Book Review: The New Testament Background

Book Review: The New Testament Background

C.K Barrett has compiled an amazing and astounding collection of writing from ancient Greece and the Roman Empire that illuminate Christian origins (Harper Collins, New York: 1987). First published in England in 1956, this new edition has added features that reflect an increase in archaeological evidence since that time.

There are thirteen main sections. They are: The Roman empire, the Papyri, Inscriptions, the Philosophers and Poets, Gnosis and Gnosticism, Mystery Religions, Jewish History, Rabbinic Literature and Rabbinic Judaism, Qumran, Philo, Josephus, Septuagint and Targum and, finally, Apocalyptic.

The introduction gives a fitting opening for this type of book. Barrett writes that his intent was to give to English students a work similar to that of a German author in 1926. His statement, “Most men will never read such works, and even the best men will read little of them while they are undergraduates: all therefore might well be grateful for an opportunity of consulting a selection of ancient literature, all of it relevant to the New Testament, but some of it not readily accessible.” (page xix). This statement is certainly true, pointing to a great decline in the reading of even graduate students of classical literature and historic documents. I also found it interesting that he felt “the great tragedians as teachers about life, morals, destiny, and religion as profound as and more moving than the philosophers.” (page xx).

Due to the nature of this book, I feel compelled to simply highlight those aspects of the book that I found to be of great interest to me. First of all, Barrett gives a brief overview of each the sections listed above under the title, Sources (xxiii-xxix). In retrospect, I find that having read first, “The Land and the Book,” added greatly to the understanding of Barrett’s work.

In “The Roman Empire,” Barrett mentions several rulers. Tiberius pardoned the astrologers after they promised to “forsake their art.” (page 10). This is noteworthy because it shows the willingness of the Jews to suffer rather than forsake God.

“The Papyri” contains an amazingly precise description of how papyrus was made and graded and what it was used for (page 24-28). The best papyrus “was in early times devoted solely to books connected with religion” (page 25).

“Inscriptions” has a section on “Sacral Manumission,” or the release of a slave from bondage through the assistance of a God and his priests (page 55).

“Philosophers and Poets” contains the great word, “ratiocination,” which means “to reason methodically and logically” (page 58). It also contains samples of “the great writers of tragedy that one turns for profound reflection on human duty and destiny” (page 59). One such writer was Aristophanes, whom Plato thought to be “a pleasant and amusing companion who could lighten a conversation that was getting too serious” (page 85).

“Gnosis and Gnosticism” contains samples of the writings about Hermes Trismegistus (thrice–greatest Hermes), the Greek title for the Egyptian God Thoth who was thought to be greater than the Greek Olympian Hermes. His writers believed themselves to be “men who believed that there had been revealed to them a Gospel which it was their mission to preach to mankind” (page 94). In this we see a similarity to the apostles of Christ. In the Mandean Literature we see a reference to the god being a vine, “A vine am I, a vine of life” (page 116).

In “Jewish History,” Barrett defers to the work “Judaism and Hellenism” by Martin Hengel. But Barrett does a good job of citing the sources from which Paige gives his overview of Israel in “The Land and the Book.” In addition, he cites a dream of Archelaus which is very similar to the dream of famine by Pharaoh in Genesis (page 156). He also gives Josephus’ description of Essenes, Sadducees and Pharisees (pages 158-159) and a description of terrorism by the “sicarii” (page 162), which incited the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

“Rabbinic Literature and Rabbinic Judaism” shows the process and thought behind the rules and regulations of the rabbis. Statements such as “make a fence around the Law”, which meant, “Make additional commandments in order to safeguard the original commandments; for example, certain acts should be avoided towards the approach of evening on Friday lest one should forget and inadvertently continue to do them on the Sabbath” (pages 177-178) are mentioned here. “Halakah” material in the Talmud “contains specific and authoritative direction for the life of Jewish obedience” (page 184). “Haggadah” was “practical, homiletic, and often imaginative and even fanciful interpretation of Scripture” (page 184). In addition, a fanciful explanation of why the Exodus from Egypt is often quoted is given on page 193. Most significant is the statement that, “The Sabbath is given over to you, not you to the Sabbath” (reminding me of Christ’s comment) is given on page 194. Finally, Barrett refers to proselytes who were circumcised and then baptized (page 208-210) and he also shows literature that refers to Achan as possessing salvation (page 216).

“Qumran” gives a commentary on Habakkuk. “Philo” shows the life, faith and philosophy of a man who lived about 20 BC – AD 45. Barrett refers to “enervated” (debilitated) minds (page 259) and Philo’s doctrine of the logos (page 262).

It is worth mentioning that Josephus did not believe Jesus to be the Christ (page 277) but does mention Jesus, James the Just and John the Baptist.

