History

Learn about Paul’s Life and Missions with this Illustrated Guide

To this date, I think one of the most difficult academic tasks is to learn about Paul’s life and missions. This topic requires memorizing much information, such as the laws of the Roman empire, the geography of the cities Paul visited, the years in which Paul visited cities, the various historical reconstructions of Paul’s journeys, the methodologies for harmonizing Paul’s letters with Acts, and much, much more. If you have never visited the regions of Paul’s journeys, and if you do…

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Toward a Canon-Conscious Reading of the Bible: Exploring the History and Hermeneutics of the Canon, by Ched Spellman

Historically there has been a lamentable lack of attention among Evangelicals on the formation of the canon. This is unfortunate, writes Ched Spellman in the introduction of Toward a Canon-Conscious Reading of the Bible, because “one’s understanding of the story of how the Scriptures came to be has a direct impact on how God’s revelation is understood and how the Bible is interpreted” (1)….

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A Companion to Augustine, edited by Mark Vessey

Augustine is arguably the most important Christian theologian outside of the biblical authors. Many different theological camps claim Augustine for their theological positions. The Confessions makes him a very personal historical figure. Because of the massive weight of Augustine’s historical character it is essential that we understand Augustine in his historical context as well as his social context. That is the purpose for which this companion has been written….

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Reading the Old Testament by Lawrence Boadt and Historical Criticism

I would classify this work as first Christian, second critical, and third Catholic. While I’m not Catholic, the benefit of a Catholic textbook on the OT is that it includes discussion of the other seven Greek intertestamental works that are important for NT backgrounds (and, of course, for seeing to where the stream(s) of the OT flow). Moreoever, Boadt enlists Pope Pius XII’s support for a critical approach to the OT based on his Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943). More recently in 1989, Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) called for a “criticism of criticism”….

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Evangelical Faith and the Challenge of Historical Criticism, eds. Hays and Ansberry

You should buy this book and read it. I don’t suggest that because I agree with the basic premise of each chapter, but because I disagree with it. This book takes various historical-critical conclusions and determines whether they can be squared with Evangelical (or even orthodox) dogma. The tension between Evangelicalism and historical criticism tension is perhaps felt more in Old Testament studies, with dating conclusions in constant flux….

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The World of the New Testament, ed. Green & McDonald

The World of the New Testament is a collection of forty-some introductory articles to different areas of New Testament background. The chapters are written by senior scholars in the field, such as the editors, J. Charlesworth, M. Bird, G. Green, and more. The articles are concerned with the historical background of the New Testament, with some consideration to literary features of the writings, but are not concerned with the theology espoused within them.

The work starts with an essay on New Testament chronology and then follow five sections: (1) Exile….

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History, Ideology, and Bible Interpretation in the Dead Sea Scrolls, by Devorah Dimant

This New Book is a collection of essays from Devorah Dimant, who has spent the last forty five years studying the Qumran texts. The first essay is an invaluable history of research from the 1950’s until today. The essays then fall into three parts: “The Qumran Library,” focusing on collections in the community; “The History of the Qumran Community,” which consists of one 30pp essay; “Themes in the Qumran Literature,” which touches on various ideas such as resurrection and restoration, the temple,…

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Book Giveaway, Enter Now

To celebrate a successful month this March, we’ve decided to create a book giveaway contest. We’re giving away one free, new copy of Paul Glenn’s Introduction to Philosophy (Catholic Way, 2014). We here at Exegetical Tools want to bring you the latest resources for biblical studies, but we’re also bringing on another contributor (to be announced soon) to help educate about basic resources in different areas of philosophy. Many biblical scholars, pastors, and students feel daunted by the thought of learning…

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