The difficulty of interpreting the Bible is felt all over today. Is the Bible still authoritative for the faith and practice of the church? If so, in what way? What practices of reading offer the most appropriate approach to understanding Scripture? The church's lack of clarity about these issues has hindered its witness and mission, causing it to speak with an uncertain voice to the challenges of our time. This important book is for a twenty-first-century church that seems to have lost the art of reading the Bible attentively and imaginatively. The Art of Reading Scripture is written by a group of eminent scholars and teachers seeking to recover the church's rich heritage of biblical interpretation in a dramatically changed cultural environment. Asking how best to read the Bible in a postmodern context, the contributors together affirm up front "Nine Theses" that provide substantial guidance for the church. The essays and sermons that follow both amplify and model the approach to Scripture outlined in the Nine Theses. Lucidly conceived, carefully written, and shimmering with fresh insights, The Art of Reading Scripture proposes a far-reaching revolution in how the Bible is taught in theological seminaries and calls pastors and teachers in the church to rethink their practices of using the Bible. Contributors: Gary A. Anderson Richard Bauckham Brian E. Daley Ellen F. Davis Richard B. Hays James C. Howell Robert W. Jenson William Stacy Johnson L. Gregory Jones Christine McSpadden R. W. L. Moberly David C. Steinmetz Marianne Meye Thompson

Modern society is awash in words. An auditory tidal wave cascades from our televisions, radios, media players, and the Internet. Today’s distracted worshippers often feel spiritually shortchanged when the Scriptures are spoken without passion and power. This lively and encouraging resource is the collaboration of a gifted Bible narrator and a mentor to church leaders. In it they show how churches can train their own teams of Scripture readers. These laypeople can—with enthusiasm, conviction, and passion—”unleash the Word of God,” and prepare hearts to receive the message. Spoken well, the Word of God opens and penetrates the listener’s heart. Simple, straightforward, and culturally relevant, this unique book provides the necessary tools to teach you how to read the Bible aloud, in a way that communicates its life-changing power!

Timothy George reveals how the sixteenth century?s revolution in theological thinking was fueled by a fresh return to the Scriptures. He underlines several Reformers' unique engagement with the Bible and suggests what their legacy might mean for reading, praying and living out the Scriptures today.

"Eugene Peterson maintains that how we read the Bible is as important as that we read it. The second volume of Peterson's momentous five-part work on spiritual theology, Eat This Book challenges us to read the Scriptures on their own terms, as God's revelation, and to live them as we read them. Countering the widespread practice of using the Bible for self-serving purposes, Peterson here serves readers with a nourishing entrée into the formative, life-changing art of spiritual reading." - from the back of the book.

Christopher Hall shows that studying the writings of the leaders of the early church reveals how the Bible was understood in the centuries closest to its writing. He also lays out how modern Christians can benefit from patristic interpretation of Scripture.

Reading the Bible in a way that is as old as Scripture itself, award-winning author Mark P. Shea takes us on a “fly-over” of the biblical story from Genesis to Revelation. He shows you how to explore the literal, allegorical, moral, and analogical sense of Scripture. Whether you have been studying Scripture for years, or are encountering it for the very first time,Making Senses Out of Scripture is an invaluable tool that it will help you see biblical revelation afresh, as Christians have done for 2000 years.

Veteran Old Testament teacher Mark Gignilliat explores the theological and hermeneutical instincts that are necessary for reading, understanding, and communicating Scripture faithfully. He takes seriously the gains of historical criticism while insisting that the Bible must be interpreted as Christian Scripture, offering students a "third way" that assigns proper proportion to both historical and theological concerns. Reading and engaging Scripture requires not only historical tools, Gignilliat says, but also recognition of the living God's promised presence through the Bible.