The Bible Archive

Not too long ago, I created a list on worldcat with the must-read titles on the New Perspective On Paul since this isn’t new with N.T.Wright (although his version of it is new). I created this post (based on my list) with the intent of bolding the material that I have read and updating it (since it is harder to keep track on that on worldcat than on my own blog). I may also create blog posts stated the position, not reviewing the books, but no promises.

I placed them in order of publishing since that is my preferred order of reading (even if I don’t adhere to that as a hard rule).

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Tags: books, new perspective, wright
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Before the Debate
We’re going to see some annoying banter no doubt: like Obama’s 8 houses comment and I have a feeling McCain has a response (probably in regards to Obama’s ridiculously priced house). McCain often does a good job with in your face sincerity but Obama does a good job of quick thinking on his toes which I think will be problematic (since he often answers without answering and McCain often fires from the hip leaving his comments open to real examination).

I have a feeling Obama will win but not on substance, rather on quick verbal skills and the mutant ability to turn self into rubber and others into glue.

As for the Bailout, all Obama is going to do is say how the Reps were denying the additions to the bailout package that would benefit a wider category than the rich companies with the deep pockets and the bad fiscal responsibility. Probably will use it as a starting point for some renewed (and likely potentially dangerous) renewed regulation. Let’s see how close I was:

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Tags: debate
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BOOK: Church History in Plain Language by Bruce L. Shelley

REVIEW SUMMARY: Decent overview in very easy language.

MY RATING: [rating:4]

OVERVIEW: A basic overview of church history in readable English, good to read and helpful but only a primer on a very complicated subject. Definitely pick it up if you’re looking to do research or plan to teach and need some refreshers.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Perfect introduction to church history, easily accessible with plenty of references to introduce the reader to further study.

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Tags: bruce shelley, church history
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REVIEW SUMMARY: Biblically strong, a perfect reference tool for those who want to categorize Paul’s teaching methods and apply to their own methods.

MY RATING: [rating:5]

OVERVIEW: Roy Zuck follows his classic Teaching as Jesus Taught with a focus on St. Paul (Teach ing as Paul Taught). Zuck makes sure to focus on Scripture and from there draw any and all conclusions.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Biblically focused to draw any conclusions about Paul’s teaching, the book is an excellent resource and deserves a place on a teacher’s shelf if he/she needs Paul’s teaching labeled and categorized. Otherwise, the long lists might make some weary in reading. Definitely recommended, but know what you’re buying.

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The Point of the book: Horton went into this critical examination to prove that there was a connection between the Qumran Community and the Book of Hebrews in regards to the Melchizedek Tradition. Wanting to show the point of overlap and perhaps their dependence on source material, he traces the development of Melchizedekian thought from the Genesis account, through Psalms, over to Qumran, through the early Church and Rabbinical sources and finally the Gnostics before heading back to the book of Hebrews. What’s great about the book is that when he gets to the end, his point was negatively proven. Not only did he not establish a connection between Qumran and Hebrews but he reversed his position to show that the author of Hebrews cares very little for Melchizedek at all.

The Good: The book deals with the material fairly and whenever there is a question as to the author’s reconstruction, he sagely points out the fact that his conclusion is possible but maybe not probable. The Author deals with each of the sources as they stand (for example examining the Genesis account on its own and seeing how a possible interpretation is that Abraham received tithes from Melchizedek). There are a ton of footnotes and the bibliography section is extensive to allow further personal research.

The Bad: It’s difficult to place any of the book in a Bad category on account that its bad for a person who doesn’t have the technical know-how of a more scholarly professional. For example, there are many sections of the book that delve into untranslated Greek, Hebrew, German, Latin and Coptic. Dealing with those sections requires lots of contextual reading but sometimes he really doesn’t aim to enforce the meaning of those words with the context. But that, like I said, is not necessarily bad since you don’t want to spend a lot of time establishing the contextual meaning of relatively easy Greek concepts like kurios and kosmos. The Hebrew is a bit more difficult on account that, well its Hebrews.

The Ugly: The footnotes in the 1976 edition are a mess, condensing several footnotes onto one line to save page space and I guess page count.

Conclusion: The book is a good read for folks who want to see how the Melchizedekian thought progresses through the first five centuries; it’s helpful for the Biblical scholar and finally its extremely helpful for a person who wants a solid backing for Christ’s own Priesthood: but more info on that on my detailed overview of the book below.

Overview (or the part you don’t have to read): Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: genesis, melchizedek
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