How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth: Fourth Edition

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Douglas Stuart (PhD, Harvard University) is professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. On Sunday nights, our little group has started taking a book of the Bible each week and discussing it.

However, they are a "special kind of literature" and "require special care in reading and interpreting. Fee† (PhD, University of Southern California) was professor emeritus of New Testament Studies at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia. Their chapters on each biblical genre is really helpful, and generally their hermeneutical rules for each genre are accurate (though some do depend on their primary rule, so those need to be modified too). Let it be said at the outset—and repeated throughout—that the aim of good interpretation is not uniqueness; one is not trying to discover what no one else has ever seen before.If I had read something like this when I first came to Faith it would have saved me from many wacky interpretations. The hermeneutical analysis of Acts shares similarities with the analysis of the epistles, especially in the area of modern application of first century issues and concerns.

I think one of the things that’s shifted so much of my thinking is that everything— everything—deserves closer examination. As noted by the Fee and Stuart, "even though the Old Testament laws are not our law, it would be a mistake to conclude that the Law is no longer a valuable part of the Bible. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. For some, the Bible "plainly teaches" believers' baptism by immersion; others believe they can make a biblical case for infant baptism. However, we invariably bring to the text all that we are, with all of our experiences, culture, and prior understandings of words and ideas.And their approach to chapter 13 (the Revelation) which seemed to shy away from the fantastical part of the imagery. However, I cannot recommend this book to anyone because their primary and most basic rule of hermeneutics (interpretation) is faulty in the way it is stated. In clear, simple language, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth helps you accurately understa

Douglas Stuart (PhD Harvard) is senior professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.If we can't trust an all powerful God to take care of a book, then how can we trust Him to take care of us? This book is not meant for advanced students of the Bible of course, unless they would want to teach explanatory Bible reading and how to apply what you read. Fee and Stuart expend considerable effort, and rightfully so, discussing the epistles, the Old Testament narrative, the book of Acts, the Gospels, the Parables, the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms, Wisdom literature and the book of Revelation. It is clear that Fee and Stuart have a high appreciation for the Scriptures and cherish every single genre in it.