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Andy Rau
June 4, 2014

New: Unlock Digital Study Tools at Bible Gateway

Did you know that you can build your own library of Bible study and reference books at the new Bible Gateway?

For many years, Bible Gateway has made a varied selection of Bible reference works freely available alongside your Bible reading. (They’re available in the Related Resources drawer alongside any Bible passage page. This video tutorial shows how to access them.) Those free resources are still present, but you can now add to them by purchasing digital products at Bible Gateway!

One of the Bible study titles now available for unlocking on Bible Gateway.

One of the Bible study titles now available for unlocking on Bible Gateway.

For the first time in Bible Gateway’s history, you can unlock Bible references and other books to read alongside Scripture. When you unlock one of these digital products, it appears in the Related Resources drawer, providing context-sensitive study material based on the Bible passage you’re reading. You’ll have your very own customized Bible study library, easily accessible anytime you’re logged into your Bible Gateway account.

We’re launching this feature with a handful of select titles, with more on the way. Here’s what’s available right now:

You can see a complete list of available digital products here. These books—and additional ones we’ll make available for purchase in the future—were chosen to be Bible Gateway digital products because we think they add a lot to the Bible reading experience and work seamlessly with the new Bible Gateway site.

So how do you purchase a digital product on Bible Gateway? Just follow these steps:

1. Go to the Bible Gateway beta website. This new feature is only available on the new Bible Gateway—and yes, you can buy these titles with confidence; anything you purchase and unlock on the beta website will carry over when we officially launch the new Bible Gateway.

2. Create or log into your Bible Gateway account.. When you purchase an unlockable digital product, it’s stored in your account, so you must be logged in to access it. Here’s how to create an account if you haven’t already done so (it’s easy!).

3. Look up a Bible verse or passage and click the Related Resources button. It looks like this:

related-resources

This drawer shows all available reference materials. Titles that are available to be purchased and unlocked are noted with the available-for-unlocking icon. Here’s what the open resource drawer looks like:

available-unlockables

4. Select the title you want to unlock. Clicking on an unlockable title provides some additional information about it. Click on its title or cover image to be taken to the Bible Gateway Store.

5. Add the item to your shopping cart in the Bible Gateway Store and purchase it. Please note that the Bible Gateway Store, which is powered by Christianbook.com, requires you to use or create a Store account for the purpose of processing your purchase. Your Store account and your Bible Gateway account are separate, although your digital product will be unlocked in your Bible Gateway account. This and other common questions are explained in our digital product FAQs.

6. Unlock your digital product by following the instructions in your email. After the purchase, you’ll be emailed simple instructions for unlocking the title in your Bible Gateway account.

7. Enjoy! Your digital product is now available in the Related Resources drawer—right alongside your Bible reading—anytime you’re logged into your Bible Gateway account. You can access your purchased digital titles in the same way that you access the free reference titles—look for your purchased titles in the Resource Drawer, where they’re marked with the word Purchased like this (click to enlarge image):

purchased-related-resources-small

Just like the other reference works in the Resource Drawer, your purchased products will display information that’s relevant to the Scripture passage you’re reading. For example, if you’re reading the book of Proverbs, you’ll be presentated with information related to Proverbs and, when applicable, to the specific chapters and verses you’re reading (click to enlarge image):

niv-study-bible-small

We’re very excited to finally make this feature available to Bible Gateway users—we hope you’ll use it to build up a Bible study library that’s customized to your interests and reading style. It’s a good way to expand your study tools beyond the free options already available on Bible Gateway; and like any purchase at our store, it’s a great way to support the ongoing work of Bible Gateway. So take a look at our digital products and see if any of them catch your interest. And look for more titles to be added soon!

Jonathan Petersen
June 4, 2014

If I Had Lunch with C. S. Lewis: An Interview with Alister McGrath

Alister McGrathOxford and Cambridge professor Clive Staples Lewis (@CSLewis) died in 1963, yet he remains today a celebrated novelist and world renown Christian apologist. [See all his books.]

For an introduction to Lewis’s thinking, we invite you to sign up for our free email devotional newsletter, C. S. Lewis Daily.

Bible Gateway interviewed Oxford professor Dr. Alister McGrath (@alisteremcgrath) about his book, If I Had Lunch with C. S. Lewis: Exploring the Ideas of C.S. Lewis on the Meaning of Life (Tyndale House, 2014).

Buy your copy of If I Had Lunch with C.S. Lewis in the Bible Gateway Store

What role did the Bible play in C. S. Lewis turning, as you say, from “an angry atheist in his youth” to the devoted follower of Christ he’s known for today?

Dr. McGrath: The Bible didn’t have a major direct impact on Lewis’s conversion. But he had clearly absorbed a lot of biblical ideas, and these were building up in his mind to bring about a radical change of heart and mind. What is interesting is that Lewis’s own account of his conversion in Surprised by Joy draws on the imagery of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15). Lewis seems to have realized that there was good biblical precedent for what was happening to him!

Did Lewis, who was a scholar in ancient mediaeval literature, view the Bible more as a centuries-old sacred relic or as a living text that speaks to the issues of the modern reader?

Dr. McGrath: Lewis saw the Bible as a living text that spoke to its readers powerfully, reliably, and realistically about the deepest matters of live—such as God, salvation, and heaven. But as a literary scholar, Lewis also had a strong sense that the Bible used literary forms—such as poetry—to communicate God’s truth. For Lewis, understanding how literature worked could help us get a deeper appreciation of some aspects of the Bible, especially parts of the Old Testament. Lewis’s late book Reflections on the Psalms makes this point well.

The Bible is filled with stories. How did that influence his view on the importance of story in a person’s life?

Dr. McGrath: This was really important. Lewis’s conversion took place in two stages: first, from atheism to believing in God, and second, from believing in God to believing in Christianity. The Bible—especially the gospel stories about Jesus—played a critical role in this second part of Lewis’s conversion. Lewis realized that Christianity told a story—a true story—which made sense of every other story that people told about themselves. That had a major impact on the way that Lewis did apologetics. He would retell the story of Jesus in a way that connected up with the culture of his own day and age. Lewis realized that his own story had been totally transformed and redirected when it became part of God’s story, and wanted to help others realize that their lives could be changed as well.

