BibleScholar

 One strength of memoirs as historical documents is that they provide eye-witness accounts of historical events, though this also ties into their weaknesses as shall be discussed below. However, the greatest strength of memoirs as historical documents is in humanizing historical figures. In the scheme of greater history, historical figures run the risk of appearing merely as abstractions rather than flesh-and-blood human beings who lived and acted and made decisions and had relationships and so forth. The memoir gives us insight into the humanity of the individuals who wrote them and offers insight into their perspective on the events they participated in. The greatest weakness of memoirs as historical genres is that human memory is notoriously fallible. Further, even without suggesting that the author of the memoir could deliberately lie, the author likely has an agenda to portray himself in a positive light, which could potentially lead to distorting the facts, deliberately or subcon

  I want to preface my review of the NIV Grace & Truth Study Bible to say that I own approximately 25 study Bibles and even more journaling Bibles. This Bible is in my top 8 of the best Bibles I own. It ranks up there with the CSB and ESV Study Bibles. This Bible presents a unique manner of Study Bibles. Dr. Mohler is the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His work is wonderful. As General Editor, he presents the "NIV Grace & Truth Study Bible" with many evangelical scholars. The Bible is sleek, attractive, and worthy of praise. The NIV translation is good because it brings clarity and precision together. This is nearly the perfect Bible in the NIV translation. The Grace and Truth Study Bible has some great advantages. First, it has a consistent scholarship. Its notes have some good messages. This Bible promotes the core gospel message well, along with the necessary human response to God’s grace. Second, it is equally careful to adhere to the basi

 Trinity Without Hierarchy by  Michael Bird and Scott Harrower The editors of this work have assembled a team of scholarly and deeply profound scholars to undo the damage done by Grudem and the reprehensible subordinationists. This book is exegetically sound, theologically, rich, and pastorally sensitive. This book is a welcome and decisive addition to one's theological and biblical library. I did not know that there was controversy over this particular topic and I don't believe I've ever really considered it before. I unconsciously have always assumed that God the Son does the will of God the Father, and that that is something that has always been the case, as that is what a basic reading of the Scriptures teaching on the Godhead seems to indicate. I was impressed with the consistent careful scholarship, the fine-grained discussion pressing against the limits of human grasp of the nature of the Triune and wonderful God. Almost every chapter concluded with two to thre

 New Reader's Lexicon of the Greek New Testament by Michael H. Burer and Jeffrey E. Miller  First I will explain the purpose of this work. The purpose of reader's lexicons is to facilitate the quick reading of the GNT so that by eliminating wasted time in extensive lexical work a reader can take in more and more Greek. The quicker pace encourages the reader and in time they master more and more of the text and the need for the reader's lexicon fades. This source is good but not the best. I love my BDAG except I only have it in ebook form. This work gives aids for all words occurring fewer than 50 times in the GNT. So far so good. Naturally, or so I thought, one would include a list of all those words just in case they had not yet been fully memorized, or if one's memory slipped, or as an aid to memorization. This list is absent from this book. It is ok because I have one from when I took Greek.  This book is good but not for an elementary Greek student. This volum

 Lately, I have been studying the issue of baptism in the church. Do we baptize believers only, or do we baptize believers and their children? I’ve actually been raised in both circumstances. I was baptized as an infant in the Presbyterian Church and actually raised in that denomination. However when I was ten, my family started going to a Baptist church and I was baptized by immersion two years ago. I never took the time to actually study the issue of baptism in the Bible. As I was studying, I came extremely close to accepting infant baptism if it were not for what I see as inconsistencies in the Scriptures. I have compiled a list of ten reason why I reject infant baptism and support believers only baptism. 1. Infant Baptism is not in the Scriptures Now I know that this may not be the most compelling argument to my Paedobaptist friends because they truly believe that infant baptism is in the Scriptures. However, if we really look at every baptism recorded in the Bible, there are no in

 The book, The Jesus of the Gospels: An Introduction by Andreas J. Köstenberger was a fantastic book that used many simple terminologies to explain a complex person, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. It combined many perspectives to show Jesus in the Gospel accounts. I used this book for my practical church ministry call while studying the Gospels to show people how the Gospels presented Jesus and what He was really like. Köstenberger offers a perspective some would not see because he looks at the backlight to see Jesus in a clearer picture. In this valuable and practical introduction to the picture of Jesus of the Gospels, Köstenberger helps readers to appreciate Jesus, see Him in a newfound light, and to understand the complexities around him. If you are teaching either young or old students, using a resource for Adult Bible Study, or trying to show the practicality of Jesus in the Gospels, this book is for you. Köstenberger writes in a way that anyone could understand. Sidenote—my brother

 Although there is no mention about the death of James the brother of Jesus in the New Testament, there are non-biblical sources detailing the end of the brother of Jesus. The earliest report regarding the death of James is by Josephus (c37-c100) Antiquities; published approximately in 93 CE. Porcius Festus who was the Roman procurator of Judea died around the 60s CE. And in his stead, Caesar sent Lucceius Albinus. At the same time Caesar removed Joseph from the position of the high priesthood and in his place appointed Ananus, who was the son of Ananus. According to Josephus, the younger Ananus was said to be very arrogant with a bad temper. The new high priest was a Sadducee who was said to be both harsh and rigid in his judgment of wrongdoers. Knowing that the new procurator was still on his way, he convened the Sanhedrin of judges and accused James and a few of his followers of breaking the law. He decided that these men be stoned to death (1).