Language is not only the centerpiece of our everyday lives, but it gives significance to all that we do. It also reflects and reveals our all-sustaining Creator, whose providential governance extends to the intricacies of language. Writes Vern Poythress, "God controls and specifies the meaning of each word-not only in English but in Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, Italian, and every other language. When, in our modernism or postmodernism, we drop him from our account of language, our words suddenly become a prison that keeps us from the truth rather than opening doors to the truth. But we will use our words more wisely if we come to know God and understand him in relation to our language."
It is such biblically informed insights that make In the Beginning Was the Word especially valuable. Words are important to us all, and this book-written at a level that presupposes no knowledge of linguistics-develops a positive, God-centered view of language. In his interaction with multiple disciplines Poythress offers plenty of application, not just for scholars and church leaders but for any Christian thinking carefully about his speech.

Author and scholar Vern S. Poythress explores major systematic theology topics through the lens of truth, explaining how truth informs and confirms what the Bible teaches.

Foundations of Contemporary Interpretation seeks to identify and clarify the basic problems of interpretation that affect our reading of the Bible today. This unique volume provides a comprehensive and systematic coverage of the field of general hermeneutics. Foundations of Contemporary Interpretation examines the impact of specific academic disciplines on the interpretation of the Bible. Previously published as separate volumes, its various sections explore the interface between hermeneutics and literary criticism, linguistics, history, science, and theology. Included in Foundations of Contemporary Interpretation, each with its own separate table of contents, are: -Has the Church Misread the Bible? -- Moises Silva -Literary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation -- Tremper Longman III -God, Language, and Scripture -- Moises Silva -The Art of Biblical History -- V. Philips Long -Science and Hermeneutics -- Vern S. Poythress -The Study of Theology -- Richard A. Muller. These six sections cover the interface between hermeneutics and the major disciplines.

In his new book, Vern S. Poythress offers a providentialist approach to understanding history, giving Christians a strong, biblical foundation for recognizing God's lordship and studying the past.

This comprehensive resource on biblical interpretation argues for the importance of reading the Bible as both a human and a divine document, advocating an explicitly Christ-centered approach to understanding Scripture’s meaning.

Vern S. Poythress examines how all human reasoning reflects God’s nature. Providing a foundational understanding of God as the source of rationality, Poythress explores the 3 fundamental laws of logic with a strong focus on analogical reasoning.

For Christians looking to improve critical thinking skills, here is an accessible introduction to the study of logic as well as an in-depth treatment of the discipline from a professor with six academic degrees and over 30 years experience teaching. Questions for further reflection are included at the end of each chapter as well as helpful diagrams and charts for use in college and graduate-level classrooms.

Vern Poythress has undertaken a radical recasting of the study of logic in this revolutionary work from a Christian worldview.

"The Bible is God's own Word to us." Translating the words of God has become an even more daunting task in recent years as the pressure of "political correctness" and various activist agendas have sought to influence the landscape. No issue has become more controversial than genderneutral Bible translations, especially with the release of the TNIV.

Vern Poythress and Wayne Grudem examine the translation practice of replacing the generic "he" and the specific "father" with the gender-neutral "they" and "parent" with special attention focused on the TNIV. While translators may be well intentioned in seeking not to offend, Poythress and Grudem contend that the results are subtly changing meanings of the original texts.

The authors seek to build a dialogue that will result in understanding both sides of the gender-neutral controversy and the challenge of producing accurate Bible translations.

Highlighting proper hermeneutical principles for interpreting Genesis 1-3, this book offers a clear direction for approaching these early chapters correctly.

Concentrates on the positive task of uncovering some biblical foundations for science and the philosophy of science.

Serious Bible readers all recognize that there are differences between accounts of the same events in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and no responsible reader can simply sweep these differences under the rug. But can all of the accounts still be reconciled with a belief in biblical inerrancy?

Responding to the questions surrounding the gospel narratives, New Testament scholar Vern Poythress contributes a worthy case for inerrancy in the gospels and helps readers understand basic principles for harmonization. He also tackles some of the most complicated exegetical problems, showing the way forward on passages that have perplexed many, such as the centurion's servant, the cursing of the fig tree, and more.

All those interested in the authority of Scripture will find in this volume great encouragement and insight as Poythress has provided an arresting case to stem the tide of skepticism.

Though the Bible presents a personal and relational God, popular modern worldviews portray an impersonal divine force in a purely material world. Readers influenced by this competing worldview hold assumptions about fundamental issues--like the nature of humanity, evil, and the purpose of life--that present profound obstacles to understanding the Bible.

In Inerrancy and Worldview, Dr. Vern Poythress offers the first worldview-based defense of scriptural inerrancy, showing how worldview differences create or aggravate most perceived difficulties with the Bible. His positive case for biblical inerrancy implicitly critiques the worldview of theologians like Enns, Sparks, Allert, and McGowan. Poythress, who has researched and published in a variety of fields-- including science, linguistics, and sociology--deals skillfully with the challenges presented in each of these disciplines. By directly addressing key examples in each field, Poythress shows that many difficulties can be resolved simply by exposing the influence of modern materialism.

Inerrancy and Worldview's positive response to current attempts to abandon or redefine inerrancy will enable Christians to respond well to modern challenges by employing a worldview that allows the Bible to speak on its own terms.

What if all events--big and small, good and bad--are governed by more than just blind chance? What if they are governed by God?

In this theologically informed and philosophically nuanced introduction to the study of probability and chance, Vern Poythress argues that all events--including the seemingly random or accidental--fall under God's watchful gaze as part of his eternal plan. Comprehensive in its scope, this book lays the theistic foundation for our scientific assumptions about the world while addressing personal questions about the meaning and significance of everyday events.

A biblical framework for considering the foundation of human relationships, leading to a rethinking of the discipline of sociology.

Interpersonal relationships are possible for humans because we are created in the image of a Trinitarian God. But if the Trinity is our model for relationships, why is the human condition rife with pain and evil? How are we to think correctly about fallen human relationships and our models for understanding them?

Redeeming Sociology advocates a biblically informed model for human relationships--relationships rooted in the Trinitarian character of God, his governance of the world, and his redemption accomplished in Christ. Poythress examines how the breaking of relationships through sin leads to strife, murder, and oppression among human beings and sets cultures against one another. And he shows how these broken relationships are restored through the outworking of redemption in Christ.

Though typical sociological models for interpersonal relationships may offer some valuable insights, they are handicapped by a fundamental misunderstanding of humanity. The biblical model that Poythress presents correctly diagnoses the problem of human relationships, so it can likewise prescribe a biblical solution that infuses new meaning and power into how we relate to others made in the image of God.