Did Lewis base the character of Aslan (from The Chronicles of Narnia series), especially in being portrayed as a lion, from biblical imagery?

Dr. McGrath: Absolutely. Aslan is the “Lion of Judah,” and Lewis makes it clear that he based this idea on the book of Revelation. Aslan is a “Christ-figure”—a character who evokes ideas about Jesus Christ. At point after point, Lewis uses biblical imagery in his depiction of Aslan, especially his encounters with the children. One of the things that I have noticed in my conversations with people outside the church is that I can use Aslan as a way of introducing people to Jesus, and picking up on some of the themes of the gospels.

What do you mean when you say, “One of Lewis’s great achievements in Narnia is to help us understand that we live in a world of competing narratives”?

Dr. McGrath: When the four Pevensie children enter Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, they are told different stories about the kingdom. One story they hear tells them that the White Witch is the real ruler of Narnia. It is her kingdom, and she is entitled to rule it. But they also hear another story—that Narnia is the realm of the noble lion Aslan, and the witch is a usurper. When Aslan returns, he will overthrow her and restore the kingdom. Both stories can’t be true! Gradually, the children realize that the second story is right. Lewis wants us to realize that we live in a world shaped by stories. Some are told to deceive—for example, the story that this world is an accident, and that we have no meaning. Lewis wants us to search for, and discover, the true story that makes sense of the world and our lives—the Christian story.

As an example of Lewis’s inclusion of biblical principles in his novels, explain how the “undragoning” of Eustace Scrubb (in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) relates to the power of divine grace.

Dr. McGrath: Lewis was deeply aware of the power of sin to entrap. He had clearly read Paul’s letter to the Romans, and realized how important this theme was to his own conversion, when God set him free from his slavery to sin. But how could Lewis help others to see this great biblical truth? Lewis decided to tell a story. It’s the story of Eustace Scrubb, a greedy boy who turns into a dragon. (Lewis saw dragons as symbols of greed). Eustace discovered that he didn’t like being a dragon, and frantically tries to become a boy again. He tries to scratch away his dragon skin, but it doesn’t work. Lewis’s point is that sin has so deep a hold on us that we can’t break free. Then Aslan bounds in, and his sharp claws tear away the dragon skin. Finally, Eustace is set free. Lewis wants us to realize how Christ, and Christ alone, is able to break us free from the power of sin. It’s a great example of Lewis’s love of telling stories to make biblical points.

You write Lewis believed Christianity “is at its best when it is rooted in the past and engaged with the present.” What did he mean?

Dr. McGrath: Lewis was worried that some Christians had a very shallow faith, and wanted to help them deepen their understanding of their faith, and their love for God. One of the ways in which he did this was to encourage them to read some of the great works of the past, which he considered to be wise and helpful. This was not about running away from the present, but allowing the wisdom of Christians from the past help us to live better Christian lives today. I think it’s a fair point. Others have read the Bible before us, and applied it to their walks of faith. And we can learn from their wisdom and experience!

Bio: Alister McGrath (ThD, Graduate Theological Union) is Professor of Theology, Ministry, and Education at King’s College London and head of its Center for Theology, Religion and Culture. Before moving to King’s College, he was Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University and is currently Senior Research Fellow at Harris Manchester College at Oxford. Dr. McGrath is a bestselling author of more than 50 books and a popular speaker, traveling the world every year to speak at various conferences.

Andy Rau
May 27, 2014

Origen vs. Celsus: Early Christianity Answers Its Critics

Origen, as depicted by André Thévet.

Origen, as depicted by André Thévet.

I recently had the privilege of leading a short discussion at my church about early Christianity. In particular, I talked about the period of time immediately following the New Testament, when early Christians found themselves contending for the faith in an intellectually diverse and often hostile environment.

One of the highlights of that time period is the vibrant interaction between Christians and their critics. One such early exchange took place between the church father Origen and a Greek philosopher named Celsus.

Celsus had written a critique of Christianity called The True Word, and Origen was asked to respond to his charges. The True Word has been lost to history, but its main points are preserved as quotations in Origen’s rebuttal.

I thought it would be fun to share an excerpt from that exchange, as a representative sample of the sort of back-and-forth that early Christians were engaged in with their pagan critics. In this excerpt, Origen accuses Celsus of misrepresenting a challenging passage from 1 Corinthians 3.

But since Celsus has declared it to be a saying of many Christians, that “the wisdom of this life is a bad thing, but that foolishness is good,” we have to answer that he slanders the Gospel, not giving the words as they actually occur in the writings of Paul, where they run as follow: “If any one among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” The apostle, therefore, does not say simply that “wisdom is foolishness with God,” but “the wisdom of this world.” And again, not, “If any one among you seemeth to be wise, let him become a fool universally;” but, “let him become a fool in this world, that he may become wise.” We term, then, “the wisdom of this world,” every false system of philosophy, which, according to the Scriptures, is brought to nought; and we call foolishness good, not without restriction, but when a man becomes foolish as to this world. […]

Moreover, that it is in agreement with the spirit of Christianity, of much more importance to give our assent to doctrines upon grounds of reason and wisdom than on that of faith merely, and that it was only in certain circumstances that the latter course was desired by Christianity, in order not to leave men altogether without help, is shown by that genuine disciple of Jesus, Paul, when he says: “For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” Now by these words it is clearly shown that it is by the wisdom of God that God ought to be known. But as this result did not follow, it pleased God a second time to save them that believe, not by “folly” universally, but by such foolishness as depended on preaching. For the preaching of Jesus Christ as crucified is the “foolishness” of preaching, as Paul also perceived, when he said, “But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness; but to them who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and wisdom of God.”

The verse Origen cites at the end of his response is 1 Corinthians 1:23.

