The Wheatland Mission

Some Books...

After our discussion last Saturday night on interpreting and applying the Bible I thought it would be good to provide you with a list of potential resources to help you in the process as well. The idea of reading Scripture with the overall redemptive spirit in mind is crucial in the process of applying Scripture appropriately in our day and age. Each of these books can a help a little bit in that process.

How To Read The Bible For All It's Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart
This book has been out for a long time and is in several editions. It is very readable and is a great book to refer to in all kinds of Bible study. Fee is a first rate New Testament scholar and Stuart is the same for the Old Testament. Great stuff.

Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell
If you haven't heard Rob Bell from Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, MI preach then you are missing out. He is a wonderful teacher and his book reads very much like one of his messages. It is a book about overall Christian living but it includes some great sections on Scripture. I can't recommend it enough. While he doesn't use the phrase "redemptive spirit" or "redemptive movement" he definitely holds to as is evidenced through this fun book.

Slaves, Women and Homosexuals by William Webb
You may not be able to buy all that this guy is selling and that is OK. However, his concept of a "redemptive movement hermeneutic" is very thought provoking and challenges one to read Scripture with one's eyes open to God's redemptive intent. It is technical and can be dry, at times, but the first couple of chapters are great and his appendices are very useful.

Colossians Remixed by Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat
Whew! This book blew me away as I read it and I must confess I didn't always know what these two were talking about. However, it is a fresh attempt at making the book of Colossians applicable in today's world. The authors dialogue a lot with people who aren't Christians and who can't imagine Scripture having any value or validity. Their method of interpreting Scripture is true to the Bible and true to our contemporary context. Hard to do.

If I had to recommend just one of these I think it would be Velvet Elvis. However, Fee and Stuarts book is one I refer to regularly and have given away numerous copies of. They are all good and you won't be sorry if you spend some serious time with one or all.

posted by The Wheatland Mission @ 10:55 PM