Biblical Authority


Book Description

With courtesy and restraint Professor Woodbridge administers a series of knock-out blows to the confidently voiced claim that factual inerrancy is no authentic element in the historic Christian view of Scripture.




The Authority and Interpretation of the Bible


Book Description

This book is a detailed and comprehensive study of attitudes toward biblical authority and interpretation held from the beginnings of the Christian era to the present day. In clear and readable fashion, the authors examine the writings of early church fathers, the medieval exegetes, and the leaders of the Protestant Reformation to locate the source of, and refute, the position of inerrancy.







In Defense of the Bible


Book Description

In Defense of the Bible gathers exceptional articles by accomplished scholars (Paul Copan, William A. Dembski, Mary Jo Sharp, Darrell L. Bock, etc.), addressing and responding to all of the major contemporary challenges to the divine inspiration and authority of Scripture. The book begins by looking at philosophical and methodological challenges to the Bible—questions about whether or not it is logically possible for God to communicate verbally with human beings; what it means to say the Bible is true in response to postmodern concerns about the nature of truth; defending the clarity of Scripture against historical skepticism and relativism. Contributors also explore textual and historical challenges—charges made by Muslims, Mormons, and skeptics that the Bible has been corrupted beyond repair; questions about the authorship of certain biblical books; allegations that the Bible borrows from pagan myths; the historical reliability of the Old and New Testaments. Final chapters take on ethical, scientific, and theological challenges— demonstrating the Bible’s moral integrity regarding the topics of slavery and sexism; harmonizing exegetical and theological conclusions with the findings of science; addressing accusations that the Christian canon is the result of political and theological manipulation; ultimately defending the Bible as not simply historically reliable and consistent, but in fact the Word of God.




The Erosion of Biblical Certainty


Book Description

According to conventional wisdom, by the late 1800s, the image of Bible as a supernatural and infallible text crumbled in the eyes of intellectuals under the assaults of secularizing forces. This book corrects the narrative by arguing that in America, the road to skepticism had already been paved by the Scriptures' most able and ardent defenders.




Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible


Book Description

This groundbreaking reference tool introduces key names, theories, and concepts for interpreting Scripture.




Bible Culture and Authority in the Early United States


Book Description

Early Americans claimed that they looked to "the Bible alone" for authority, but the Bible was never, ever alone. Bible Culture and Authority in the Early United States is a wide-ranging exploration of the place of the Christian Bible in America in the decades after the Revolution. Attending to both theoretical concerns about the nature of scriptures and to the precise historical circumstances of a formative period in American history, Seth Perry argues that the Bible was not a "source" of authority in early America, as is often said, but rather a site of authority: a cultural space for editors, commentators, publishers, preachers, and readers to cultivate authoritative relationships. While paying careful attention to early national bibles as material objects, Perry shows that "the Bible" is both a text and a set of relationships sustained by a universe of cultural practices and assumptions. Moreover, he demonstrates that Bible culture underwent rapid and fundamental changes in the early nineteenth century as a result of developments in technology, politics, and religious life. At the heart of the book are typical Bible readers, otherwise unknown today, and better-known figures such as Zilpha Elaw, Joseph Smith, Denmark Vesey, and Ellen White, a group that includes men and women, enslaved and free, Baptists, Catholics, Episcopalians, Methodists, Mormons, Presbyterians, and Quakers. What they shared were practices of biblical citation in writing, speech, and the performance of their daily lives. While such citation contributed to the Bible's authority, it also meant that the meaning of the Bible constantly evolved as Americans applied it to new circumstances and identities.




Knowing Scripture


Book Description

In this revised edition of his classic, R. C. Sproul helps us dig out the meaning of Scripture for ourselves. He presents a commonsense approach to studying Scripture and gives eleven practical guidelines for biblical interpretation and applying what we learn. He lays the groundwork by discussing why we should study the Bible and how our own personal study relates to interpretation.




Theological Interpretation of the New Testament


Book Description

Utilizes material from the award-winning Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible to introduce theological interpretation through a book-by-book survey of the New Testament.




Ascertaining Bible Authority


Book Description

This book, Ascertaining Bible Authority, by the late Roy C. Deaver (1922-2007) has been a blessing to many serious students of the Scriptures for about thirty-nine years now. The author, a tremendous student of Scripture himself, discusses the principles of Bible interpretation which, if understood and applied, will help the student come to a greater understanding of the biblical text as written. The Bible supplies principles by which it is to be interpreted. The original meaning of the text cannot be comprehended unless the Scriptures are handled in the way that the Scriptures demand that we handle them. The Bible is a rational book and must be rationally approached. Ascertaining Bible Authority can help Bible students understand better how it is that the Bible teaches what it does and how it is that it authorizes what we are to do today. And it provides the link whereby people living today become connected to the authority of Scripture. It is hoped that as this little book has been a blessing to many (including gospel preachers and preacher students) for years in its preceding editions, that it might become a great blessing to you that read and study and learn from it in this latest printing.- Mac Deaver (July 11, 2016)