You can read the entirety of Origen’s Against Celsus at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The writing style makes it a moderately challenging read, but it’s fascinating to see the types of charges levelled against Christianity in its early years. Some of them, such as the charge that Christianity had nothing truly new or useful to offer a world built on Greek philosophy and pagan tradition, are heavily rooted in the concerns of the ancient world. Others, such as the above charge that Christianity requires its followers to reject reason, are early versions of arguments Christians contend with even today.

Imagine you were tasked with responding to Celsus’ criticisms—how would you counter his arguments?

Andy Rau
May 23, 2014

Five Timeless Quotes by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Who’s the most quotable Christian writer you’ve encountered? Last year, I nominated C.S. Lewis and Charles Spurgeon as candidates and shared five memorable quotes from each as evidence.

But since then, I’ve been forced to acknowledge another candidate: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the famous World War 2 pastor and martyr. Bonhoeffers’ writing style doesn’t lend itself to punchy quips like those of Lewis and Spurgeon, but he had a remarkable gift drawing practical advice out of complex or potentially vague subjects.

Here are five of my favorite Dietrich Bonhoeffer quotes, drawn from the 40 Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer devotional.

1. Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Discipleship

“Those who follow Jesus’ commandment entirely, who let Jesus’ yoke rest on them without resistance, will find the burden they must bear to be light. In the gentle pressure of this yoke they will receive the strength to walk the right path without becoming weary.…Where will the call to discipleship lead those who follow it? What decisions and painful separations will it entail? We must take this question to him who alone knows the answer. Only Jesus Christ, who bids us follow him, knows where the path will lead. But we know that it will be a path full of mercy beyond measure. Discipleship is joy.”

2. Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Intercessory Prayer

“A Christian community either lives by the intercessory prayers of its members for one another, or the community will be destroyed. I can no longer condemn or hate other Christians for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble they cause me. In intercessory prayer the face that may have been strange and intolerable to me is transformed into the face of one for whom Christ died, the face of a pardoned sinner. That is a blessed discovery for the Christian who is beginning to offer intercessory prayer for others. As far as we are concerned, there is no dislike, no personal tension, no disunity or strife that cannot be overcome by intercessory prayer. Intercessory prayer is the purifying bath into which the individual and the community must enter every day.”

3. Dietrich Bonhoeffer on the Virtue of Listening

“We do God’s work for our brothers and sisters when we learn to listen to them. So often Christians, especially preachers, think that their only service is always to have to ‘offer’ something when they are together with other people. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking. Many people seek a sympathetic ear and do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are talking even when they should be listening.”

4. Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Worry

“Do not worry! Earthly goods deceive the human heart into believing that they give it security and freedom from worry. But in truth, they are what cause anxiety. The heart which clings to goods receives with them the choking burden of worry. Worry collects treasures, and treasures produce more worries. We desire to secure our lives with earthly goods; we want our worrying to make us worry-free, but the truth is the opposite. The chains which bind us to earthly goods, the clutches which hold the goods tight, are themselves worries.”

5. Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Loving Your Enemies

“Words and thoughts are not enough. Doing good involves all the things of daily life. ‘If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink’ (Romans 12:20). In the same ways that brothers and sisters stand by each other in times of need, bind up each other’s wounds, ease each other’s pain, love of the enemy should do good to the enemy. Where in the world is there greater need, where are deeper wounds and pain than those of our enemies? Where is doing good more necessary and more blessed than for our enemies?”

Bonus quote! Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Violence

“Jesus’ followers are called to peace. When Jesus called them, they found their peace. Jesus is their peace. Now they are not only to have peace, but they are to make peace. To do this they renounce violence and strife. Those things never help the cause of Christ. Christ’s kingdom is a realm of peace, and those in Christ’s community greet each other with a greeting of peace. Jesus’ disciples maintain peace by choosing to suffer instead of causing others to suffer. They preserve community when others destroy it. They renounce self-assertion and are silent in the face of hatred and injustice. That is how they overcome evil with good. That is how they are makers of divine peace in a world of hatred and war.”

Each of these quotes is drawn from the 40 Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer devotional, available online, as a daily email, or as a print book.

Jonathan Petersen
May 23, 2014

The Book of Common Prayer Remains a Force: An Interview with Alan Jacobs

[Eleanor Roosevelt’s copy of the Book of Common Prayer (courtesy of NPS.gov)]

Since its first publication in 1549 during the reign of King Henry VIII, the language of the Book of Common Prayer has saturated English culture. It’s become a venerable work that continues to touch the lives of multitudes around the world. Daily readings from the book are available on Bible Gateway.

Dr. Alan Jacobs (@ayjay) is distinguished professor of the Humanities at Baylor University and former professor of English at Wheaton College. Bible Gateway interviewed Dr. Jacobs about his book, The Book of Common Prayer: A Biography (Princeton University Press, 2013).

Why is your book subtitled “A Biography” and not something else, such as “A History”?

Dr. Jacobs: That’s the subtitle of all the books in the Lives of the Great Religious Books series. The idea that Fred Appel, the religion editor at Princeton University Press, had was that great books have lives in much the same way that people do: they are born and then have many and varied adventures. The big difference is that great books don’t die!

How did the Book of Common Prayer originate and why was it given that title?

Dr. Jacobs: It originated when Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury in the reign of Henry VIII, decided to put into one book, and in English, all the prayers that in the medieval church had been in Latin scattered in various smaller books. That is, he wanted people to understand their public prayers. And that’s what “common prayer” is: the prayers we pray in common, that is, together in public worship.

What are some well-known phrases that come from the Book of Common Prayer?

Dr. Jacobs: There are so many! Several famous ones come from the rite for Holy Matrimony, beginning with the first words: “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here this day…” and including a number of other phrases: “To have and to hold, from this day forward,” “With this ring I thee wed,” etc. And then from other rites:

  • “Give peace in our time, O Lord”
  • “In the midst of life we are in death”
  • “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust”
  • “All the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil”

You’ll notice that many of these passages strongly echo Scripture. This was very important to Cranmer.

Why was the Book of Common Prayer needed; wasn’t the Bible sufficient?

