The Old in the New, Understanding How the New Testament Authors Quoted the Old Testament by Michael Vlach
Since ten percent of the New Testament consists of Old Testament quotes and allusions (pp. i, v), the question arises as to how these quotes are to be interpreted. In particular, when the New Testament authors use Old Testament quotations which are at variance to the apparent meaning of the original texts, how are these […]
Reading While Black, African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope by Esau McCaulley
The recipient of Christianity Today’s 2021 Book of the Year award, Reading While Black, enters the Social Justice/woke debates via hermeneutics. Esau McCaulley, a Black priest in the Anglican church and professor of New Testament at Wheaton College, contends that Black Christians often approach and interpret Scripture differently from others due to their lived experience. […]
By What Standard, God’s World. . . God Rules by Jared Longshore
Eight authors contribute to this work published by the SBC Founders movement and dedicated to critiquing Critical Race Theory (CRT) in light of biblical understanding on Social Justice. Several authors explain CRT including excellent materials from Voddie Baucham and Tom Ascol. Ascol lists three problematic principles of critical theory (pp. 22-23). Identity – we are […]
One Foundation, Essays on the Sufficiency of Scripture
One Foundation was published as a tribute to John MacArthur’s verse-by-verse Bible teaching for 50 Years. Thirteen authors each write a chapter, not in praise of MacArthur but in praise and defense of biblical inspiration, infallibility, inerrancy, and sufficiency. R.C. Sproul writes the lead article providing foundational definitions and necessary background. Voddie Baucham follows with […]
African Hermeneutics by Elizabeth Mburu
Elizabeth Mburu is African by birth but received her theological training at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (PH.D.). She is a professor of New Testament and Greek and on the board of the Africa Bible Commentary. Thus she is well suited, both by her personal background and by her education and experiences, to address the vital […]
Journey into God’s Word, Your Guide to Understanding and Applying the Bible by J. Scott Duvall, and J. Daniel Hays
Journey is a short book devoted to the basics of hermeneutics. It is a rather standard guide, varying little from other conservative grammatical-historical approaches to interpreting Scripture, however it has several unique features. First it is a short work, easily read and thus highly accessible for most Christians wanting a helpful source for understanding the […]
Is There a Meaning in This Text? The Bible, the Reader, and the Morality of Literary Knowledge by Kevin J. Vanhoozer
When Kevin Vanhoozer wrote this book, he was professor of Theology at the Wheaton College and Graduate School. He is now research professor of Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. In 1988 he wrote Is There a Meaning in This Text? revising it ten years later into its present form. It has over 500 […]
The Hermeneutics of the Biblical Writers, Learning to Interpret Scripture from the Prophets and Apostles by Abner Chou
Abner Chou, professor at The Master’s University, has written an important book concerning biblical hermeneutics. But Chou’s book is not covering standard interpretation issues, rather its focus is on how the human authors of the Bible handled and understood Scripture even as they wrote it. A key concern among Bible expositors is how the NT […]
What is the Bible? How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters, and Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel About Everything by Rob Bell
In What Is the Bible?, Rob Bell does for the Bible what he did for Hell in Love Wins – completely distorts it to the point that it loses all meaning and purpose. Using his now familiar style of asking more questions than providing solutions, Bell creatively and effectively leads his readership to consider his […]
Hermeneutics, Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation (2nd Edition) by Henry A. Virkler and Karelynne Gerber Ayayo
The stated goal of this text is “to give the reader not only an understanding of the principles of proper biblical interpretation but also the ability to apply those principles in sermon preparation, personal Bible study, and/or in writing” (p. 12). I believe that Virkler has been successful in obtaining this goal. He defines hermeneutics […]