The Bible As It Was

From the creation and the tree of knowledge through the Exodus from Egypt and the journey to the promised land; James Kugel shows us how the earliest interpreters of the scriptures radically transformed the Bible.

The Bible contains golden nuggets of truth, and anyone willing to dig for that truth is certain to find it. This easy-to-understand reference tool will help you to master the contents of the Bible and begin a lifelong habit of "feeding on the Word." Both the beginner and most scholarly student will benefit from R. A. Torrey's instructive work. This book quickly supplies volumes of study helps and may be the most important addition to your own library. Torrey understood and solved man's dilemma of a time-pressured world. His methods for studying the Bible immediately silence the excuse, "I can't find time."

This book is not to replace reading the bible. I will give references for you to gain more knowledge and proof of the validity of the Bible. I believe the original words written in the Bible are inerrant. I believe by having an idea of what chapter is going to say, you will be able to easily understand what you are reading in the bible. There are several broad descriptions of the Bible. Augustine discovered that the Old Testament contains the New Testament concealed, while the New Testament contains the Old Testament revealed. The Old Testament is the story of a nation. The New Testament is the story of a man. The Bible is unique in that it contains 8,362 predictive verses with 1,817 predictions concerning 737 separate matters. Our Messiah, Jesus, fulfilled over 300 predictions. Prophecies are important in proving the authenticity of the Bible along with the Bible's integrated design, which is proven mathematically, microcode and macrocodes.

This is a book about an ancient writer, the J writer—the Yahwist—who produced a work of political imagination. This work is embedded mainly in the first four books of the Bible, best known for some of the most popular and influential biblical stories in Genesis and Exodus. The purpose of the book is to represent the whole of the original story with attention to its own meaning, without the influence of the other literary strands with which it was later supplemented. Therefore the work includes a fresh, complete translation of the text of the J writer, who produced the Bible’s first history. The translation itself helps to establish more clearly than ever the integrity of the J writer. The concern here is WHEN and WHY this history was written, especially in light of the concerns for justice and prosperity. Throughout it is demonstrated HOW and WHY this history comes from the court of David; it is a royal history of David’s subjects as though they were descended from pastoral nomads such as Abram, Isaac, and Jacob. It is argued that the intended audience of the history was probably those bedouin who regularly visited the court of David in Hebron and Jerusalem. Here is a bold and brilliant representation of the J writer’s composition, perhaps as it was originally intended to be read or heard. This ancient tour de force takes on new life in the hands of these skilled interpreters.

Reading Heikki Räisänen’s hermeneutics in context, Timo Eskola explores the development of Western New Testament interpretation. Proposing sociology as the link between standard historicism and poststructuralism, Räisänen reinterprets the sociology of knowledge. He substitutes sacralized culturalism for biblical theology.

"The Bible Delusion: 101 'Hang on a Minute' Moments; and God's Mysterious Ways" comprises an easy to read summary of 101 examples of absurdity in the King James Version of the Bible, dismantling everything from the Genesis creation myth to the coherency of The Gospels. More aspects are categorised into groups that are anything but 'godlike' in their nature. The Bible is full of bizarre rules, regulations and instructions - on animal sacrifice, war, including genocide and ethnic cleansing, misogyny, slavery, and much more - straight from God. There are numerous contradictions, anomalies, anachronisms and oddities, many of which are explored and explained in this comprehensive work.

"This new series is designed with the needs of introductory level students in mind. It will also appeal to general readers who want to be better informed about the latest advances in our understanding of the Bible and of the intellectual, political and religious world in which it was formed." "The authors in this series bring to light the methods and insights of a whole range of disciplines - including archaeology, history, literary criticism and the social sciences - while also introducing fresh insights and approaches arising from their own research."--BOOK JACKET.

We have all struggled to make time for daily Bible study or to rekindle the joy in God’s Word we experienced shortly after coming to know Christ. Study the Word: 12 Christian Leaders on Bible Study offers testimonies and encouragement from a dozen influential pastors and Christian leaders—including Kay Arthur, Max Lucado, and Philip Yancey—who speak directly to the truth and transformational power of Scripture for our lives. We hope this hand-curated collection of stories, published by Bible Study Magazine between 2008 and 2014, inspires in you a newfound passion to seek God through his Word.

In Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World, bishop and social activist John Shelby Spong argues that 200 years of biblical scholarship has been withheld from lay Christians. In this brilliant follow-up to Spong’s previous books Eternal Life and Jesus for the Non-Religious, Spong not only reveals the crucial truths that have long been kept hidden from the public eye, but also explores what the history of the Bible can teach us about reading its stories today and living our lives for tomorrow. Sarah Sentilles, author of Breaking Up With God: A Love Story, applauds John Shelby Spong’s Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World, writing that “pulsing beneath his brilliant, thought-provoking, passionate book is this question: can Christianity survive the education of its believers?…A question Bishop Spong answers with a resounding yes.”

Why does the Christian walk often feel like an ongoing struggle and why does God’s creation include imperfection, let alone forces that are intent on thwarting God’s creative work? In seeking a response to these questions, this book argues that the biblical accounts describe creation in terms of a progressive transformation process whereby the initially incomplete created order will reach perfection only in the fulfillment of new creation. The following discussion then outlines a comprehensive framework for the biblical theology of humanity’s struggles, centered on three key themes: corporeal temptation, deficient social structures, and the much-debated notion of spiritual warfare. The book presents an overarching canonical narrative that threads together a series of diverse biblical topics, from Job's temptation to the Atonement. The final part surveys biblical teaching on how human conduct can be aligned with God’s creative purpose, and discusses three “assignments” from Jesus to believers: to celebrate the Eucharist, to pray the Lord’s Prayer, and to fulfill the Great Commission.