Dr. Jacobs: One of Cranmer’s chief concerns was to teach people the Bible. The Book of Common Prayer was accompanied by a Book of Homilies, the very first one of which is called “A Fruitful Exhortation to The Reading and Knowledge of Holy Scripture.” It begins like this:

“To a Christian man there can be nothing either more necessary or profitable than the knowledge of holy Scripture, forasmuch as in it is contained God’s true word, setting forth his glory, and also man’s duty. And there is no truth nor doctrine necessary for our justification and everlasting salvation, but that is (or may be) drawn out of that fountain and well of truth.”

So you really can’t have a higher view of the authority and sufficiency of Scripture than Cranmer did. The Book of Common Prayer adds nothing to Scripture and is not the means of salvation. It was meant just to provide a form of words and actions to guide and direct public worship. It should be remembered that very few Christians, at that point in the mid-sixteenth century, practiced extemporaneous worship. Almost everyone used set forms. Cranmer just wanted the Church of England’s to be in understandable English and to be derived as closely as possible from the Bible.

What were a few of the controversies surrounding the book throughout its many years?

Dr. Jacobs: The main ones were these:

  • At first, whether the book should be in English at all (traditionalists wanted Latin)
  • Then, later, whether there should be set forms for worship at all
  • Whether people should or should not kneel to receive communion
  • How “Catholic” the service should look (candles, priestly vestments, etc.)
  • And most recently, whether the prayer book needs to be in modern language.

Why were different editions created for different countries?

Dr. Jacobs: A nearly universal belief in Europe in the sixteenth century was Cuius regio, eius religio: “Whose realm, his religion”—that is, every country should have just one religion (one Christian “denomination,” as we would now say) and that should be determined by the monarch. So Cranmer was just trying to create a prayer book for his country, for England. He never expected that it would be used elsewhere—though, because of the spread of the British Empire, it was. But eventually all those colonies wanted the right to make their own prayer book, especially when they ceased to be colonies. The prayers for the King didn’t sit too well with American revolutionaries!

To what do you attribute the book’s longevity?

Dr. Jacobs: The beauty of its language and its closeness to Scripture. Consider one famous prayer, a Communion prayer usually called the Prayer of Humble Access:

“We do not presume to come to this thy Table (O merciful Lord) trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We be not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the Flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his Blood, in these holy Mysteries, that we may continually dwell in him, and he in us, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his Body, and our souls washed through his most precious Blood. Amen.”

The heart of this passage is its evocation of Matthew 15:21-28, where a Canaanite woman whose daughter is possessed by demons pleads with Jesus to let her have some of the crumbs from the master’s table; though the centurion who declares that he is not worthy to have Jesus enter his home (Matthew 8:8) is also a strong presence here. These stories about non-Jews remind us that Gentiles claim God’s mercy by virtue of having been “grafted in” to the Covenant (Romans 11:13-24).

That God is characterized by his great and abundant mercy is a constant theme in Scripture, perhaps the most relevant passage echoed here being 1 Peter 1:3. That we cannot trust in our own righteousness is one of the Apostle Paul’s strongest themes and the explicitly stated message of the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18:9-14. And of course, the eating of Christ’s flesh and drinking of his blood is a close paraphrase of John 6:52-58.

The artfulness with which Cranmer wove together all these biblical passages—and my list is not complete—is truly astonishing. And that is what accounts for the long life of this book, in its many forms.

After 500 years, how is it still relevant today?

Dr. Jacobs: I think any foundation for public prayer that is so thoroughly saturated with Scripture will always be relevant—but I also think that some of the people who have sought to revise the prayer book to make it relevant have stripped away the biblical language and biblical theology, and that has been unfortunate. I do not think their versions will last very long at all.

What do you say to those who believe the book promotes empty ritualism?

Dr. Jacobs: It can!—just as unstructured forms of worship can degenerate into emotionalism and spiritual thrill-seeking. To worship the Lord “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24) is both a discipline to be practiced and a gift to be prayed for. All Christians, I think, are regularly tempted to stray from the true worship of the true God. But for those of us who love the prayer book, it is a strong and faithful guide to keeping us focused on the Word of God and, above all, on the One to whom that word bears witness: Jesus Christ (John 5:39).

Why do you believe the book can be considered evangelical?

Dr. Jacobs: In making his prayer book, Thomas Cranmer wanted to make sure that the people of England were constantly exposed to Holy Scripture in a language they understood, working through the whole of the Bible regularly and the Psalms every month, while following a calendar that rehearsed in every church year the whole story of salvation starting with the Fall and culminating in Christ’s unique sacrifice of himself on the Cross and his glorious resurrection, the benefits of which we are not worthy to receive on any merits of ours—”we are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs from under Thy table”—but only through the purest grace extended on the basis of Christ’s unique status as Lord and Savior. How can you get any more evangelical than that?

What do you see as the Book of Common Prayer’s future?

Dr. Jacobs: It has a wonderful future ahead of it—as long as those who teach it and use it and revise it and promote it stay faithful to Cranmer’s great vision. That is something I pray for.

Bio: Dr. Alan Jacobs (PhD, University of Virginia) is the author of numerous periodical articles and books, including The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction (Oxford University Press, 2011), Original Sin: A Cultural History (HarperOne, 2008), For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio (Eerdmans, 2008), and The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis (Harper, 2005).

Andy Rau
May 21, 2014

Rachel Barach on Olive Tree and Bible Gateway

It’s been a big month for interviews here at the blog! We’ve got a slightly different interview to share with you today.

rachelbarachYou may have seen in the news that HarperCollins Christian Publishing has acquired Olive Tree Bible Software, which makes Bible study apps and software. In its new home, Olive Tree now joins Bible Gateway under the leadership of Rachel Barach.

We thought it would be useful to interview Rachel about Olive Tree’s acquisition. Here’s what she had to say.

olivetreeWhy is HarperCollins Christian Publishing acquiring Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc.?

Rachel Barach: HarperCollins Christian Publishing believes that it is our business to provide content that glorifies Jesus Christ, in whatever format the consumer demands. In that light, the acquisition of Olive Tree directly aligns with our mission. Olive Tree’s software provides a robust and holistic Bible study experience for consumers, allowing us expand our expand our mobile app capabilities and to diversify the overall suite of Bible study services we provide. As the digital world evolves, it’s important for us to remain relevant and use technology to better serve people around the globe.

