When we first pick it up and open it, the Bible can seem
confusing and perhaps even frightening. Here is this bulky book,
made up of seventy-three sections with unfamiliar titles such as
Deuteronomy, Ecclesiastes, Colossians, and Corinthians, with
numbers in front of almost every sentence, rarely any pictures, and
perhaps a few maps of ancient areas such as Mesopotamia, Assyria,
and Judah. Since the Bible looks like a book, we may start to read
it as we would any other book, hoping to move from cover to cover.
Then we begin to wonder, Who wrote this? When was it written? What
kind of writing is this: History? Science? Biography? Fiction? What
am I supposed to get out of it? As (or if) we keep reading the
Bible page by page, section by section, we soon realize that this
is no ordinary run-of-the-bookshelf volume. Without a guide the
Bible is likely to remain the book most often purchased but not
very often read and even less often understood.
To rescue Bible readers and students from turning their initial
enthusiasm into boredom, Gregory Dawes gives us this "Introduction
to the Bible," the indispensable prologue to the entire series of
the "New Collegeville Bible Commentary." Dividing the contents into
two parts, the author first describes how the Old and New
Testaments came to be put together, and then explores how their
stories have been interpreted over the centuries. In the words of
Dawes, this very broad overview of a very complex history offers
the general reader a helpful framework within which to begin to
understand the Bible. The author writes clearly, frequently
seasoning his explanations with crisp examples. This book anchors
individual and group Bible study on the solid foundation of basic
biblical vocabulary and concepts.
"Gregory W. Dawes is senior lecturer in both religious studies
and philosophy at the University of Otago (New Zealand). He
undertook graduate study at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in
Rome, where he completed the Licentiate degree, before receiving a
PhD from the University of Otago in 1995. He has written several
books, the most recent being "The Historical Jesus Question: The
Challenge of History to Religious Authority "(Westminster John
Knox, 2001). He is currently researching Christian responses to the
work of Charles Darwin."
General
Imprint: |
Liturgical Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
NEW COLLEGEVILLE BIBLE COMMENTARY: OLD TESTAMENT, 1 |
Release date: |
August 2007 |
First published: |
December 2007 |
Authors: |
Gregory W. Dawes
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 4mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
80 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8146-2835-5 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-8146-2835-4 |
Barcode: |
9780814628355 |
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