How to Read the Bible

How to Read the Bible

Author: James L. Kugel

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2012-05-01

Total Pages: 850

ISBN-13: 1451689098

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James Kugel’s essential introduction and companion to the Bible combines modern scholarship with the wisdom of ancient interpreters for the entire Hebrew Bible. As soon as it appeared, How to Read the Bible was recognized as a masterwork, “awesome, thrilling” (The New York Times), “wonderfully interesting, extremely well presented” (The Washington Post), and “a tour de force...a stunning narrative” (Publishers Weekly). Now, this classic remains the clearest, most inviting and readable guide to the Hebrew Bible around—and a profound meditation on the effect that modern biblical scholarship has had on traditional belief. Moving chapter by chapter, Harvard professor James Kugel covers the Bible’s most significant stories—the Creation of the world, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and his wives, Moses and the exodus, David’s mighty kingdom, plus the writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the other prophets, and on to the Babylonian conquest and the eventual return to Zion. Throughout, Kugel contrasts the way modern scholars understand these events with the way Christians and Jews have traditionally understood them. The latter is not, Kugel shows, a naïve reading; rather, it is the product of a school of sophisticated interpreters who flourished toward the end of the biblical period. These highly ideological readers sought to put their own spin on texts that had been around for centuries, utterly transforming them in the process. Their interpretations became what the Bible meant for centuries and centuries—until modern scholarship came along. The question that this book ultimately asks is: What now? As one reviewer wrote, Kugel’s answer provides “a contemporary model of how to read Sacred Scripture amidst the oppositional pulls of modern scholarship and tradition.”


I Can Do No Other

I Can Do No Other

Author: Anna M. Madsen

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 2019-10

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 9781506427379

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Author Anna M. Madsen's book is a fresh and challenging look at the legacy of Martin Luther and the new reformation that is calling people of faith to action today.This book is born out of the conviction that at least two gods are currently competing for our collective trust: nationalism (and its many sub-manifestations) and quietism. Both make a case for and a claim on our allegiance, each by way of different motivations of self and institutional protection. Madsen looks at today's modern context and asks: Where will the church stand in a day that is marked by globalization, polarization, racism, bigotry, and debates about justice for humanity and for the earth itself. While the Reformation church was built on the foundation of justification by grace, Madsen calls people of faith to a new reformation that will focus on standing for justice in the world. Madsen delves into who Jesus was, and how our claim that he died and was raised establishes our faith and impacts the way we live it out. She pays attention to Luther's theology and juxtaposes it with our present context. She explores recent examples of Nazi resistance, liberation theology, black and womanist theology, and feminist theology, each of which come at social justice in their unique ways, with a common conviction that justice work is central to the Christian life. She speaks of how our faith grounding and our faith history weave together and entwine themselves into our present moment, offering both warnings and encouragement. And last, a case is made that justice, anchored in justification, is our new Reformation moment, one not inconsistent with Luther's theology, but weighted differently to address the different weighty concerns of our day. A study guide is included to encourage group conversation and action.


Joyful Defiance

Joyful Defiance

Author: Anna M. Madsen

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 2022-06-07

Total Pages: 187

ISBN-13: 1506472621

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Sitting in the pew at her husband's funeral, author Anna Madsen heard the last verse of the great Reformation hymn: "Were they to take our house, goods, honor, child, or spouse, though life be wrenched away, they cannot win the day. The kingdom's ours forever!" Reflecting on this experience, Madsen realized that death takes victories when its power appears to be greater than life. And she defiantly refused to cede death any more wins: "Not my spirit, not my strength, not my joy, and certainly not those of my children." The challenge is to acknowledge death in its manifold forms and own one's indignation and grief, and yet transcend it so that even if we are angry, we do not become anger. This book names the tension between grief and hope, acknowledges the reality of both, and defines a path forward to a life of joyful defiance. That path runs through Holy Saturday, a day that has one foot in the fear, grief, and death of Good Friday while the other is in Easter, a day of hope, freedom, life, and joy. Christians are not immune from experiencing anxiety, anger, exhaustion, and grief--emotions and effects arising from personal and communal trauma, including the trauma of death. Yet, the accompanying angst and pain, while real, are not the last word for people of faith. This book is written particularly for advocates, caregivers, and those who suffer in any number of ways, among them chronic illness, chronic injustice, and chronic exhaustion. Despite facing grief, anger, fear, and fatigue, readers will be encouraged not just to cope but to embrace hope and joy again, and then to plow them back into the ground of the wider world for the sake of their neighbors.


Testament

Testament

Author: John Romer

Publisher:

Published: 1988

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13: 9781854796530

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In telling the story of the Bible's birth and journey from ancient East to modern West, Romer explores legendary characters of the Old and New Testaments and depicts biblical sites whose names have resounded throughout history. (A) panorama worth viewing.--New York Times Book Review. Illustrations.


Holy Bible (NIV)

Holy Bible (NIV)

Author: Various Authors,

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2008-09-02

Total Pages: 6793

ISBN-13: 0310294142

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The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.


The Song of Solomon

The Song of Solomon

Author: Douglas Sean O'Donnell

Publisher: Preaching the Word

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781433523380

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Exploring the poetry, themes, and wisdom of this song from a Christocentric perspective, O'Donnell elucidates on the greatest subject of all time--love.


Genesis

Genesis

Author: David Guzik

Publisher: Enduring Word Media

Published: 2018-04-02

Total Pages: 424

ISBN-13: 9781939466426

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Verse-by-verse commentary on the book of Genesis.


Song of Songs

Song of Songs

Author: Paul J. Griffiths

Publisher: Brazos Press

Published: 2011-06

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1587431351

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This addition to the well-received Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible offers theological exegesis of the Song of Songs.