As the leader of both Bible Gateway and Olive Tree, how do you see the uniqueness of the two companies—and how will they complement each other?

There are certainly similarities between Bible Gateway and Olive Tree, but I see them as complementary. Each brand has its own specific place, audience and purpose within the company, as well as in the lives of our visitors and users. Olive Tree does a great job targeting a specific audience of church leaders, Christian educators, pastors, theologians, and the academy. Though many Bible Gateway users also lead and have seminary degrees, Bible Gateway generally appeals to a much larger and broader audience. By finding the right ways to create partnership and synergy between Bible Gateway and Olive Tree, we will be able to serve a wider audience within the Church.

What benefits will this news bring to the Christian church worldwide?

The HarperCollins Christian Publishing mission is to inspire the world by meeting the needs of people with content that promotes biblical principles and honors Jesus Christ. The work we are doing with both Bible Gateway and Olive Tree help to fulfill this mission, enabling the spread of biblical knowledge worldwide. As our world becomes more connected through digital and mobile devices, it is important that we’re actively engaged in those mediums, providing that inspiration—to ultimately impact the Kingdom.

Do you have anything else you’d like to say?

BG-Blog-Header-300x93I am thrilled to lead both the Bible Gateway and Olive Tree teams. There are great days ahead of us. I’m committed to nurturing both Olive Tree and Bible Gateway by continuing to use the resources that HarperCollins Christian Publishing provides so we can continue to innovate and grow. The support that both teams have shown for one another thus far has been incredible, and I think it helps that we all have a common purpose. We are all getting to know one another right now, and we have hit the ground running learning from each other—and celebrating the great work that is being done across the organization. I’m grateful to all of our licensors and partners who work with us, and excited to help each of them build and grow their businesses, as we commit together to equip people, wherever they are, to read, study, understand, and apply the Bible to their lives.

For more information, visit HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Olive Tree, and Bible Gateway.

Jonathan Petersen
May 21, 2014

Sex & Violence in the Bible: An Interview with Joseph W. Smith III

Joseph W. Smith IIIChristians tend to shy away from it and informed Bible skeptics tend to emphasize it, but there’s no doubt about it: sex and violence are present in the Bible. Some references may be obscured by idiom and cultural differences between now and when they were first written; others may be startlingly clear and uncomfortable to read aloud.

Bible Gateway interviewed Joseph W. Smith III about his book, Sex and Violence in the Bible: A Survey of Explicit Content in the Holy Book (P & R Publishing, 2014).

What prompted you to investigate the subjects of sex and violence in the Bible?

Joseph W. Smith III: Ever hear a sermon on the smelly murder in Judges 3? Or the wife’s gorgeous body in Song of Songs 7? Or the gang-rape in Judges 19? No? Didn’t think so! These are all amazing passages; but we never talk about them! I wanted to do that: to understand exactly what they say—and in the process, to examine how Bible writers deal with graphic content.

Why do you think Christians shouldn’t “be terribly squeamish about explicit content” as you state in your introduction?

Joseph W. Smith III: We shouldn’t be squeamish—because the Bible isn’t! Numerous passages discuss such subjects as nocturnal emission (Lev. 15:16-17; Deut. 23:10-11); menstruation (Lev. 15:19-24); women’s breasts (Prov. 5:18-19; Song 4:5); and coitus interruptus (Gen. 38:9), in the frankest, plainest language—with none of the blushing awkwardness that plagues us nowadays. Why should we freak out about this stuff when the Bible doesn’t?

What do you mean when you write, “Perhaps the Bible is useful as an aesthetic guide not only in what it does say and show, but also in what it doesn’t”?

Joseph W. Smith III: Modern culture is obsessed with sex and violence; the Bible is much more reserved. There’s frankness, yes (as I said above) but no lascivious intention of staring at the explicit material merely to fuel lust or fascination. Unlike so much that passes for “art” nowadays, the Bible knows when to look away.

How much sex and violence is in the Bible?

Joseph W. Smith III: I quote around 700 verses in my book, with passing reference to another 900 or so. Out of the approximately 31,000 verses in Scripture, that’s a pretty small percentage—compared, for example, to a Stephen King novel or a Tarantino film.

Why do you think the Bible contains so much such content?

Joseph W. Smith III: The Bible is a guidebook for life—all of life, not just worship and service. As such, it is going to deal with the messier, seamier aspects of life—especially as it desires to regulate our conduct in these areas! To quote from a recent review of my book, “If your religion doesn’t have a category for these things, you aren’t doing it right.”

What’s an example of an aphrodisiac mentioned in the Bible?

Joseph W. Smith III: Most famously, the mandrakes in Gen. 34:14-17—which the still-barren Rachel mooched off Leah, with the obvious intention of conceiving children with Jacob.

What forms of violence are there in the Bible?

Joseph W. Smith III: You name it: murder, torture, assault, rape, blood, decapitation, dismemberment, disembowelment, death by fire, cannibalism, assassination, hanging, stoning, crucifixion, and (perhaps the worst) barbaric pagan sacrifice of children.

What have you identified as the most explicit passage in the Bible?

Joseph W. Smith III: In my opinion, Ezek. 23:20, where the unfaithful nation of Israel “lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses” (NIV). Yuck.

How challenging was it for you to write your book with a balance of explicitness and euphemistic modesty?

Joseph W. Smith III: It was difficult only when I sought to unpack language that was being indirect, figurative, or, as you say, euphemistic. Here I wanted to show what was actually happening so we could see what the writers decided not to discuss in detail. For this reason, I did sometimes go into more specifics than the passage itself—a somewhat unnerving venture, through which I steered by avoiding slang, crudity, and sensationalism.

What has the church lost in the way of scriptural and godly understanding by ignoring, skimming over, or softening the expressions of sexual and violent passages in the Bible?