This was an amazingly engaging book to read and to contemplate in light of the New Testament. I would definitely recommend this book and use it as a reference book in teaching.

Book Review: Growing Your Faith

Book Review: Growing Your Faith

How do you review a book that is a compilation of an author’s other books? That’s what is happening with “Growing Your Faith” by Jerry Bridges (2004, NavPress: Colorado Springs). In the Acknowledgments (page 11) Bridges admits that chapters 2 through 4 and 6 through 14 are adapted from chapters of other books he has written. Only chapters 1 and 5 offer material that has not appeared in print before. In fact, in acknowledging this the author states: “Someone has said that we need to be reminded more than we need to be instructed. Therefore, I do not apologize for, so to speak “re-plowing old ground.” (page 9). Still, this book has much to offer since it offers some vital and necessary principles on spiritual growth in one volume.

The fourteen chapters of this book are divided into three sections: The Necessity of Spiritual Growth, The Means of Spiritual Growth and The Marks of Spiritual Growth. All three sections are built upon two key truths: the author’s definition of grace and the author’s belief that spiritual growth cannot happen apart from the righteousness of Christ and the power of Christ (pages 20-23).

Bridges makes some excellent observations regarding grace. Concerning wrong views of what grace is, he writes:

Perhaps the most common misconception of grace is captured in a statement I once read: Grace is the idea that we are loved and accepted by God just as we are and that God’s approval does not have to be earned; it is simply there. Here, God seems to be pictured as the proverbial, indulgent, divine grandfather in the sky who smiles down upon us regardless of our behavior and character. This seems to be typical of the average person’s understanding of God’s grace. (page 18)

To help us understand grace, Bridges gives us a better definition of grace than “God’s unmerited favor” (page 19): “Grace is God’s favor through Christ to people who deserve His disfavor.” Should this be the new definition of grace? While this is a true definition of peculiar grace, it does not take into consideration common grace (Psalm 144:9). Since Bridges is dealing with spiritual growth his definition works but he does a disservice to his readers by making them think that this is the only kind of grace God offers.

Second, Bridges states that,

If we are going to experience any success at all in putting on the shelf of our lives the various “books” of Christian growth, we must first set in place these two bookends. We must learn to depend on both the righteousness of Christ and the power of Christ. This is what it means to live by grace. (page 23)

Is this correct? The answer depends on what Bridges means by “righteousness of Christ and “power of Christ.” On pages 20-21 he explains that by righteousness he means justification. In other words, we can only be saved through the righteousness of Christ that is imputed to us. While this is true for salvation, what about spiritual growth? This aspect of righteousness (as seen in Psalm 19:9 and Ephesians 6:14) should have been mentioned here. Instead it is alluded to in chapters 6, Growing Through the Word of God. While it is true that we can’t genuinely grow unless we are genuinely saved, I believe that his bookend analogy needs to be reworked.

As for the power of Christ, Bridges gives an excellent and well stated description of what he means. He then states that he will elaborate further on this in chapter 7, The Key to Transforming, something he did not do for the righteousness of Christ. This also would have helped to avoid confusion.

This book has much to offer. Each chapter offers several valuable insights and truths to aid in spiritual growth. In chapter 2 he challenges us to be compelled by love. I especially appreciated his reference to “refined” sins: selfishness, pride, impatience, a critical attitude and a judgmental spirit (page 30) – something that churches who teach the doctrine of eradication of the sinful nature seem to conveniently overlook.

Chapter 3, Disciplined By Grace, reveals the teaching nature of grace from Titus 2:11-12. Chapter 5, Growing Through the Word of God, is valuable but may be confusing to spiritually younger readers. Bridges discusses the “imperatives and the indicatives” (pages 63-64). According to Bridges, the imperatives, “what God requires of us”, always follow the indicatives, “what God has done for us through Christ.” “We cannot successfully put the books of God’s imperatives on the shelves of our lives without first putting the bookends of His indicatives in place” (page 64). Say again?

Bridges does a great job in chapter 6, The Key to Transformation, in discussing and explaining conviction as determinative belief. “A belief is what you hold, but a conviction is what holds you. You may live contrary to your beliefs, but you cannot live contrary to your convictions” (page 71).

Another chapter of significance is chapter 8, Spiritual Fellowship. Quoting Packer, Bridges reminds us of the Puritans who asked God for one “bosom friend” (page 96). “We need to ask God for such a close friend. And then, after we find that friend, we need to be willing to open our lives to him or her.” (page 100)

Finally, I think Bridges touches on perhaps the most important principle of spiritual growth and transformation that few writers discuss – training ourselves to be godly. Pages 122-124 of chapter 10, The Pursuit of Holiness, discusses making right choices and training ourselves to move in the right direction.

This book is well worth reading and recommending. It offers basic and simple principles in an easy to read style. Even thought the book is directed to new Christians. I believe that Christians at all levels of maturity should read this book for edification and for self-examination.

