Resources

    Reading the Bible can raise a lot of questions. Faith has nothing to fear from good honest questions, but it’s always good to know where you can go to get some help when thinking through some of the issues raised by studying the Bible.

    St Paul’s Theological Centre

    A theological college based in HTB.

    You might like to listen to GodPod, a regular podcast where all kinds of theological and biblical questions are discussed by experienced theologians, maybe the very questions you’ve been asking as you’ve read the Bible this year.

    Also you can find a series of interesting talks by experts on different aspects of the Bible, including a talk on ‘Can you Trust the Bible’ by Amy Orr-Ewing, and several others.

    The Biblical Story in a Nutshell

    Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen, The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004)

    Commentaries

    For useful information on various bible commentaries see http://www.bestcommentaries.com/ 

    General Introductory Commentary Series

    The One Volume Bible Commentaires (perhaps more useful at the start)

    • Donald A. Carson et al. (eds.), New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition (Leicester: IVP, 1994)
    • James D. G. Dunn and John W. Rogerson eds., Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible (Cambridge: Eerdmans, 2003)
    • John Barton and John Muddiman eds., The Oxford Bible Commentary (Oxford: OUP, 2001)

    More Advanced

    • The Word Bible Commentary Series (Waco: Word)

    For Further Information On Bible Commentaries

    • Donald A. Carson, New Testament Commentary Survey (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1988)
    • Tremper Longman III, Old Testament Commentary Survey (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991)

    Bible Introductions

    One volume - Both New and Old Testament

    • Philip S. Johnston ed., The IVP Introduction to the Bible (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP, 2006)

    New Testament

    • David A. deSilva, An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation (Leicester: Apollos, 2004)

    Old Testament

    • John Goldingay, Old Testament Theology. Volume 1: Israel’s Gospel (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP, 2003)
    • John W. Drane, Introducing the Old Testament (Oxford: Lion, 1989)
    • Bernhard W. Anderson, The Living World of the Old Testament (Harlow, Essex: Longman, 19934)

    Gordon Fee's Books

    • Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to read the Bible for all its worth: a guide to understanding the Bible. 3rd Edition (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983)
    • Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible Book by Book: A Guided Tour (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002)
    • Gordon D. Fee and Mark L. Strauss, How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding and Using Bible Versions (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007)

    Bible Dictionaries

    The IVP Dictionary Series

    See http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=2900

    • Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson eds., Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP, 2005)
    • Tremper Longmann III and Peter Enns eds., Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP, 2008)
    • Desmond T. Alexander and David W. Baker eds., Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP, 2002)
    • Craig A. Evans and Stanley E. Porter eds., Dictionary of New Testament Background (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP, 2000)
    • Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight and I. Howard Marshall eds., Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP, 1992)
    • Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin and Daniel G. Reid eds., Dictionary of Paul and His Letters (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP, 1993)
    • Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids eds., Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP, 1997)

    Resources For Specific Topics

    Many matters, such as the development of the Canon, will be treated in the various OT and NT Introductions. For information on any other topics, please contact the St Paul’s Theological Centre Office.

    Justification by faith

    • N. T. Wright, “The Letter to the Romans. Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible, ed. L. E. Keck, et al. (Nashville: Abington, 2002)
    • M. B. Thompson, The New Perspective on Paul, Grove Biblical Series B26. (Cambridge: Grove Books, 2002)
    • Michael F. Bird, The Saving Righteousness of God: Studies on Paul, Justification and the New Perspective (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2007)
    • M. Seifrid, 'The "New Perspective" on Paul and its Problems', Themelios 25 (2000), 4-18. This article is free online http://s3.amazonaws.com/tgc-documents/journal-issues/25.2_Seifrid.pdf
    • Peter Stuhlmacher, Revisiting Paul’s Doctrine of Justification: A Challenge to the New Perspective (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP, 2001)
    • Tom Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said (Oxford: Lion, 1997)

    Genesis, Science AND Evolution

    • Denis Alexander, Creation or Evolution: Do We Have to Choose? (Oxford: Monarch, 2008)

    Divinely Ordained Violence In The Bible

    • Cf. relevant sections in John Goldingay, Old Testament Theology. Volume 1: Israel’s Gospel (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP, 2003)
    • Christopher J. H. Wright, The God I Don't Understand: Reflections on Tough Questions of Faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009)

    Biblical Inspiration

    • J. E. Goldingay, Models for Scripture (Carlisle: Paternoster, 1994)
    • Peter Enns, Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005).
    • Nicholas Wolterstorff, Divine Discourse: Philosophical Reflections on the Claim that God Speaks (Cambridge: CUP, 1995)
    • N.T. Wright, “How Can The Bible Be Authoritative?”, Vox Evangelica, 1991, 21, 7–32, free online at http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Bible_Authoritative.htm
    • Kenton L. Sparks, God’s Word in Human Words: An Evangelical Appropriation of Critical Biblical Scholarship (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008)

    Paul

    • Michael F. Bird, A Bird’s-Eye View of Paul (Nottingham: IVP, 2008)
    • Michael J. Gorman, Reading Paul (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2008)

    Gospels / The ‘Historical Jesus’

    Revelation

    • Richard Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of Revelation (Cambridge: CUP, 1993)