Joseph W. Smith III: If we don’t deal with vital matters like sex and violence, we cede this massive portion of life to the unbelieving culture around us. By contrast, when we apply a firm, frank biblical ethic in these areas, we reclaim them for Christ. As an example: If we could start stressing that marital sexuality is really as exciting as Solomon suggests, perhaps we can help pull the world back from the brink of romantic self-annihilation.

Are you recommending that pastors not neglect explicit Bible passages in their preaching; that preaching should turn from being G-rated to R-rated?

Joseph W. Smith III: I recommend that no part of Scripture be lengthily and systematically side-stepped, as so much of this has been. Why on earth did God put it in his Word if we never talk about it? On the other hand, I don’t by any means recommend a steady diet of R-rated sermons! Explicit material in the Bible, as I suggested earlier, is a very small percentage. But “small” is not “zero.”

How can the Bible, on the one hand, admonish readers to think about “whatever is honorable” (Phil. 4:8), and on the other include fairly raw content?

Joseph W. Smith III: Let’s start by observing that this oft-quoted verse doesn’t flat-out command us never to think of anything else; it simply indicates where our focus must be. And: In addition to what’s “lovely, pure, excellent,” etc., we’re likewise commanded to think about what’s true; in God’s Word, “dishonorable” subjects are portrayed truthfully—as destructive and wicked! This “truth”—the badness of sin—then becomes something honorable, pure, and excellent, something we should think about, and not shy away from. When God’s word deals with such matters truthfully, we can too. I suppose that’s why I wrote this book.

[Also see Credo Magazine‘s interview with Joseph Smith]

Bio: Joseph W. Smith III (changsmith2@msn.com) is a teacher, journalist, author, and discussion leader in Central Pennsylvania. He holds a BA from Syracuse and a master’s from NYU.

After working as a copy editor for Simon & Schuster in the 1980s, he moved into public education, and has taught high school English for nearly 25 years. He’s a film critic and feature writer for the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. In addition to Sex and Violence in the Bible, Smith also wrote a book-length study of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, published by McFarland in 2009.

For the past 20 years, he’s served as elder, clerk, and adult Sunday school teacher at New Life Presbyterian Church in Montoursville, Pa. He’s been married since 1986 to Dr. Mona P. Chang, a family physician, and they have two children.

In addition to the Bible and church work, Joe’s interests include reading, seventies prog-rock, the Buffalo Bills, smooth jazz, and James Bond.

Andy Rau
May 20, 2014

What Is Heresy?

What makes someone a “heretic”? Have you ever used that word to describe a person or a belief, and if so, what did you mean by it?

Justin Holcomb (who, you may recall, we interviewed earlier this month about the importance of creeds) thinks that Christians ought to be more careful and precise in the way we employ the h-word. Rachel Held Evans has an extensive interview with him about what “heresy” means.

The entire interview is worth reading, but I thought it was especially interesting to read his explanation of the different “shades” of theological difference that Christians have historically recognized:

Because there is always some room for mystery and speculation, both the Roman Catholic and Reformed traditions have been careful to distinguish three “zones” between strict orthodoxy and outright heresy.

In Catholicism, to bluntly deny an explicitly defined church doctrine is heresy in the first degree. It has to be a severe contradiction, like saying that Christ is not God. A doctrine that has not been explicitly defined by one of the church’s articles of faith but diverges from the received majority view is considered an opinion approaching heresy (sententia haeresi proxima) — for instance, to say that Christ can be found in other religions. One who holds a position that does not directly contradict received tradition but logically denies an explicitly defined truth is said to be erroneous in theology (propositio theologice erronea). Finally, a belief that cannot be definitively shown to be in opposition to an article of faith of the church is said to be suspected or savoring of heresy (sententia de haeresi suspecta, haeresim sapiens).

Similarly, the Reformed tradition has traditionally distinguished three kinds of doctrinal error related to fundamental articles of the faith: (1) errors directly against a fundamental article (contra fundamentum); (2) errors around a fundamental or in indirect contradiction to it (circa fundamentum); (3) errors beyond a fundamental article (praeter fundamentum).

The point is that, historically, both the Roman Catholic tradition and the Reformed tradition have understood that not all theological errors are equally serious.

Read the full discussion here.

Jonathan Petersen
May 19, 2014

100 Bible Knowledge Questions

Rev. Kevin DeYoungThis guest post is by Rev. Kevin DeYoung (@RevKevDeYoung), senior pastor at University Reformed Church (RCA) in East Lansing, Michigan, and author of Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me (Crossway, 2014).

[See our blogpost, Taking God at His Word: An Interview with Kevin DeYoung]

Take our quiz: Stark, Slytherin, Sauron, or Scripture? Identify These QuotesIf you enjoy being challenged by the test below, also try our quiz, Stark, Slytherin, Sauron, or Scripture? Identify These Quotes.

Taking God at His Word in the Bible Gateway StoreSeveral years ago our church started offering a leadership training course once or twice a year. The class began as a training seminary for those who had been nominated for elders or deacons. Now the course must be completed before a man can be considered for the office of elder or deacon.

At the end of the 12-week class there is a test. The exam contains a couple longer essays, short answers, and a series of questions testing basic Bible knowledge. We are careful to say that you don’t have to be a brilliant student to serve at University Reformed Church. There is much more to effective ministry than passing a written test. Much more. And yet, we do not want our staff, teachers, and officers to be biblically illiterate. Granted, people aren’t usually too excited about taking a test, but they are almost always glad to have taken the class. And more often than not, the test proves to be an edifying experience.

For fun, and for your own evaluation and learning, I thought I’d post the questions that comprised the knowledge portion of the exam. We have changed the exam in recent years, so these are not the exact questions we currently use. (I’m not going to show everyone the test ahead of time!) But this will give you an idea of the sort of Bible knowledge we want our lay leaders to have. No one gets every question right, but most people get most of them right, and a few erudite members have nearly aced the thing. I have not provided below the answers to test, because, well, it’s a test.