Book Review - Leaving Yesterday Behind

Book Review: Leaving Yesterday Behind - A Victim No More

“Leaving Yesterday Behind” (1997, Christian Focus Publications: Ross-Shire, Great Britain) by William Hines is a book which seeks to do more than offer utopian “you can change” rhetoric. This easy to read book seeks to offer hope and healing to readers who have undergone traumatic experiences and are seeking to be released from the bondage of yesterday. In the introduction the author writes, “the same things that hurt the rest of the world hurt Christians too…None of us is immune to the attitudes and behaviors that eat away at the soul. But the struggles don’t have to be of such tragic proportions to have a negative effect.” (page 11) To this truth the author offers a biblical process that offers hope. “Regardless of a person’s past it is possible to make a break with the cycles of sin and disappointment that have dogged him or her” (page 12).

The book is divided into four sections: The Problem, The Promise, The Process and The Purpose. Section three, made up of eight chapters, comprises the majority of the book with the other three sections each being only one chapter in length.

The first section, The Problem, asks the question, “What is my problem and who is to blame?” To be honest, I was ready to stop reading the book after this chapter. The literary approach taken by the author, writing from the perspective of helping “Jean,” seemed canned and forced the purpose of the book into a “this is the only kind of problem I can fix” focus. The author adds to the confusion when he writes, “The sinful nature is passed on biologically as we are born into bodies which will deteriorate and die; spiritually, the sin nature is passed on in our predisposition to sin.” (page 20). Which is it? Biological and genetic or spiritual?

Section two, The Promise, gives a detailed explanation of the gospel and points the reader to realize that the problems we deal with are not caused by others but our fallen nature (page 27). While I agree, I’m not sure if a book written to people with tremendous hurts and destructive pasts should be told that there abusive husband, father, parents, rapist, etc. is not to blame. It’s the fault of the victim. Way to go. Think I’ll go out and have a martini with my anti-depressants. Yes it’s true, but before a discussion on how my sinful nature is to blame for everything, I would have expected some empathy. I would have expected some clear teaching on what scripture has to say about evil and how, as the introduction states, “the same things that hurt the rest of the world hurt Christians too.” (page 11). I think that at this point in the book a distinction should have been made between what has happened to us in the past (yes, some people actually are innocent victims) and how to overcome our past through the power of salvation and all it offers, especially the power to forgive others and find true peace in Christ. I’ve been raped, abused, violated by a close relative. I’ve been told that it’s my fault. Do I really need to be hit over the head at this point in the book with being told that the source of our “guilt and shame” is our fault? (page 30).

The third section, The Process, once again uses the story of Jean to try to teach truth. In addition, the author uses a personal experience to prove his point. On pages 40-42 he describes a childhood experience with a river. On page 41 the river is symbolic of the “The truth there is a flow to life.” Instead of learning from his childhood experience to avoid foolish danger, we are exhorted to “step out and experience the sweeping changes that God says he can make in my life” (page 41). This sends a mixed message. Is God out to drown us or to help us? Would the author be willing to step into the middle of a raging river again just because he wasn’t drowned the first time?

The author then writes on page 42, “When I think of getting into the flow of what God is doing, I think of grace as the water which moves me along… As the water in the river, it completely envelopes (spelling mistake his) us and moves us along.” Now we have mixed metaphors. First the river is described as dangerous, then it symbolizes our lives, then it symbolizes grace. I prefer to think of God’s grace and His promises as something greater than “jump in and hope God doesn’t drown you.”

I truly like this book. Although there are several parts that I feel are added just to add length, I think that there is a valuable and relevant message hidden beneath cornball Jean and poor illustrations. It is the message of change through a process of discovering God and the new life He offers. From page 44 on the book begins to offer hope as it deals with our lack of understanding, our inability to forgive ourselves and our resistance to accept change, even change for the better. Other than the allusion on page 77 to emotional problems being “actually due to organic dysfunction…a physiological connection” which may prompt readers to seek pharmacological help instead of spiritual help, this book is worth reading. Chapter 8, which deals with resentment and anger needs to be carefully studied and applied.

Without a doubt, what makes this book so valuable are the Study Guides at the end of each chapter. In many ways, the most valuable part of this book is the opportunity to personally reflect and apply what was written. While we cannot forget (page 119) we can leave yesterday behind.

Book Review - The Land and the Book

Book Review – The Land and the Book

"The Land and the Book - An Introduction to the World of the Bible" by Charles R. Page II and Carl A. Volz (1993: Abingdon Press: Nashville) is a book for everyone who considers themselves a student of the Bible. Paige is Academic Dean of the Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies in Israel and Volz is Professor of Church History at Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota. Together they have written an informative and easy to read guide which takes its readers through the world of the Bible. The book provides an overview of the geography and the history of the Bible.

