Thursday, January 30, 2014

Jonah: The Scandalous Love of God - A Review










A Review


Let me begin with the same words I used to describe this new series as I did with my just finished review of the  commentary on the book of Obadiah.


I first fell in love with the Old Testament during the summer of 1972 while attending a four week leadership training workshop sponsored by Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.  The first week was a study of the book of Amos led by Carl E. Armerding. This book helped to continue that appreciation for the Old Testament.


This new commentary on Jonah and its companion on the book of Obadiah are the first two volumes in a new series, “Hearing the Message of Scripture” from Zondervan.  For lack of a better term, the titles in this series best classified as a “Rhetorical Commentaries” with the author of this first volume also serving as the General Editor of the entire series.  


Recognizing that most commentaries and readers apply the syntactical tools available to the Biblical scholar to the either the word or sentence level, Block is responding to recent studies in “rhetorical and discourse analysis” suggest that similar concepts can be applied to the both the paragraph and to the literary unit as a whole.  It is this background that serves as the backbone of this new series of commentaries.  The series certainly assumes the authority of scripture, quoting II Timothy 3:16-17 early in the introduction; though it does not explicitly adopt the inerrancy of scripture as part of its foundation.


With this in mind, each unit of the text will include address a number of “issues”:



  1. The Main Idea of the Passage: A one- or two-sentence summary of the key ideas the biblical author seeks to communicate.
  2. Literary Context: A brief discussion of the relationship of the specific text to the book as a whole and to its place within the broader arguments.
  3. Translation and Outline: Commentators will provide their own translations of each text, formatted to highlight the discourse structure of the text and accompanied by a coherent outline that reflects the flow and argument of the text.  
  4. Structure and Literary Form: An introductory survey of the literary structure and rhetorical style adopted by the biblical author, highlighting how these features contribute to the communication of the main idea of the passage.
  5. Explanation of the Text: A detailed commentary on the passage, paying particular attention to how the biblical authors select and arrange their materials and how they work with words, phrases, and syntax to communicate their messages. This will take up the bulk of most commentaries.
  6. Canonical and Practical Significance: The commentary on each unit will conclude by building bridges between the world of the biblical author and other biblical authors and with reflections on the contribution made by this unit to the development of broader issues in biblical theology — particularly on how later OT and NT authors have adapted and reused the motifs in question.  The discussion will also include brief reflections on the significance of the message of the passage for readers today.

(Copied from “Series Introduction”)
Though a few other comments are made, one caught my attention.  Though smaller books may allow room for a significant word for word commentary, space may not allow authors of commentaries of larger books to include as many details.  


My only additional comment at this point is that I can only hope that a similar set of commentaries on the NT will be forthcoming from Zondervan in the near future as well.


Like the commentary on Obadiah, this commentary on Jonah begins with a new translation of the whole book.


The commentary proper begins by noting that the “cultural impact of the book of Jonah is out of proportion to its small size - even referring to Bruce Springsteen’s new song, “Swallowed Up (in the Belly of the Whale).”   The author goes on to say:


Perhaps one reason for this story’s ability to transcend the normal barriers of cultural and religious differences is its emphasis on the universal scope of God’s sovereignty and mercy. Furthermore, the book’s subtlety and open-endedness lend the story to a multiplicity of interpretations as is apparent from the vast number of commentaries purporting to expound the book’s message.  (25)


From that point, the book proceeds to discuss Jonah’s place in the Minor Prophets, the larger genre of the Prophetic literature, and the Bible as a whole.  Part of this discussion is the historicity of  Jonah - particularly as it relates to known history of the Mideast.  The author understands that there are difficulties with determining the historic setting of the book, and the time of its writing but adds,


The possible chronological distance between the events recorded in the book and the book’s composition should not, however, deter readers from taking the narrative seriously. A brief and dramatic account like that of the prophet Jonah could easily have been preserved in Israel’s memory, having first circulated in northern Israel and then eventually making its way to postexilic Judah. It was finally combined with Judean prophetic traditions, at which point it was committed to writing with consummate artistic skill. (35)


Youngblood concludes with the “Canonical and Practical Significance” of the book of Jonah.  The author does this by drawing from the New Testament’s use of Jonah, concluding by comparing Johan’s behavior to that of the older brother in the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  


Because this commentary makes significantly less use of the original languages, I can recommend this commentary on Jonah for the layman, as well as the pastor and scholar.  Institutional libraries would do well in adding this book to their collection as well. (176)
______________
This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are mine alone.  

