excellent explanation and strong Biblical support, Brondos helps the reader articulate the difference in Christian interpretation of the Bible and the different conclusions that Christians reach regarding some of the more controversial topics of our times.

Brondos's work here does not come from theoretical conversations, but from a pastor who has had heart breaking conversations with real people, real Christians struggling with significant issues and desiring to be faithful to God.

This book is not just for pastor, seminary students, and teachers, but also for all Christians trying to understand God's desire while being faithful to the Bible.
3659603
Norman Geisler's `Chosen but Free' is a popular level discussion of the relationship between divine sovereignty and free will.  Geisler is a prolific writer and well know contemporary evangelical scholar.  The following comments pertain to the 2010 edition of the text.

A self-identified moderate Calvinist Geisler's objective in the book is to argue for what he refers to as a balanced view of sovereignty and free will.  He situates his position between two positions which he refers to as the Extreme Arminianism (Open Theism) and Extreme Calvinism.  Geisler contends that both of these views are biblically and philosophically flawed, the former because it scarifies God's sovereignty and later because it compromises God's love. While Geisler spends some time interacting with Open Theism, the vast majority of book is aimed at refuting Extreme Calvinism. While Geisler interacts with a range of classic and contemporary commentators such as Augustine, Calvin, Spurgeon and Piper his primary interlocutor is R.C Sproul a leading contemporary Calvinist. Indeed, for readers seeking a balanced introduction to this topic I recommend reading both Sproul (esp. Chosen by God) and Geisler, they are a good match, senior churchmen speaking to a similar popular audience.

While the text has much strength, I offer a couple thoughts with regard to potential drawbacks.  First, it is important to realize that this is very much an introductory text and as such it moves quickly through a wide range of material that readers may want to consider in more depth.  Second, notwithstanding some important comments about reading the Bible holistically, the analysis is largely conducted on a verse-by-verse (proof texting) basis.  And while specific texts need exegesis, an overly decontextualised approach lends itself reading theological presuppositions into text through esoteric translation and interpretation.  That said, Geisler's exegesis struck me as generally solid (some readers will undoubtedly disagree).

As an aside, It increasingly strikes me that the position one takes on the relationship between divine sovereignty and free will is largely contingent on certain key presuppositions; e.g. does human free will detract from the God of majesty, implying a limited God who is dependant on creatures to achieve his objectives, or is God capable of achieving his goals through the free acts of human agents, and, second, is the acceptance of God's free gift of grace a meritorious act?

Overall, I highly recommend reading this book in conjunction with Sproul's Chosen by God.  Readers interested in this issue may also enjoy some radio/podcast debates between Michael Brown and James White available through the archives of their respective programs.
3542684
Bishop Spong provides a serious study here of the cultural context of the texts of the Bible, arising over a period of centuries, out of various social and political or religious situations.

He analyzes the troubling passages of the Old Testament to understand how God's Word can be found amid the puzzling events or descriptions from the understandings of previous ages, to determine how they can still make sense in our very different world.  He looks at the evils associated with religious ideas or institutions through our history.

Some readers will feel threatened by some of Spong's radical proposals, because they have never heard anyone speak freely this way in their repressive traditions.  They may see no further than Spong's tendency to periodically mount his particular hobby horses, which he developed in a lifetime of ministry under attack from cultural Christians who used the Bible as a weapon to defeat others.  However much we might sometimes like the Bishop to tone down his rhetoric, let's listen to the insights he draws from his high view of the scriptures here.

Spong writes out of an anguished grief over the misreading of scripture as though it was a news report or travelogues written in the context of our current world.  He honors the integrity of the scriptures, carefully investigating the history and cultural setting of the scriptures.  Spong admirably recreates the faith-crisis situation out of which various biblical stories and events developed.  His commitment to Christ and the God of Revelation is strong, but will misunderstood by many who see "faith" as blind adherence to someone's traditional list of abstracted propositions.

Spong challenges us to deal honestly with the Scriptures, to hear what they really say, and deal with it.  Let's see what they really say, when we read them with integrity, and not just to make them fit our inherited interpretation.  Spong challenges us to read and think about the hard parts, the parts we don't like to hear, the parts that make God look bad.

Spong wants to defend the Bible and maintain its integrity as a set of documents that arose in a real-life situation of a people wrestling with the insights they were gaining, the awareness of the personal God Yahweh, gradually understood as a universal God, not just a tribal deity.  This identity with Yahweh, the Living God, set them apart from their neighboring tribes and nations, putting them in danger.