The book is made up of three main sections. The first, Background, gives a geographical and historical overview of the land of the Bible. While the geographical overview is brief (pages 18-26), it gives an adequate overview of the four major geographic regions. Of interest is the comparison between Jerusalem (at an elevation of 2400 feet) and Jericho (820 feet below sea level). Although they are only 16 miles apart, there is an elevation difference of 3200 feet and a temperature difference of 40 degrees F.

I consider the historical overview to be the best part of the book. This section covers the patriarchs, the Hebrews in Egypt, the Exodus, the conquest and settlement, the Judges, Saul, the United Monarchy, David, Solomon, the Divided Kingdom, Israel (the Northern Kingdom), Judah (the Southern Kingdom), the Babylonian exile and return, Alexander the Great and Hellenization, the Maccabean revolt and the Hasmoneans, Herod the Great, the fall of Jerusalem, the Life and Ministry of Jesus, the period from the fall of Jerusalem to the Arab conflict, the Islamic conquest, the Crusades and an historical update from the Ottoman period to present day events. This section is concise but well written. It gives the reader an exceptional overview of the major biblical and historical events and shows why this land is considered so sacred to those who claim to be of Christian, Jewish or Islamic origin.

The second part of the book deals with actual biblical sites. The first section describes sites in Israel with the exception of Jerusalem. Each town, city or place is listed in alphabetical order and biblical references are given. A brief overview and a description of brief biblical events then follows. Photos and maps are also included for some of the locations. Caesarea, a place that has always fascinated me, is amply described with good detail and with several photographs.

The next section deals with Jerusalem. Places around Jerusalem along with a description of the Jewish, Armenian, Christian and Muslim quarters are included. The history of the Dome of the Rock is worth noting. The final two sections discuss places around Jordan and some other notable biblical sites like Goshen and the Wilderness of Sin.

Not to be neglected are the Appendixes. This part of the book describes briefly the archaeological method, gives chronological charts, gives a glossary of terms and a notes section, which is quite detailed.

From a historical perspective this book was a fascinating read. It was a good refresher and would make an excellent introductory text for a course in Bible geography and customs. However, it is the authors' approach to a verbal. plenary view of biblical inspiration that I would like to take time discussing.

Throughout this book the authors subtly attack the literal veracity of the Bible. This is found in not only what is written but also in what is not specifically said. In the opening comments of the Historical Overview (page 27) they write:

“Dating the Patriarchs is difficult, and there are several theories concerning their chronology. Some (for example, Leon Wood and Merrill F. Unger) relying on a strict interpretation of biblical chronology, which in turn assumes the historical accuracy and reliability of the biblical texts (italics mine), date the Patriarchal period to the twenty-first century BCE.”

There are two implications inferred by this statement. First of all, there is the indirect assertion that the biblical text is not accurate and reliable. Second, the use of BCE (Before Common Era), may be politically correct, but it seems out of place in a book which purports to introduce the world of the Bible, even if some of that world took place BC (Before Christ).

Under the heading, The Conquest and the Settlement (page 30), they write: “The biblical account provides two separate and distinct versions of the settlement of Canaan.” Once again, the writers appear to assume that there is a problem with the biblical text.

On page 44 the writers refer to “Second Isaiah,” the supposed writer of Isaiah 40-55. In the chronology of the prophets on pages 237-238 the writers list the dates for Isaiah (742-700), second Isaiah (c.540) and third Isaiah (c.530), thus denying the sole authorship of the book of Isaiah by the prophet Isaiah. This again seems to cast doubts upon the accuracy and reliability of scripture since this view often is based on a belief in what is called “prophecy after the fact.” In addition, it is interesting to note that the prophetically and chronologically problematic prophet Daniel is not even listed amongst the chronologies of the prophets.

What is more disturbing are the statements made concerning the gospels. On page 70 the writers state:

“A reconstruction of the history of Jesus’ life and ministry is filled with difficulties. The primary sources—the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—present the activities and teachings of Jesus from the point of view of the Christian faith, and they do not always agree as to the sequence, chronology, or place of particular events. The following pages intend to offer a simple historical outline, based on a composite reading of all four Gospels, without delving into the numerous complex issues of historical evidence and critical biblical interpretations over which responsible scholars and theologians may disagree.” (italics mine)

Furthermore, the baptism of Jesus is called a “story” (page 71) and several times the writers say “Jesus is said to” or “Jesus is reported to have” or “Jesus probably” (pages 72, 73, 74, 75). Once again the accuracy of scripture is called into question.

All in all, this is a well written and worthwhile book. It is informative and well thought out in a practical, logical manner. I would definitely recommend this book but would feel it necessary to inform other readers that the writers’ views on inspiration do not agree with mine.