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Obadiah: The Kingship Belongs to YHWH - A Review







by



A Review


I first fell in love with the Old Testament during the summer of 1972 while attending a four week leadership training workshop sponsored by Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.  The first week was a study of the book of Amos led by Carl E. Armerding. This book helped to continue that appreciation for the Old Testament.


This new commentary on Obadiah and its companion on the book of Jonah are the first two volumes in a new series, “Hearing the Message of Scripture” from Zondervan.  For lack of a better term, the titles in this series best classified as a “Rhetorical Commentaries” with the author of this first volume also serving as the General Editor of the entire series.  


Recognizing that most commentaries and readers apply the syntactical tools available to the Biblical scholar to the either the word or sentence level, Block is responding to recent studies in “rhetorical and discourse analysis” suggest that similar concepts can be applied to the both the paragraph and to the literary unit as a whole.  It is this background that serves as the backbone of this new series of commentaries.  The series certainly assumes the authority of scripture, quoting II Timothy 3:16-17 early in the introduction; though it does not explicitly adopt the inerrancy of scripture as part of its foundation.


With this in mind, each unit of the text will include address a number of “issues”: 

  1. The Main Idea of the Passage: A one- or two-sentence summary of the key ideas the biblical author seeks to communicate.
  2. Literary Context: A brief discussion of the relationship of the specific text to the book as a whole and to its place within the broader arguments.
  3. Translation and Outline: Commentators will provide their own translations of each text, formatted to highlight the discourse structure of the text and accompanied by a coherent outline that reflects the flow and argument of the text.
  4. Structure and Literary Form: An introductory survey of the literary structure and rhetorical style adopted by the biblical author, highlighting how these features contribute to the communication of the main idea of the passage.
  5. Explanation of the Text: A detailed commentary on the passage, paying particular attention to how the biblical authors select and arrange their materials and how they work with words, phrases, and syntax to communicate their messages. This will take up the bulk of most commentaries.
  6. Canonical and Practical Significance: The commentary on each unit will conclude by building bridges between the world of the biblical author and other biblical authors and with reflections on the contribution made by this unit to the development of broader issues in biblical theology — particularly on how later OT and NT authors have adapted and reused the motifs in question.  The discussion will also include brief reflections on the significance of the message of the passage for readers today.
(Copied from “Series Introduction”)
Though a few other comments are made, one caught my attention.  Though smaller books may allow room for a significant word for word commentary, space may not allow authors of commentaries of larger books to include as many details.


The commentary on Obadiah begins with a translation of the whole book.  The author then begins to discuss the place of this shortest of books (291 Hebrew words) in the Old Testament canon.  To assist the reader, the text includes a number of images, charts, and footnotes, beginning with the first page of the commentary proper.  The author intentionally approaches the book as a piece of rhetoric, referring to the book’s spokesman as being its “Rhetor.”  


As mentioned earlier, because Obadiah is a short book, significant time is spent on each verse.  Of course, the importance of this is cannot be ascertained until one of the larger OT books is published.  Considerable time is spent discussing the parallelism between the book of Obadiah and Isaiah 49 – though other parallel passages are not ignored.


I enjoyed reading the practical nature of Obadiah, which focused, among other things, on the importance of YHWH to the Israelites.  Three extremely useful indexes are included at the rear of the book:


  1. Scripture Index
  2. Subject Index
  3. Author Index


The book is written for the trained pastor or scholar and will serve those audiences well.  The lay community may be put off a bit by the regular use of Hebrew and Greek (yes, Greek) throughout the text.


The book comes with a strong recommendation for addition to the pastor’s, the scholar’s, and the institutional library.  
______________
This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are mine alone.  

