The Understanding the Bible Commentary Series helps readers navigate the strange and sometimes intimidating literary terrain of the Bible. These accessible volumes break down the barriers between the ancient and modern worlds so that the power and meaning of the biblical texts become transparent to contemporary readers. The contributors tackle the task of interpretation using the full range of critical methodologies and practices, yet they do so as people of faith who hold the text in the ...

This Personal Account of my Life after the Vietnam War and LIVES of others whom I met and made my life livable to this point in 2015. During the war in Vietnam, I NEVER expected to be alive at this moment in history, and to ENJOY THE FRUITS OF LIFE that GOD has utterly provided me. I GIVE HIM ALL THE GLORY!

Robert Wall is 18, living on a farm in North Carolina. He wants adventure and excitement and joins the Army. His first overseas tour takes him to Korea for 16 months, then to Fort Polk, Louisiana. He is discharged in 1957. Restless, he joins the Air Force in 1958 and is assigned to Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Texas for Jet Engine Repair School. He's shipped to Everux-Fauville Air Base in France for 18 months, then to Edwards Air Force Base, California. Discharged in 1962 he dec...

Given the way many in the West have read the New Testament in the last century, the church might be regarded as an afterthought at best. But at the worst, it can be viewed as an unnecessary, perhaps even problematic, institutionalization of genuine faith especially in our post-denominational context. These perspectives fly in the face of the robust ecclesiological concerns and commitments of the New Testament documents when read as witnesses from, to, and for congregations of God’s people....

This theological commentary on 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus by Robert Wall powerfully demonstrates the ongoing relevance and authority of the Pastoral Epistles for the church today. Wall uniquely employs an apostolic "Rule of Faith" methodology for interpreting these texts as sacred Scripture. Three successive historical case studies by Richard Steele vividly instantiate key themes of the Pastorals. This innovative yet reverent volume will help revive the interest of students, pastors, and othe...

Since the second century, 1-2 Timothy and Titus, often referred to as the "Pastoral Epistles," have been read and practiced together to help order a Christian congregation's life and mission. These three letters were likely recognized early on as divinely inspired scripture and were added to the Pauline collection to help train the spiritual leaders of earliest Christianity. However, they are rarely taught in most congregations and seminaries today. Admittedly, the genre of these letters (...

This theological commentary on 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus by Robert Wall powerfully demonstrates the ongoing relevance and authority of the Pastoral Epistles for the church today. Wall uniquely employs an apostolic "Rule of Faith" methodology for interpreting these texts as sacred Scripture. Three successive historical case studies by Richard Steele vividly instantiate key themes of the Pastorals. This innovative yet reverent volume will help revive the interest of students, pastors, and othe...

As one of the leading figures in New Testament studies, Robert W. Wall has continually focused on the function of the New Testament as a "canonical” or authoritative collection of writings, reflecting not only the content and essence of the Church's emerging faith, but also the life to that community of followers of Jesus who eventually became widely known as “Christians.” In the vein of his defining work, The New Testament as Canon: A Reader in Canonical Criticism, Wall now refle...

This volume written by a theologian and a biblical scholar offers a fresh model for understanding Scripture as God's Word. The authors work out the four Nicene marks of the church--one, holy, catholic, and apostolic--as marks of Scripture, offering a new way of thinking about the Bible that bridges theology and interpretation. Their ecclesial analogy invites us to think of Scripture in similar terms to how we think of the church, countering the incarnational model propagated by Peter Enns ...

The Corpse with the Eerie Eye, first published in 1942 (and in the UK as Castle-Dinas) features private investigator Philip Tolefree. From the dustjacket: "There was mystery rampant in Castle-Dinas, although Tolefree at first didn't recognize it. He thought he was there to straighten out a lovers' quarrel—until the telephone rang at dinner that night and turned a gay and charming atmosphere into one resembling a wake. Mrs. Lowell returned to the table with her fac...

“What is your opinion of death, Mr. Petulengro?” . . . “There’s night and day, brother, both sweet things; sun, moon, and stars, brother, all sweet things; there’s likewise a wind on the heath. Life is very sweet, brother; who would wish to die?” The speakers were two young men, met casually on breezy Household Heath outside the city of Norwich; the time towards sunset on a fine evening; the year at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The tall young Englishman who questioned and the l...

Does Scripture exclude women from full participation in all forms of Christian ministry simply on the basis of gender? What insights can the church's "rule of faith," theology, Scripture, Christian history, and testimonies give women and men exploring this important issue today? In many Christian congregations and college classrooms, debates over the ordination and ministry of women create hurtful and debilitating divisions among believers. This new book by Shannon Smythe leans into those ...