A.  Who did the following?
1.   Wrote the book of Acts?
2.   Appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration?
3.   Directed the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem?
4.   Killed a thousand Philistines with a donkey’s jawbone?
5.   Led the Israelites into the promised land?
6.   Was exiled to the island of Patmos where he wrote Revelation?
7.   Was going to curse Israel, but had to bless them?
8.   Became the first King of the 10 tribes that broke away?
9.   Rescued David from her foolish husband Nabal?
10.   Was rebuked by Paul for refusing to eat with Gentiles?

B.  Where geographically did the following events take place?
11.   God gave Moses the Ten Commandments?
12.   A silversmith caused a riot?
13.   Elijah had a confrontation with the prophets of Baal?
14.   Believers were first called “Christians”?
15.   The river Jesus was baptized in?
16.   The walls of the city collapsed after the Israelites marched around it?
17.   Jesus walked on water?
18.   The place where Jonah was supposed to be going when he fled to Tarshish?
19.   The place where Paul was heading when he was blinded on the road?
20.   The river Ezekiel was at with the exiles when he received a vision from God?

C.  In which book of the Bible do you find the following?
21.   Peter visits Cornelius where he learns that God accepts Jews and Gentiles?
22.   Paul asks a runaway slave to be welcomed back?
23.   Israel worships a golden calf made by Aaron?
24.   The story of Joseph and he brothers?
25.   Twelve men explore the land of Canaan, but only two trust God to give it to them?
26.   God’s judgment on Israel is pictured by a prophet as horde of locusts?
27.   A description of the armor of God
28.   The words “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” in the Old Testament?
29.   A prophet marries a prostitute?
30.   The Magi visiting the Christ child?

D.  In which book and chapter(s) do you find the following?
31.   God first speaks the Ten Commandments?
32.   The call of Abram?
33.   The Sermon on the Mount?
34.   The Great Commission?
35.   The Holy Spirit coming upon the disciples in wind, fire, and tongues?
36.   Just as Adam was the head of the old humanity, Christ is the head of the new: “Just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous”?
37.   ”But these three remain: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love”?
38.   A religious leader hears “Unless a man is born again he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven”?
39.   Satan bound for a thousand years?
40.   The three Hebrews saved from the fiery furnace?

E.  Give the main topic or event of the following Bible chapters
41.   Genesis 3
42.   Isaiah 53
43.   Romans 4
44.   Psalm 119
45.   Hebrews 11
46.   Acts 15
47.   John 17
48.   Revelation 21-22
49.   Luke 15
50.   Exodus 3

F.  Who said the following?
51.   If I perish, I perish.
52.   What is truth?
53.   After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?…Will I really have a child, now that I am old?
54.   O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
55.   Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in the kingdom.
56.   The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?
57.   He must increase; I must decrease.
58.   Am I dog that you come at me with sticks?
59.   I know my Redeemer lives and that in the end he will stand upon the earth?
60.   Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.

G.  If you encountered the following error, to which book would you turn for help? Choose the book that best addresses the error. Use each of the listed books only once: Genesis, Job, Song of Songs, Amos, John, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, 1 Timothy, James, Revelation.
61.   ”As long as you believe the right things, it doesn’t matter how you live your life.”
62.   ”I’m sure I don’t have any spiritual gifts. Only special people do.”
63.   ”We are saved by Jesus, but we also have to do our part by obeying the law of the Old Testament.”
64.   ”If you are sick, you must have sin in your life. Good people don’t suffer.”
65.   ”God doesn’t care about the poor and oppressed. That’s the social gospel.”
66.   ”I know God promises to bless me, but I can’t really trust him through the hard things in life, like famine, barrenness, and imprisonment.”
67.   ”In the end it won’t make any difference who we followed or what we did with our lives. Jesus will treat everybody the same when he comes back.”
68.   ”There’s nothing special about Jesus. He’s just one way among many, just another prophet or good moral teacher.”
69.   ”The best way to pick your elders is by looking at how successful they are in the business world. Next, consider how many degrees they have. After that, popularity matters most. Finally, if you still can’t decide, go by good looks.”
70.   ”The Bible doesn’t say anything about intimacy between a man and a woman. That’s too fleshly for God to care about.”

H.  Arrange the following events in proper chronological order.
71-80.
a.   The giving of the Law
b.   The atoning death of Christ
c.   Malachi prophesies
d.   The promise to Abraham
e.   creation and fall
f.   Pentecost
g.   Exile in Babylon
h.   David is King over Israel
i.   Paul is shipwrecked
j.   The Judges rule over Israel

I.  Match the verse with the doctrine it best supports. Each doctrine from the list will be used only once: providence, atonement, election, justification, immutability, sanctification, inspiration, deity of Christ, Trinity, total depravity
81.   Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. 1 Peter 1:15
82.   God demonstrated his love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
83.   What you meant for evil, God meant for good. Genesis 50:20
84.   He chose us in him before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:4
85.   I the Lord do not change. Malachi 3:6
86.   Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not count against him. Romans 4:8
87.   In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1.
88.   Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19
89.   For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:21
90.   There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. Romans 3:10-11

J.  In which Old Testament book would you find the following Messianic prophecies? Books may be used more than once.
91.   The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
92.   He would crush the head of the serpent.
93.   He would come riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
94.   Born of a virgin.
95.   Came to preach good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the captives, release the prisoners from darkness, proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and comfort all who mourn.
96.   Would be a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
97.   Would be like a sun of righteousness rising with healing in its wings.
98.   ”They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.”
99.   Buried with the rich in his death.
100.   Like a lion’s cub of the tribe of Judah.

This post originally appeared on Kevin DeYoung’s blog DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed.

Jonathan Petersen
May 16, 2014

What Is Biblical Theology?: An Interview with Jim Hamilton

Jim HamiltonBetween systematic theology, dogmatic theology, historical theology, moral theology, and more, the study of Christian theology can be a bit overwhelming.

Dr. Jim Hamilton (@DrJimHamilton) is professor of Biblical Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (@SBTS) and preaching pastor at Kenwood Baptist Church (@KenwoodBC).

Bible Gateway interviewed Dr. Hamilton about his book, What Is Biblical Theology?: A Guide to the Bible’s Story, Symbolism, and Patterns (Crossway, 2014).

