This book is to consider some of the special ques-tions and problems which surround the Bible itself--a book for which all blurbs are impossible.

"Opening Scripture provides a thorough and original account of ministerial and lay strategies for interpreting Scripture in the Massachusetts Bay. Demonstrating an impressive command of the vast literature and history of the period, Lisa Gordis moves deftly through discussions of major figures and events. This is a significant intervention in the study of Puritan New England."—Sandra M. Gustafson, University of Notre Dame What role did the Bible really play in Puritan New England? Many have treated it as a blunt instrument used to cudgel dissenters into submission, but Lisa M. Gordis reveals instead that Puritan readings of the Bible showed great complexity and literary sophistication—so much complexity, in fact, that controversies over biblical interpretation threatened to tear Puritan society apart. Drawing on Puritan preaching manuals and sermons as well as the texts of early religious controversies, Gordis argues that Puritan ministers did not expect to impose their views on their congregations. Instead they believed that interpretive consensus would emerge from the process of reading the Bible, with the Holy Spirit assisting readers to understand God's will. Treating the conflict over Roger Williams, the Antinomian Controversy, and the reluctant compromises of the Halfway Covenant as symptoms of a crisis that was as much literary as it was social or spiritual, Opening Scripture explores the profound consequences of Puritan negotiations over biblical interpretation for New England's literature and history.

Opening Israel's Scriptures is a collection of thirty-six essays on the Hebrew Bible, from Genesis to Chronicles, which gives powerful insight into the complexity and inexhaustibility of the Hebrew Scriptures as a theological resource. Based on more than two decades of lectures on Old Testament interpretation, Ellen F. Davis offers a selective yet comprehensive guide to the core concepts, literary patterns, storylines, and theological perspectives that are central to Israel's Scriptures. Underlying the whole study is the primary assumption that each book of the canon has literary and theological coherence, though not uniformity. In both her close readings of individual texts and in her broad demonstrations of the coherence of whole books, Davis models the best practices of contemporary exegesis, integrating the insights of contemporary scholars with those of classical theological resources in Jewish and Christian traditions. Throughout, she keeps an eye to the experiences and concerns of contemporary readers, showing through multiple examples that the critical interpretation of texts is provisional, open-ended work--a collaboration across generations and cultures. Ultimately what she offers is an invitation into the more spacious world that the Bible discloses, which challenges ordinary conceptions of how things "really" are.

The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.

Bringing the Gospel of Luke to Life, Insight and Inspiration "Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?" -- Luke 24:32 The Gospel of Luke can similarly come to life for us when, as twenty-first century Christians, we have a teacher who will share his insights into its original first-century meaning and context. George Martin, a gifted Catholic writer on Scripture, employs commonsense vocabulary and concepts as he focuses on what Luke's words meant when he wrote them, with an eye toward their meaning for our times. Whether you practice lectio divina, prepare and preach homilies, lead or participate in Bible study groups, are a Scripture teacher or seminarian, you will find George Martin to be an enlightening and accessible resource. "George Martin's expositions of the Gospels are written with admirable clarity. They interpret each Gospel in its first-century context, convey the best insights of modern scholars, and challenge readers to apply the text to their own lives." -- Daniel Harrington, S.J., Boston College School of Theology and Ministry

Opening Up the Scriptures was written by a group of eminent Catholics, including Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger -- now Pope Benedict XVI. In these erudite essays the authors contend that historical-critical interpretation of Scripture has long since run its course in both Protestant and Catholic exegesis. Instead, they argue, the future of interpretation lies in accepting that the Bible is not just a collection of historical documents but also a record of revelation conceived in faith. By this token, true exegesis involves the faith and humility of the exegete. Contributors: Paul Beauchamp Bruna Costacurta Ignace de la Potterie Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Klemens Stock Albert Cardinal Vanhoye