Monday, January 27, 2014

What Is Relativity? - A Review








A Review


I generally enjoy science.  In college I was a chemistry major and had a mathematics minor.  A majority of my career focused on Computer Science in which I had a graduate degree and spent teaching in the college classroom.  I enjoyed studying science.


My exposure to physics began with a year course during my senior year and then three semesters of physics in college.  Sadly, my appreciation for science and my courses in physics left me with a dislike of physics.


I wish I could say Jeffrey Bennett’s book cured me of my dislike.  It did not.  However, it did leave me a better appreciation of Einstein’s theories and contributions to modern science.  As he writes, the author includes a number of milestones where he says, “This is what we now know …” and he repeats the basic points covered to that point in the book.  Though I occasionally felt overwhelmed as I read, at those points, I could hear myself thinking, “Okay, I know how he came to that point, and that one.”  I was able, though it was still confusing, to follow the argument from point A to point D.  I was learning something about relativity.


Though relativity has its roots in mathematics, What Is Relativity? does not require a great deal of mathematics.  I did not say none, but it is not the foundation upon which the book is built.  There are occasional sections which authors says are written for the mathematical astute and others should skip them - a very small portion of the book is of this nature.


The book would make a good piece of ancillary reading for a high school or college freshman physics course.  There were still times I wish there has been an instructor nearby ready to answer questions.  There are details that the book discusses that are still being hammered out in physics labs around the world (e.g. Do Black Holes exist?  Just this week, Stephen Hawking was very vocal about the non-existence of Black Holes, saying that only grey holes existed.).  


I would not classify the book as “light” reading - but it certainly understandable and can be appreciated in its own right.  For that reason, I would recommend the book for the reader who has an interest in science, but for whom physics was over the top, as it was for me.  It made a tough subject understandable.
______________

This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are mine alone.  

Snapshot (A Graphic Novel) - A Review






A Review


Snapshot got my attention because it had the same title as a novel I had read a week or two earlier.  Though there is no connection between the two books, I found this graphic novel to be as compelling as the earlier novel.


The story held my interest, the characters were believable.  My only concern was the very quick transition from the story’s climax to its conclusion.  I felt as if I had missed some of the story - actually going back and forth over the last three pages to make sure I had not flipped past some important detail.  


Though the author and artist have quite the reputation, I had never run across them before.  The high contrast black and white drawing were well done - and conveyed the story well.  Nothing was lost by choosing to not use color in this book’s artwork.  
______________

This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are mine alone.  

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

The Shadow: The Light of the World - A Reveiw






Chris Roberson, Giovanni Timpano and Alex Ross
A Review


This is the third book in this new series of graphic novels featuring The Shadow and Margo Lane.  As always, Lamont Cranston and his associates are scattered throughout the city as they try to track down the villain known as The Lady of Light.  Having been trained by the members of ancient sect to fight evil however she perceives  in the most malecious of ways, she has brought her villainous methods to The Shadows city.  


The police do not seem to be making progress in solving the series of murders committed in the name of justice; and, though they are intent on stopping The Shadow from being involved in the investigation, he has no intentions of doing so.  The comic version of The Shadow reminds me of the old radio dramas that were part of my childhood - alas only as reruns even at that time.   


It was a pleasure to again read a story based on characters long gone.  I suspect that others will fill the same way.  I will look forward to future installments in the series.
______________

This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are mine alone.  

Tuesday, January 21, 2014







A Review

Though Volume 3 is the first of the three to be published, it sets a high standard for the two forthcoming books.  By combining scripture, history, and self-study, the authors have provided a very usable theology - accessible to the scholar, the student, and the layman.  

As hinted at above, each theological topic includes the “primary biblical texts, a history of each main teaching, relevant charts and graphs, practical implications, and suggestions” for future study.  The historical section includes both an historical exploration and a set of  extended quotations from the primary sources that have spoken on the topic - including the church fathers, the historical figures that have founded the major theological streams found in the 21st century church, and more contemporary theological spokesmen.  

I will be looking forward to the remaining two volumes in this series.
______________

This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are mine alone.  

