How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth: Fourth Edition

Product Information

Douglas Stuart (PhD Harvard) is senior professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

There are some, of course, who believe that the Bible is merely a human book, and that it contains only human words in history.For example, with such a text as "Do everything without grumbling or arguing" (Phil 2:14), the problem is not understanding it but obeying it—putting it into practice. There are many pet doctrines out there which were first formed in the mind and then the Bible has been forced into the mold of the that doctrine. Their “basic concern” is helping readers understand the different types of literature they will encounter in the Bible. Layman and seasoned theologians alike will find this book to be one that has lasting value as they exegete God's Word.

Discussion of the various translations was perhaps one of the more turbid and opinion laced elements of this work. Yet all of us are reading the same Bible, and we all are trying to be obedient to what the text "plainly" means. The historical and eternal aspects of Scripture are duly noted in the opening chapter of the text, with particular attention given to the methodology utilized by God to communicate to mankind. The need for the interpreter to have a lucid understanding of the characters in Scripture and the geographical and cultural milieu in which they lived is brilliantly outlined.

I bought this book because it was the required reading for a twelve-week course I was enrolled in, and even though my reading felt like a race to the finish toward the end of the course, I’m so glad to have it in my possession.

The authors conclude with a helpful, if not exactly robust, appendix on evaluating and using commentaries, both Old and New Testament, for both the general reader and advanced students.

They further explain how the Old Testament is misinterpreted in the present day by many legalistic doctrines to be a moral standard and judgment on present day living. Even the appendix is so thorough that its commentary recommendations take into consideration what may be better for the general reader in comparison to the advanced student, which is so helpful when trying to figure out which books may be over my head, or just right for me. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth I consider it to be a cornerstone towards the better understanding of the writings and the teachings contained within the Holy Bible. The ability of Fee and Stuart to provide a terse yet substantive overview of the benefits and methods of interpreting parables is commendable. While the discussion of the types of prophetic oracles is noteworthy, the statement that secondary meaning or sensus plenior "is a function of inspiration, not illumination" is the fulcrum upon which exegesis of prophecy rests.

I think one of the things that’s shifted so much of my thinking is that everything— everything—deserves closer examination. Sometimes what we bring to the text, unintentionally to be sure, leads us astray, or else causes us to read all kinds of foreign ideas into the text. It is no accident that female pastors almost always lead to Progressive Christianity, and generally speaking are very much allowed at the most liberal of denominations. Besides these recognizable differences among Bible-believing Christians, there are also all kinds of strange things afloat.Gordon Fee have compiled their expertise and experience to give the open-minded reader an in-depth perspective of the Bible which the general public is oblivious or blinded to by bias or prejudice. The guidance the authors present for the reading of the genres is of great value, though they often veer into offering their own interpretation as the one correct interpretation rather than merely equipping the reader to do their own reading and coming to their own understanding. This still keeps good constraints on interpretation because it does not allow us to make the text mean whatever we want, but it also allows for the OT to be read in light of the NT and to see the mysteries God hid there but now fully revealed in Christ (Col. While potentially an unfair expectation, I was interested in whether the authors are able to direct the reader in how to study while allowing the reader to develop their own conclusions This is not necessarily a bad thing, but there are several doctrinal issues that the authors clearly couldn’t avoid speaking to. How To Read Your Bible For All Its Worth is strongly academic, yet structured well enough to walk laymen through some progressive comprehension on the basis and basics of biblical interpretation.