Why do you begin the book with a story of death?What is Biblical Theology

Dr. Hamilton: That particular episode was a gripping experience in my own life–to have been talking with a man just a few hours before he died.

Though everyone dies, so many of us have so little direct exposure to death. Our distance from death, real or imagined, protects us from the questions death forces on us.

The Bible means to answer those questions, and I am eager for us to feel our need for the Bible’s answers.

How does biblical theology differ from other forms of theological study, such as systematic theology?

Dr. Hamilton: Systematic theology attempts to organize everything the Bible says about God, man, Christ, sin, salvation, and so forth. The history of philosophy is important for it, as is the history of theology.

Biblical theology is more like what you do when you read a news article or blog post written by someone you disagree with but want to understand. To understand, you want to find out why the author thinks the way s/he does, and for that you are looking at what they have written for clues about their worldview. Assuming there is an internal coherence to their logic, you have to figure out the world they live in, where the premises they’re using reflect reality.

You say an aim of biblical theology is to understand the worldview of the biblical authors. How is that possible, since the authors span such a long period of time and events?

Dr. Hamilton: It’s possible because we have so much that they have written! This assumes, of course, that the authors agree with each other–that the Psalmists aren’t disputing the creation account in Genesis but assuming it. Without an assumption like that we can’t get anywhere. But if we assume that the books of Moses were as influential as the Bible says they were, then we know the controlling narrative that shapes their worldview. From there it’s a matter of putting the pieces together.

Your book is divided into three parts: story, symbol, and church. How do these help the reader understand biblical theology?

Dr. Hamilton: The story is the account of how things got started, who started them, what went wrong, how it’s going to be set right, and what things will be like when the righter has done the righting. The Bible tells this story.

Symbols are used to summarize and interpret aspects of the story. They re-tell, reinforce, and refresh our experience of the story. To understand the Bible, we have to know the story and understand the symbols.

All this pertains to us because God has given us the opportunity to participate in the story through the church. So in what the Bible says about the church, it’s telling us how we fit in the story, what our role is, and how we’re to play it.

Briefly, what is the Bible’s big story?

Dr. Hamilton: Creation, fall, redemption, restoration.

We could also use the Apostles’ Creed as a kind of skeleton for understanding it (this is the way the Creed was intended to function), filling in some details along the way.

“I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth”

God made the world and made it good, but the pristine setting was defiled by a slithering serpent, the arch-villain, who fomented rebellion, resulting in judgment, death, tragedy, and woe. God made promises to redeem, however, and then he set about preparing the world for the redemption he would accomplish in Christ, prefiguring it through the history of Israel.

“And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord, . . .”

At long last Christ came as the world’s redeeming King, champion, hero, savior. We will celebrate him forever.

“I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy baptist church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”

This statement about the Spirit, the church, communion, and forgiveness details what preserves the church until the resurrection and eternal life. This is where we are in the story, awaiting the one who “ascended into heaven, where he sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.”

You say the biblical authors extensively used symbolism in their writing. What do you mean and how does this differ from what some people call the “secret codes” in the Bible?

Dr. Hamilton: One example will suffice. Peter says in 1 Peter 3:20–21 that baptism corresponds to the flood. What is he talking about? In the Old Testament, the waters of the flood came to symbolize the wrath of God: when God judged Israel, he would bring foreign armies to destroy them, and those armies are likened to the waters of the flood (e.g., Isaiah 8:7–8; Psalm 124). Then Jesus talks about the cross as a “baptism” that he has to undergo (e.g., Mark 10:38–39). On the cross, Jesus was baptized, i.e. plunged, into the floodwaters of God’s wrath. When believers are baptized into Christ, they are united to him by faith in his death and resurrection, and the baptism of Jesus in the floodwaters of God’s wrath counts for them.

This is about as far as you can get from some secret code that has nothing to do with what the biblical authors mean. To understand the Bible’s symbolism is simply to understand what the authors meant to say.

Praise God for Jesus. Praise God for baptism. Deliverance from the crushing flood of the wrath of God.

Explain what imagery, typology, and patterns are and why readers of the Bible should be familiar with them.

Dr. Hamilton: That’s a lot for one question! Briefly–more could be said–but I’ll keep this short.

Imagery is the use of a symbol to summarize and interpret a big story in a few words.

Typology happens when a pattern of events is repeated, and as it gets repeated, it picks up significance.

There are similarities between Joseph, David, and Jesus. Joseph’s story matters, but it takes on added significance when aspects of it are repeated in David’s story. Then the importance of these things is “filled up” when the stories of Joseph and David are recapitulated in Jesus.

Readers of the Bible need to see these things because the biblical authors have seen them, thought about them, and meant to draw our attention to them. They attempted to draw our attention in subtle ways. They knew the story and expected their audience to know it, so it’s more like a subtle wink than like someone setting his hair on fire.

If we don’t catch the wink, we won’t get the message.

“Church” is the third element of biblical theology and you place it under the heading of “the Bible’s love story.” Why?

Dr. Hamilton: The true story of the world is that we’re in a love story with a happy ending. God married Israel at Sinai, and the adulterous wife brought consequences on herself. But God remains faithful. He promised a new covenant to be initiated by a Bridegroom who would cleanse and forgive the wayward wife. Jesus washes the church in the water of the word, with the result that she is without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish. When he returns, the marriage feast of the Lamb will be the consummation of the ages.

The church is the lady in waiting, the bride bought by the blood. As my friend Gunner recently put it, the bride will wear white because the Groom wore red.

What’s the best way you recommend for people to see the interconnectedness of the Bible?

Dr. Hamilton: Read it!

Read big portions all at one sitting. Read straight through Genesis all at once, and it will be even better if you do so with a set of colored pencils or pens and note repeated words, themes, promises, and so forth all in the same color.

Is there anything else you’d like to say?

Dr. Hamilton: The psalmist wrote, “Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens” (Ps 119:89).

What a treasure to have the Bible. Rich Mullins sang that he memorized every word Jesus said. May that be our disposition to the Bible.

May the Lord sanctify us in the truth of his word (John 17:17).

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