Full Description
Clear comprehension of what's in the Bible and what it means isn't a lost cause. This book provides expert observations so that you can comprehend more of Scripture than you ever have before.
The Bible was written for us—but not to us. We're not part of the ancient world that informed its writers. We're strangers to their ideas, experiences, and worldview. Because we're cultural and historical outsiders, what we read in the Bible can often be perplexing and leave us with more questions than answers. For instance:
What purpose did Old Testament creation stories and genealogies serve when they were written?
Why do the ancient Israelites talk about the gods of other nations as though they were real?
Why do the gospel accounts differ from each other, and can we trust them?
Is everything in the Bible ultimately about Jesus?
Each of this book's 80 short chapters consist of statements or insights about the Bible, many of which may surprise even those who grew up in a Christian tradition.
Throughout Brief Insights on Mastering the Bible (part of the 60 Second Scholar series), you'll tour each section of Scripture, tackling themes, details, and misunderstandings with the goal of seeing Scripture as what it really is and not what we would prefer that it is.
The path to real biblical understanding requires that we don't make the Bible conform to denominational preferences.
Contents
Introduction: The best piece of advice I can give you.
LET THE BIBLE BE WHAT IT IS
1. Let the Bible be what it is.
2. Don't second-guess God's decisions in inspiration.
3. Inspiration was a process, not an event.
4. Inspiration wasn't a paranormal experience.
5. Editing was part of the process of biblical inspiration.
6. The Bible is not an exhaustive repository of all truth.
7. Most of the authors of biblical books are unknown.
8. The Bible is a product of its time.
9. The setting of a biblical story wasn't necessarily the time at which it was written.
10. Everything in the Bible isn't about Jesus.
LET THE ANCIENT ISRAELITES BE WHO THEY WERE
11. The world known to the biblical writers was a lot smaller than ours.
12. Biblical writers believed that God made the world they knew, not the world they didn't know.
13. Ancient Israelite culture didn't drop from heaven.
14. Biblical people embraced the idea of an active supernatural world.
15. Most people in the biblical world had never read the Bible.
LET THE BIBLICAL WRITERS DO WHAT THEY DID
16. Biblical writers were not semi-literate amateurs.
17. The writers of the Bible structured what they wrote to convey meaning.
18. Biblical writers did their homework.
19. The biblical writers were literary artists.
20. Biblical writers didn't always intend to be taken literally.
21. Biblical writers used translations of the Bible.
LET THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE BE WHAT THEY ARE
22. The creation stories target the beliefs of other ancient religions.
23. Old Testament genealogies were not intended to be precise indicators of the age of the earth.
24. The covenant sign of circumcision was a theological statement for Israelite men and women.
25. The rebellion at the Tower of Babel frames the rest of biblical history.
26. Neither God nor the Israelites looked at Old Testament laws as equal in character and importance.
27. The biblical concept of holiness includes, but is not limited to, moral behavior.
28. Some of the strangest ideas in biblical law teach important points of biblical theology.
29. Biblical writers took the concept of holy ground seriously.
30. Old Testament sacrifices weren't primarily about individual forgiveness for sin.
31. Deuteronomy is one long sermon by Moses to the Israelites.
32. Ancient Israelites believed the gods of the nations were real.
33. God was present in human form in the Old Testament.
LET THE HISTORICAL BOOKS BE WHAT THEY ARE
34. Archaeology can validate, but not prove, the Bible.
35. "Israel" doesn't always mean "Israel" in the Old Testament.
36. 1-2 Chronicles contains propaganda---by design.
37. Most of the cities and towns mentioned in the Bible have not been excavated.
38. The books of Joshua through 2 Kings were likely written by the same person(s) at the same time.
39. Judges weren't kings.
40. God intended all along for Israel to have a king.
41. The events of the book of Ruth are set in the days of the judges.
42. In the historical books, a person's tribe and home town are often crucial parts of the storyline.
LET THE PROPHETIC BOOKS BE WHAT THEY ARE
43. Most of the material in the prophetic books isn't about predicting the future.
44. Prophets weren't crazy men . . . mostly.
45. Old Testament prophets preached at different times and places.
46. Most of the material in the prophets has already been fulfilled.
47. The "servant" of Isaiah is both an individual and the collective nation of Israel.
48. Messianic prophecy was deliberately cryptic.
LET THE WISDOM BOOKS BE WHAT THEY ARE
49. Proverbs are neither prophecies nor promises.
50. The books of Psalms and Proverbs were edited and assembled in stages.
51. Understanding Hebrew poetry is essential for interpreting psalms and proverbs.
52. The book of Job is not primarily about suffering.
53. The fundamental focus of wisdom literature is character, and the most praiseworthy character comes from the fear of the Lord.
LET
