What Christians Believe about the Bible

A Concise Guide for Students

Don Thorsen, Keith H. Reeves

• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN:
  9780801048319
• eBook ISBN:
  9781441238733
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Christians talk frequently about the Bible, yet they do not always have an informed and wide-ranging understanding of varied Christian views about its nature. Don Thorsen and Keith Reeves combine their biblical and theological knowledge to create such a unique introduction to the Bible.

This book not only provides an introduction to the interpretation of the Bible but also to the history and theological understanding behind it, equipping students to think critically about their own tradition's approach to Scripture. It is perfect as a supplemental textbook in both introductory biblical studies and theology courses, but it will also be of interest to adult education classes.

Appendix 1
Books of the Hebrew Bible

The Law

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

The Prophets

Former Prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel (1 and 2), Kings (1 and 2)

Latter Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi)

The Writings

Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles (1 and 2)

Appendix 2
Books of the Protestant Old Testament

The Pentateuch

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

The Historical Books

Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

The Poetical and Wisdom Books

Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

The Prophetic Books

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

Appendix 3
Books of the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Writings

Books included by the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Russian Orthodox Churches, and Protestant Apocrypha

Tobit, Judith, Additions to Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, Additions to Daniel, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees

Books included by the Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox Churches, Protestant Apocrypha, and Appendix of the Latin Vulgate

1 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh

Books included by the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches

Psalm 151 and 3 Maccabees

Books included by the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches and Protestant Apocrypha

3 Esdras

Appendix 4
Books of the New Testament

Gospels

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

The Acts of the Apostles

The Letters of Paul

Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon

The General Letters

Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude

Revelation

Notes

Chapter 1 We Are All Students of the Bible

[1]. In the King James Version, 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “rightly dividing the word of truth”—a common phrase among Christians, emphasizing the need for proper interpretation of the Bible.

Chapter 2 A Brief History of the Bible

[1]. See Eusebius Pamphillus, The Ecclesiastical History, trans. Christian F. Cruse (Grand Rapids: Guardian Press, 1976), 110.

[2]. James I. Packer, “Scripture,” in New Dictionary of Theology, ed. Sinclair B. Ferguson and David F. Wright (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1988), 627–31.

Chapter 3 Genre

[1]. For example, see David R. Bauer and Robert A. Traina, Inductive Bible Study: A Comprehensive Guide to the Practice of Hermeneutics (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011); N. Clayton Croy, Prima Scriptura: An Introduction to New Testament Interpretation (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011); Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003); see also the select bibliography at the end of this book.

[2]. Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 1.22, trans. Rex Warner (Baltimore: Viking Penguin, 1980), 47.

[3]. Bruce M. Metzger, The New Testament: Its Background, Growth, and Content, 2nd ed. (Nashville: Abingdon, 1990), 177.

Chapter 4 Historical Context

[1]. Pliny the Younger, “Gaius Pliny to the Emperor Trajan” X.96, in Complete Letters, trans. P. G. Walsh, Oxford World’s Classics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 278.

Chapter 5 Literary Context

[1]. Dictionary.com, “agape,” http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/agape, accessed July 27, 2011.

[2]. Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel according to Luke I–IX: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, The Anchor Bible 28 (New York: Doubleday, 1982), 15, 287–98.

Chapter 6 Religious Authority

[1]. One may say that such inconsistencies are due to sin rather than to a lack of intellectual consistency or other behavioral scientific explanations. Speaking as Christians, we certainly must consider the pervasiveness of sin when discussing any topic theologically. But our present focus is on the intellectual, rather than spiritual and moral, challenges to how the Bible is understood. We want to talk about how people think differently about the Bible, not speculate about why they differ.

[2]. Martin Luther, quoted by Roland Herbert Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, A Hendrickson Classic Biography (1950; repr., Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2009), 180.

[3]. The Declaration of Independence of the United States was written primarily by Thomas Jefferson and edited by Benjamin Franklin. It mentions a “Creator” and “Nature’s God,” but these probably refer more to a deistic conception of God than to a more biblical, historic Christian understanding. As such the Declaration of Independence relies more upon the Enlightenment authority of reason, for example, as found in its references to “self-evident” truths and “unalienable rights,” than to a traditional Christian understanding of God and religious authority. See the Declaration of Independence...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Interpretation of the Bible
• Theology of the Bible
• Conclusion
• Appendix 1 Books of the Hebrew Bible
• Appendix 2 Books of the Protestant Old Testament
• Appendix 3 Books of the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Writings
• Appendix 4 Books of the New Testament
• Notes
• Select Bibliography
• Subject Index
• Scripture Index
• Back Cover