Literary Bible

Unique among books that examine the bible as literature, this brilliantly compact introduction offers an intriguing double-edged look at this universal text - a religiously informed literary analysis. The book first explores the major sections of the New Testament - the gospels, Paul's letters, and Revelation - as individual literary documents. Keefer shows how, in such familiar stories as the parable of the Good Samaritan, a literary analysis can uncover an unexpected complexity to what seems a simple, straightforward tale.

The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it - from garden seeds to Scripture - is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family’s tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa.

In Reading the Bible: A Literary Guide to Scripture, Dr. Bill Creasy leads you on an unforgettable adventure book-by-book, Genesis through Revelation. Stemming from his popular course at UCLA, The English Bible as Literature, this work delves deeply into the text of the Bible, unveiling its rich literary genres and ancient Near Eastern origins. Recognized as among the top two percent of educators in the U.S., Creasy challenges the notion that the Bible is simply an anthology, instead revealing it as a collection of 'little books' that warrant meticulous exploration.

Many Christians view the Bible as an instruction manual. While the Bible does provide instruction, it can also captivate, comfort, delight, shock, and inspire. In short, it elicits emotion - just like poetry. By learning to read and love poetry, says literature Professor Matthew Mullins, listeners can increase their understanding of the biblical text and learn to love God's word more. Each chapter includes exercises and questions designed to help listeners put the book's principles and practices into action.

John Kennedy Toole - who won a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for his best-selling comic masterpiece A Confederacy of Dunces - wrote The Neon Bible for a literary contest at the age of 16. The manuscript languished in a drawer and became the subject of a legal battle among Toole's heirs. It was only in 1989, 35 years after it was written and 20 years after Toole's suicide at 31, that this amazingly accomplished and evocative novel was freed for publication.

You may have heard the saying that the Gospel of John is shallow enough for a child to wade in, yet deep enough for an elephant to swim—meaning that any literate Christian can adequately understand it, but there is depth of meaning below the surface that is well worth the effort to explore. In the Beginning Was the Word invites you to go deeper.

Contemptuous of their parents, who pass their days in a stupor of liquor, drugs, and sex, the children feel neglected and suffocated at the same time. When a destructive storm descends on the summer estate, the group's ringleaders - including Eve, who narrates the story - decide to run away, leading the younger ones on a dangerous foray into the apocalyptic chaos outside.

Unveil the mysteries and beauty within the pages of the New American Standard Bible with "Unveiling the New American Standard Bible" - a comprehensive and captivating eBook that takes readers on an exploration of the literary, historical, and theological depths of one of the most cherished translations of the Holy Scriptures. Let this guide lead you on a chapter-by-chapter journey through the rich landscape of the biblical text, unlocking the wonders of the Old and New Testaments. From the intricate cultural settings of ancient times to the revelatory truths contained within the Gospels and...

Introducing "The King James Bible Reference Guide" - your comprehensive and captivating resource for understanding the timeless and influential King James Bible. Explore the thrilling history, remarkable language, and profound impact of one of the world's most renowned translations of the holy scriptures, all in one engaging eBook! Dive into the dramatic origin story of the King James Bible, encompassing a rich tapestry of intrigue, devotion, and scholarship. Understand the significance of this profound translation and uncover how it has shaped literature, society, and spirituality ...

This is designed for those who are doing self-study and for Christian leaders looking for material to do a "Post Tribulation Bible Study". This accurately refutes the Pre-tribulation Rapture theory. All scriptures are highlighted and linked so you can easily do a concise Bible Study. There is a PDF version is available upon request. Information to obtain this study as well as other Bible studies are found on the last page. All that is needed to do this study is a Bible, a notebook, and a pen or pencil. Each scripture is organized in context with the topic in each section. Read, Learn, and ...

Reverend Maloney isn't the world's greatest spiritual advisor. He drinks gin out of his coffee cup and has sex dreams about the Holy Ghost. His best friend Eli isn't perfect either, but he's a chess genius, so Maloney sees an opportunity in traveling around the country so Eli can win major chess tournament after chess tournament (while Maloney pockets Eli's winnings).

This is the tale of Demon Copperhead: our hero. A boy with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-coloured hair, bucket-loads of charm and a talent or two the world is yet to discover. Born to a teenaged single mother in a single wide trailer, life is not set fair for Demon as he escorts us on this, his journey through the modern perils of foster care, athletic success and addiction, the dizzying highs of true love, and the crushing losses that can accompany it.

In The Bible Salesman, Preston Clearwater is scoring cash working a car-theft ring in post-World War II North Carolina. When he picks up 19-year-old Bible salesman Henry Dampier, Preston convinces the kid that he's an FBI spy. And before Henry knows what's up, he finds himself in way over his head with no apparent way out.

Why do three Gospels tell the same story—yet speak with such distinct voices? For centuries, scholars, pastors, and Bible readers alike have wrestled with the mystery of the Synoptic Gospels. How can Matthew, Mark, and Luke echo each other so closely and yet diverge so profoundly in theology, style, and emphasis? This book confronts that enigma with academic rigor and spiritual depth—offering a guide not just to understanding the Gospels, but to seeing the life of Jesus through three inspired lenses. Behind the familiar verses lies a complex literary and theological tapestry. In The ...

The many voices in scripture form a dialogue with readers, which produce theological truths that are larger than the individual parts. This introduction is informed by both literary theory and theology. It groups sections of the whole Bible together by genre. Each section identifies and describes the genre (such as historiography, poetry, prophecy, gospel, letter, apocalypse), and then moves into a discussion about the literary characteristics and theological insights.

The Dirty Parts of the Bible is a humorous adventure across America during the Great Depression - a rollicking tale of love and liquor, preachers and prostitutes, trains and treasure, sure to appeal to fans of O Brother Where Art Thou?, Water for Elephants, Mark Twain, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash. It's 1936, and Tobias Henry is stuck in the frozen hinterlands of Michigan. Tobias is obsessed with two things: God and girls. Mostly girls, of course. But being a Baptist preacher's son, he can't escape God.

In this updated edition of the popular textbook An Introduction to the Old Testament, Walter Brueggemann and Tod Linafelt introduce the listener to the broad theological scope of the Old Testament, treating some of the most important issues and methods in contemporary biblical interpretation. This clearly written textbook focuses on the literature of the Old Testament as it grew out of religious, political, and ideological contexts over many centuries in Israel's history.

Popular writer and teacher Jeannine Brown shows how a narrative approach illuminates each of the Gospels and highlights the overarching stories. This book offers a corrective to tendencies to read the Gospels piecemeal, one story at a time. It is filled with examples that show how narrative criticism brings the text to life, making it ideal for courses on the Gospels. Listeners will gain hands-on tools and perspectives to interpret the Gospels as whole stories.

The Gospel according to John has always been recognized as different from the "synoptic" accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But what explains the difference? In this new translation and verse-by-verse commentary, Michael Pakaluk suggests an answer and unlocks a 2,000-year-old mystery. Mary's Voice in the Gospel According to John reveals the subtle but powerful influence of the mother of Jesus on the fourth Gospel.

Proverbs: Audio Lectures provides students of the Bible with a careful analysis and interpretation of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament book of Proverbs, quickly allowing viewers to grasp the big idea of each passage and how it fits in the larger context.