He suggests a way we might understand these sections as the expression of the level of insight and culture of the times.  Isn't this consistent with the idea of Incarnation?  God comes into human culture.  As Jesus said, we sometimes cannot bear the full truth.  We get only glimpses of it.  Spong helps us see how these glimpses come through the dominant view that makes so much of the Old Testament repulsive to us, blaming God for things everyone agrees are evil.  Spong feels God deserves a better shake, and the Scriptures deserve a better reading from us.  Let's hear him out.  The most constructive part is at the end.

Spong undertakes the difficult task of finding how the stories of history in one small group of related scribes came to be the Word of God to not just the remnant of that federation but to all the peoples of the world, as the Gospels proclaim.  He helps the thoughtful reader see that there i one consistent God of Love, active redemption and reconciliation, who acted in Christ, and can speak to us today, if we hear him speak through history, free from the imposed expectations of modern culture.

This work will present rewarding and enlightening information to make sense of stories and provide insights into understanding the biblical texts in their own context.  This will be challenging for many, but it is refreshing to see the writer deal honestly with the text and the problems it presents to us today.
2030900
For many Christians, the First or Old Testament is unknown territory, even among preachers. Cutting out two-thirds of the Bible by not reading and searching for meaning and application it, would leave us with many clueless stories and phrases in the New Testament. Jason S. DeRouchie offers help in How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament. In this book, he examines twelve steps from exegesis to theology to travel through Text to Observation to Context to Meaning to Application.

DeRouchie presents his findings on multiple levels, to facilitate readers without any knowledge of Hebrew and Greek as well as theology students capable of reading and understanding these biblical languages. The author highlights the importance of genre, literary units, the original wording, translation, and grammar. He explores the arguments or inner logic of the texts, word and concept studies, and historical context. Reading the Bible itself instead of relying on all kinds of external sources will help you to come to unearth the grand story of the Bible and its key concepts. As a final step, you're challenged to apply the text to yourself, the church, and the world. Jesus Christ is central in both Old and New Testament. DeRouchie spends many pages in revealing the prophecies pointing to Christ, and the way Jesus Christ actually fulfills the prophecies, the various roles of e.g. priest, prophet, shepherd, and savior. A wealth of information and food for thought and practice.
3834760
Dr. Morris has provided a scholarly and thought-provoking account of his understanding of some challenging passages of scripture.  Dr. Morris' knowledge of the New Testament culture and nuances in translation from the original language is helpful.  Casual readers of scripture as well as serious Bible students have likely puzzled over these passages and how they apply to Christians in our world today. This book will give us food for thought and a challenging, fresh look into God's word.
284939
This book is a scholarly analysis of the development of the doctrine of the resurrection of the body for Christianity and Judaism. It analyzes the Old and New Testament, the Talmud, the writings of Gnostics, and the Christian Fathers about the resurrection. Though it is written for believers and non-believers, the authors believe God's justice requires the resurrection of the body and the book is a strong apology for faith. For example:

"Tertullian and Irenaeus firmly believed that if the Gnostic notions of the body and resurrection were true, this meant that Christians had not really been saved. The stakes were that high. To suggest that such men were really more interested in securing thier own comfortable existence or power is to misrepresent or misunderstand them woefully, to present them falsely, and to obscure how seriously and conscientiously such thinkers wrestled with the truth of the claim that Christ had been raised and that all of his followers would be raised on the last day."(page 234)
1437610
This is an intriguing collection of answers to specific "how could you..." questions arising from the Biblical account of the great flood, recorded in Genesis.
Although the Bible's treatment of these events is not written in an exhaustive way and lacks a step-by-step description of many actions and events described, careful thought combined with profound respect for the text have led to a stimulating set of questions as well as reasonable attempts to answer the questions.
Well worth reading, especially to test your working hypotheses against the solutions proposed in this volume.
2435820
A stellar explanation of Paul's use of the term "the Israel of God" in concluding Galatians. If the reader is willing to move slowly through the text, looking up Scriptural references, s/he will find that the Dr. Robertson's arguments are unanswerable. For the reader committed to inerrancy but confused about the views proposed to clarify the End Times, here is a text that will make a cogent, defensible interpretation/understanding possible.
3176390
This book study was very in depth. The author obviously did his homework. There were some points made, however, that may have been some conjecture, not specifically what the Bible text says. Prophesy is difficult. We need to be careful to distinguish between what we know as documentable fact and what we think .
3405649
John Walvoord's commentary on Daniel has been a great help as I have endeavored to understand the Book of Daniel.  I thought that Walvoord argued his interpretation well and felt his inclusion of scholars such as Keil, Leupold, Gaebelein, and others provided excellent insight.  Walvoord is concerned with showing the discrepancies and inaccuracies in the interpretation of liberal scholars, such as Montgomery.  Walvoord contronts those who take a second century B.C. date for the Book of Daniel head on, and shows the illogical process of their thought.  Walvoord shows both their preconceived misconceptions of prophecy and authorship, as well as inaccurate conclusions on those misconceptions.  The book also discusses evangelicals who are different in interpretations from amillennial and premillennial positions.  There are arguments among scholars over the smallest of things such as rivers, and to things of enormous significance, such as the interpretation of Media-Persia as the second empire, or the second and third empires.  However, it was clear that Walvoord wrote from a scholarly standpoint and was not very concerned with the edification of the reader.  While the mind was challenged greatly to think, the heart was hardly even warmed over the historical, and hermeneutical debate.  Walvoord fails to explain the significance of the Book of Daniel as giving great hope to us that God is faithful to his promises, that He is sovereign over the governments of men, and that upon the culmination of the end, He will still be in complete control.  This is why I say the book is four stars rather than five. The book fed the mind in ample portions, but the spirit is only fed by the actual Biblical text on which Walvoord comments.
2290789
Excellent analysis of parts of the Bible often used to prove points relative to sexual morality. Zealots who love quoting the Biblke just to prove their points would do well to read the book and truly understand what is being said. Would be a good reference book.
3170533
Fee taught a course on 1 Corinthians for about 15 years at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary before completing this commentary (I only took his course on Textual Criticism). Thus, this book represents mature scholarship, thought, and an awareness of the kinds of questions people want answers to. The students at Gordon-Conwell were from every confessional background, so his teaching and writing has been for the whole church, and not geared toward charismatics. With about a dozen reviews already posted, I not only review Fee's book, but respond to some recurring comments in the other reviews.

