Theology : Systematic Theology / Dogmatics: Scripture - Clarity

Biblicism, an approach to the Bible common among some American evangelicals, emphasizes together the Bible's exclusive authority, infallibility, clarity, self-sufficiency, internal consistency, self-evident meaning, and universal applicability. Acclaimed sociologist Christian Smith argues that this approach is misguided and unable to live up to its own claims. If evangelical biblicism worked as its proponents say it should, there would not be the vast variety of interpretive differences that biblicists themselves reach when they actually read and interpret the Bible. Smith describes the assumptions, beliefs, and practices of evangelical biblicism and sets it in historical, sociological, and philosophical context. He explains why it is an impossible approach to the Bible as an authority and provides constructive alternative approaches to help evangelicals be more honest and faithful in reading the Bible. Far from challenging the inspiration and authority of Scripture, Smith critiques a particular rendering of it, encouraging evangelicals to seek a more responsible, coherent, and defensible approach to biblical authority.

This is a collection of studies of suffering and martyrdom concentrating on the link, historically envisaged in different ways, between the sufferings of the faithful and the figure of Christ (or the messianic hope, in relation to one Jewish writer). The distinguished scholars contributing to this cohesive but many-sided book are C. F. D. Moule, J. C. O'Neill, B. E. Beck, B. Lindars, M. D. Hooker, W. F. Flemington, E. Bammel, J. P. M. Sweet, B. McNeil, W. Horbury, N. L. A. Lash and the late G. W. H. Lampe. All have been associated closely with the Cambridge New Testament Seminar and Professor Moule prefaces the volume with an account of the history of the Seminar and of its secretary for many years, G. M. Styler, in whose honour the collection is published. The importance and centrality of the topic will make the book of interest beyond the immediate circle of students of the New Testament, to those interested in patristic and Jewish studies and systematic theology.

Is it possible to embrace the inherent dignity of womanhood while still cherishing the Bible? Many people, both inside and outside the church, are concerned that an orthodox understanding of the Bible is threatening and even harmful to women. After all, the Bible has a number of passages regarding women that are deeply troubling and hard to read. But is that assessment accurate? In this fascinating look at God's work of redemption from Creation to today, Wendy Alsup explores questions such as:  * How does God view justice and equal rights for women? * What does it mean to be made in the image of God? * How have the centuries distorted our interpretation of how God views women? * How did Jesus approach the Old Testament and how does that help us read difficult passages today? * What is the difference between a modern view of feminism and the feminism that Scripture models? * How does the Bible explain the Bible to us? Using a Jesus-centered understanding to look at both God's grand storyline and specific biblical passages, Alsup gives practical and accessible tools for understanding the noble ways God speaks to and about women in its pages and the dignity He places on His daughters.