Monday, January 20, 2014

Circle of Influence - A Review



Circle of Influence


by
Annette Dashofy

A Review

The weather outside is perfect for reading this winter mystery.  Zoe, an EMT and the assistant county coroner, found herself caught in the midst of a small, rural, community’s crime spree. Was she the victim, the suspect, or the unprofessional detective intent on solving the crime? Worse, it looked like her best friend, her best friend's children, or her cohorts who worked for the local township all could be guilty as well.  

The author does a masterful job of keeping the reader (and the story’s  characters) involved in the story.  Living in upstate New York, an area with a government and political mix very similar to that described in the Southern Pennsylvania setting for the story, made for an interesting read.  The changeable weather within which Zoe, Pete, Matt, Logan, Allison, as well as a host of others, had to solve the crimes was a perfect reflection of the weather we find in much of the western parts of the mid-atlantic states.  Having also spent several years living in small town America, I easily felt at home.

The book kept my attention from beginning to end.  An abuser certainly takes power from the abused - and it takes work, hard work, to get it back again.  It is a tough lesson for some to learn.  I will look forward to more stories by Annette Dashofy from Monongahela County, PA.
______________

This review is based on a free electronic copy of the book provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are mine alone.  

Thursday, January 16, 2014





http://www.amazon.com/The-Modern-Life-Study-Bible/dp/140167514X/tag=fhj-20


A Review


The Modern Life Study Bible is a well-designed, colorful Study Bible.  It will quickly draw the reader into its pages with comments and notes on almost every page.  With 1942+ pages, it is complete and helpful.  

The notes are scholarly, covering such items as geography, culture.  Biographical entries are provided for both Biblical and historical figures from church history.  The notes also include comments that are devotional and contemplative in nature, allowing the reader to draw nearer to God as he or she reads.  The use of a relative modern translation (the New King James Version) allows both the Bible text and the notes to be readable by the modern reader.  A number of indexes at the rear of the book make, with some cautions, the ancillary material available to the reader whether he or she is reading the Bible text or has an interest in studying some topic.


In addition to the published book, the reader is also offered the opportunity by the publisher to download additional material supporting an interested reader's Bible Study.  This material included Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts, downloadable as a PDF and accessible on-line for use as handouts and presentation slides.


Two items are of concern to me.  First, the book contains few citations.  There are a list of eleven works, tied to notes for specific Bible verses, listed on the very last page of the published book.  With that single exception, no reference is made to who contributed the notes nor are sources supporting the facts and figures mentioned in the text provided.    


My bigger concern is the lack of a comprehensive index.  A few illustrations help make clear why this is a handicap.  


  1. I went looking for an entry on “praise”.  Only after scanning the four or five indexes did I spot a sub-entry on “Praise for God’s Power” under the entry “POWER” in one of the indexes.  This was the only entry I found.
  2. I went looking for an entry on “prayer”.  Again, after scanning the four or five indexes, I found no such entry.  I suspect that prayer is mentioned someplace in this Bible’s copious notes, but it was not easily located.
  3. Finally, I went looking for information on “Government(s)”.  Though I suspect I may not have found all appropriate notes, I did find entries on government(s) in three different indexes:


    1. An index of Key NT Passages
    2. An index of Themes
    3. An index of Jobs and Occupations


Why did I need to search three indexes to find information that could easily be found in a single location?


Each of these problems or questions could be addressed by the availability of a comprehensive index of all notes.  The individual indexes do add value to the book, but the existence of a comprehensive index could add additional value to the book. The Modern Life Study Bible is one of the better Study Bibles available today, both in terms of the kind of information provided and its comprehensiveness.  However, because much of that information may be inaccessible to a studious reader, this Study Bible may be of less value that than others in its class.  
 
This problem could easily be addressed by making available either an on-line index or a searchable downloadable index.  This issue could also be addressed by making available an electronic version of this Study Bible using one of the major Bible software packages.
The Modern Life Study Bible is a great supplement for the user who is reading the Bible.  As currently presented, it is of less use to the person who is trying to research a topic.  Having said this, I do recommend the Modern Life Study Bible for the quality of its notes and helps.
______________

This review is based on a free copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are mine alone.