Fee's logic is impressive. He takes 30-35 pages to untangle 1 Cor. 11:2-16, which represents one of the most difficult passages in the Greek NT. His evidence and reasoning are strong, and I've concluded the NIV (and most translations) botch this difficult passage. In trying to smooth out the difficulties in the Greek, our translations create meanings that are not well supported by the Greek nor the culture. Fee offers a sane exposition of this section.

Fee's argument that 14:33b-35 was not original to Paul but an early textual corruption may seem radical. Donald Carson, in his book on commentaries, inappropriately calls Fee's conclusion a "lapse," as if Fee thought this up himself. Yet this scholarly opinion goes back a long, long time. A. T. Robertson & A. Plummer's ICC on 1 Corinthians (1911) indicate that various scholars before their time thought those verses were an interpolation (e.g., Weinel, 1906, Schmiedel 1892, Holsten, 1880, and Hilgenfeld, n.d.). It would be difficult to argue that those scholars were motivated by our modern "feminist" movement! In more recent times, C. K. Barrett's Harper's/Black's commentary (1968) prefers the interpolation hypothesis, F. F. Bruce's NCBC commentary (1971) discusses it but passes no judgment (but he notes how several aspects of those verses are very awkward and difficult to square with the rest of the context and the epistle), and H. Conzelmann's Greek Hermeneia commentary (1975) is more adamant than Fee. Those who flippantly dismiss Fee's arguments seem not to have grasped his evidence nor his logic. The "hypothesis" that these verses were not in Paul's original letter has multiple stands of strong evidence, (mostly internal, but some external). By contrast, the "hypothesis" that the text as it stands was originally from Paul's hand is fraught with difficulties (but makes us feel good because we don't like the concept of later interpolations). The church is divided on issues related to women, so Fee's conclusion is controversial. Yet, our view of the role of women should have NO bearing on the question of the originality of those verses. That must be determined by the evidence.

Also, I am NOT in any way, shape, or form, charismatic (I'm a high churchman). But I acknowledge that the Bible never teaches an "end" to the spiritual gifts (well, we can make some verses teach that if we try). However, I'm very SKEPTICAL of most of today's alleged display of gifts. My fellow non-charismatics seem uncomfortable with Fee's interpretations, but such fears are unwarranted. To say God is free to give gifts as he chooses does not oblige us to accept modern Pentecostal practices.

The "problems" with Fee's book brought up by other reviewers represent one of the book's strengths. It is very scholarly and typically lets the chips fall where they may. We need a fresh look at this epistle that isn't laden with all of our traditions and perspectives that have affected us over the last 1900 years. While Fee is not without his biases, any disagreement with him (as a high churchman, I disagree with him at points) must be met with an equal level of evidence and logic, not with an ad hominem argument that Fee is a charismatic. Fee has given the church a great tool for interpreting God's Word, and I am very grateful for that.

Gordon Fee has provided us with such a "packed" and well-reasoned commentary that I can't recommend it more highly.
951185
Josh McDowell has produced a fine volume of Christian apologetic research, which has been (and will continue to be) a persuasive argument for the veracity of the Bible and it's teachings. Secondary proof of this is the  great degree of opposition that "scholars" like the "Jesus  Seminar" falsely attack it with.  If these critical unbelievers despise  it, it must be good!