Ask any Bible teacher out there what the best commentaries on the Psalms are and it is likely you are going to stump them. It isn’t as though there aren’t plenty of commentaries available, it is just that most of them are not always all that helpful or all that exegetically conscience. Now that doesn’t mean there are not exceptions to this generalization, however, it does seem to be the norm.

Enter in Allen P. Ross’ A Commentary on the Psalms: Volume 1 (1-41). In a lot of ways Ross’ work is much more than a commentary. Of the 928 pages in the book nearly 20% of this volume is made of introductory matters. These pages do not detract from the book, however, give it a great introduction! The topics Ross covers include:

• The Value of the Psalms
• Text and Ancient Versions of the Psalms
• Titles and Headings of the Psalms
• History of the Interpretation of the Psalms
• Interpreting Biblical Poetry
• Literary Forms and Functions in the Psalms
• Psalms in Worship
• Theology of the Psalms
• Expositions of the Psalms

These chapters are extremely helpful and valuable and make the purchase of the book worth while, especially the chapters on literary forms and on theology.

Once Ross gets to the individual Psalms themselves he breaks each Psalm chapter down into an introduction looking at the text and textual variants, the composition and context, and an exegetical analysis. From there he moves to a commentary of the text followed then by the message and application of the Psalm. This structure is helpful and is welcomed.

Overall I believe this to be a welcomed addition to the commentaries that already exist on the Psalter. Unfortunately it is only volume 1. We will have to wait for the other volumes.

FTC Rhetoric: I do not receive payment for my book reviews. I do sometimes receive free review and giveaway copies from authors, publishers, and publicists. My first responsibility is to my readers, therefore, I am committed to honest reviews.

The 40 Questions and Answers Series from Kregel has been a tremendous help to me. I’ve previously benefited from both 40 Questions About Elders and Deacons by Benjamin Merkle and 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible by Robert Plummer. Kregel has also published 40 Questions About Christians and the Law by Tom Schreiner. The most recent book in the series though is 40 Questions About the End Times by Eckhard Schnabel. Continue Reading →

Do you have family members that are skeptical about your faith? What about co-workers? Do you talk about Jesus and people give you the “that is good for you but not me” line? If you answered no to any of those questions one of two things is true; (1) you don’t talk to people or (2) you are lying to yourself. Sharing your faith with family, friends, and co-workers will typically invoke a skeptical response. Bill Foster has given us a great little guide to help with these types of conversations, Meet the Skeptic: A Field Guide to Faith Conversations.

The book is broken up into five primary sections:

1. The Meet-The-Skeptic-Model Overview
2. Spiritual Skepticism in a Nutshell
3. Moral Skepticism in a Nutshell
4. Scientific Skepticism in a Nutshell
5. Biblical Skepticism in a Nutshell

One of the more helpful pieces in this book is toward the beginning in a section called “Speak Their Language.” Foster discusses how unhelpful it is to converse with skeptics using technical and theological language. There are words and phrases that are necessary but Foster is helpful in providing a way that you could clarify these words as well.

For example, what does “born again” really mean? When we say “A person must be born again in order to get to heaven” the skeptic hears; “A desperate person needs a mystical or emotional experience in order to gain a sense of purpose.” To clarify what “born again” means will help with their understanding of the term. There are a variety of these terms that Foster helps to clarify for the reader in order that the reader be better prepared for faith conversations.

Along with this book there is also an accompanying leaders guide and workbook. These make this a good curriculum for small group and Sunday School settings. Below are some links to additional sources.

• Meet the Skeptics Website | LINK
• Meet the Skeptics Workbook | LINK
• Meet the Skeptics Leaders Guide | LINK

Check out the trailer for Meet the Skeptics

FTC Rhetoric: I do not receive payment for my book reviews. I do sometimes receive free review and giveaway copies from authors, publishers, and publicists. My first responsibility is to my readers, therefore, I am committed to honest reviews.

It is weird to think my first book review of the new year is happening in March! I certainly have been busy with a variety of work and personal projects. However, when the opportunity came along to review Andreas Köstenberger and Richard Patterson’s new work on biblical interpretation, Invitation to Biblical Interpretation: Exploring the Hermeneutical Triad of History, Literature, and Theology, I had to take it.

When you hold this work in your hands a couple of things will stand out right away. First, this book is not small. Continue Reading →

One of the ways Zondervan has been serving the church is with a series of books about how to read, understand, and interpret your Bible. There are such volumes as How to Read the Bible Book by Book or How to Read the Bible for All it’s Worth. This last summer I read How to Choose a Translation for All its Worth. Zondervan recently added another volume to the line-up, thanks to Michael Williams of Calvin Seminary, How to Read the Bible Through the Jesus Lens.

Continue Reading →

In this volume Daniel Wallace edits a series of articles combined to form Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament: Manuscript, Patristic, and Apocryphal Evidence. This work is the first volume in a new series called “Text and Canon of the New Testament,” which Kregel just started. If this first volume is any indication of how this series will serve the academy, I think the series will be very helpful.

The topic and tone of the articles are clearly academic and meant to serve the scholar more so than the pastor or the layman. Those contributing articles are Philip Miller, Matthew Morgan, Adam Messer, Tim Ricchuiti, Brian Wright, and the editor, Daniel Wallace. Coming into this book I was only familiar with Wallace, all of the other men are new to me…likely because most of them were interns for Wallace during their Th.M’s.

I found that I could not improve on Kregel’s explanation of the book:

In recent years popular culture has experienced a revival of interest in  the early church and the beginning of the canonizing of Scripture. Extremely critical of the nature of the New Testament canon, however, many writers have suggested that the New Testament authors “interrupted” Jesus and misquoted His message. This scholarly book presents a strong case for the historicity and accuracy of the Bible, refuting the accusation that the Bible is unreliable.

From Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament, students of New Testament and textual criticism will learn how the New Testament was written, compiled, and transmitted. This book is a detailed rebuttal to confident remarks about the inaccuracies indeed the corruption of the New Testament.

Overall I see this book as a help to the academy and to seminarians, however, it is not one that I would direct a typical pastor or laymen to. The terminology and subject are quite advanced and serve a niche.

FTC Rhetoric: I do not receive payment for my book reviews. I do sometimes receive free review and giveaway copies from authors, publishers, and publicists. My first responsibility is to my readers, therefore, I am committed to honest reviews.