The term “biblical criticism” simply means discerning the most accurate text of the Bible (“textual criticism”) and then exploring issues such as who wrote the various books of the Bible, when they were written, and the circumstances of the writing (“higher criticism”). Yet because the word “criticism” can imply fault-finding and because some prominent biblical critics come to their study with a skepticism of the historical value of the Bible, biblical criticism often stirs up suspicion or...

'It has been slowly dawning on me over many years that there is a fundamental problem deep at the heart of Christian faith and practice as I have known them . . . we have all forgotten what the four Gospels are about.'With that surprising assertion, Tom Wright launches this ground-breaking work in which he helps us to see the gospel story in radically a new light, and to acknowledge that, for many generations, the Church has been avoiding its full impact and holdin...

In his recent book How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher From Galilee historian Bart Ehrman explores a claim that resides at the heart of the Christian faith— that Jesus of Nazareth was, and is, God. According to Ehrman, though, this is not what the earliest disciples believed, nor what Jesus claimed about himself.The first response book to this latest challenge to Christianity from Ehrman, How God Became Jesus features the work of five interna...

Grasp the message of the New Testament by focusing on the essentials.An Introduction to the New Testament focuses on historical questions dealing with authorship, date, sources, purpose, destination, and so forth, ensuring that the New Testament books will be accurately understood within historical settings. For each New Testament document, the authors also provide a substantial summary of the book's content, discuss the book's theological contribution to ...

‘Loveday’s case is that the mantle of historical truth and divine authority has placed upon the Bible an intolerable weight, crushing it as a creative work of immense imaginative and inspirational power. His argument is both fascinating and persuasive.’ Matthew ParrisThe Bible for Grown-Ups neither requires, nor rejects, belief. It sets out to help intelligent adults make sense of the Bible – a book that is too large to swallow whole, yet too important in our histo...

There is a growing collective interest in the end times. But with that interest comes a barrage of confusing, and sometimes misleading, ideas and messages. With so much available information, how can we discern fact from fiction?Pastor Simon Ponsonby takes an eye-opening look at what the future holds. Cutting through today's cultural din, Simon examines provocative topics including:Biblical indicators of the end timesThe return of Jesus ChristThe t...

Paul is the most powerful human personality in the history of the Church. A missionary, theologian, and religious genius, in his epistles he laid the foundations on which later Christian theology was built.In his highly original introduction to Paul's life and thought, E. P. Sanders, whose research on Paul has substantially influenced recent scholarship, pays equal attention to Paul's fundamental convictions and the sometimes convoluted ways in which they were worked out.

Where did the Bible come from? How do we know the right books are in the Bible? Does the Bible contain errors? What are the oldest copies we have of the Bible? How do we know that the Bible hasn't been changed over the years? Why are there so many translations of the Bible, and which one should I use?These are just some of the important questions about the Bible that are discussed in this book. Understanding basic facts about the origin of the Bible is essential for every Christian...

One of the most respected Old Testament scholars of our time introduces us to the history of scholarship on the Psalter and provides hermeneutical guidelines for interpreting the book— making accessible to us the transforming messages of the Psalms.

In the midst of many well-publicized and controversial books on Jesus, N. T. Wright's lectures and writings have been widely recognized for providing a fresh, provocative, and credible portrait. Originally published in 1999 and with a new introduction in 2015, The Challenge of Jesus presents an accessible introduction to the "quest for the historical Jesus" and why it matters for the Christian faith.Out of his own commitment to both historical scholarship ...

Though the apostle Paul boldly proclaimed "Christ crucified" as the heart of the gospel, Fleming Rutledge notes that preaching about the cross of Christ is remarkably neglected in most churches today. In this book Rutledge addresses the issues and controversies that have caused pastors to speak of the cross only in the most general, bland terms, precluding a full understanding and embrace of the gospel by their congregations.Countering our contemporary tendency to bypass Jesus' cruc...

McKenzie argues that to comprehend the Bible we must grasp the intentions of the biblical authors themselves--what sort of texts they thought they were writing and how they would have been understood by their intended audience. In short, we must recognize the genres to which these texts belong. McKenzie examines several genres that are typically misunderstood, offering careful readings of specific texts to show how the confusion arises, and how knowing the genre produces a correct reading....