Rusting Car Bumper

Hi.

I am looking for a few books on Biblical criticism. I read a lot about a lot of stuff and so I don't have time to read a hundred books about it. I don't want to be an expert but I want three or less books I can read to get my mind around the basic issues.

I am NOT interested in books which simply bolster atheist apologetics. I am interested in learning basic facts about Biblical construction including the ages of texts, where various texts are said to have been drawn from, if some NT texts are thought to be based on OT texts, and so on.

I would prefer books which have scholarly weight behind them but I don't have to be an ancient scholar to read.

I know there is a sticky about basic books but its all over the place.

DC

Intelligitimate

Raymond Brown's Introduction to the New Testament, or any of the substitutes mentioned by Kirby, should do fine. These are conservative Christian scholars, and thus you won't find much radical, non-mainstream analysis in them.

A good study bible, such as Harper Collin's and Oxford, should also do fine, though they will be far less detailed in their introductions than Brown, Schnelle, or Koester. I don't think Mack is what you're looking for though, since his intro has more to do with the culture and sociological aspects of the creation of the NT.

Peter Kirby

I have a Recommended Reading List from which you can make selections.

best,
Peter Kirby

Toto

I think that most of the books on the recommended reading lists are too technical for what you want.

I would recommend starting with Who Wrote the New Testament? by [Mack]. It is long and scholarly, but it is written by a liberal Christian for the intelligent layperson with questions about the historical accuracy of the Bible.

Peter Kirby

The author of that book is Mack. And I've never seen/heard Burton Mack identify himself as Christian (liberal or otherwise).

It would help to know more about what DigitalChicken wants. Is he interested in "historical Jesus" or the origins of the Hebrew nation or other tough historiographical questions? Does he want to learn about the development of the canon? How much does he need to be able to understand the evidence behind a statement? (a big problem with using popularizations, including Mack's Who Wrote) Does he care about narrative/literary criticism much at all? Does he plan to read the Bible (or the NT) completely, or perhaps he has already done so? Perhaps looking at the reading list suggested with spark some ideas that will lead to appropriate selections.

For example, if he planned to read the Bible from front to back, or even if he just wanted to have a reference for reading certain selections, I would recommend either the Oxford or Jerome one-volume biblical commentaries.

best,
Peter Kirby

Celsus

Au contraire, the books in the HB&A list aren't difficult unless otherwise stated. Boadt's introduction to the OT can be read by a dedicated high school student, and makes a good start, albeit (relatively) conservative in its approach. For pretty similar treatment, the II library has Gerald Larue's introduction to the OT that is free and worth looking at. On the other hand, if you're looking for proper means of exegesis, there aren't many simple ones out there.

Joel

Toto

We should ask DC to clarify what he wants, but I am assuming, based on what I know about him and the state he lives in, that he wants to be able to hold his own in discussions with Christians, and is primarily interested in the NT.

DC - if you want to avoid "atheist apologetics" just avoid American Atheists materials and the Historical section of the II Library. Most of the material in the Modern Library of II would be about what you want, especially Richard Carrier's articles, such as The Formation of the New Testament Canon.

Rusting Car Bumper

Kirby and Toto,

That's a nice big list and good one too!! :notworthy

To answer Toto's query...

The difficulty I am having is that many of these titles only deal with one aspect and its hard to choose.

I am looking for a few books which will introduce me to most of these topics.
I am interested in:
the construction of the bible,
the sources including ages and origins of the parts,
what literary traditions influence what parts (especially in regards to the NT),
historical methods used to determine this stuff,
what "historical jesus" theories are seriously entertained,
and I guess I would be looking for an emphasis on the gospels or the NT since it makes Christianity what it is.

I am NOT interested in:
Biblical Hermeneutics (if I understand correctly what it is),
atheist apologetics,
theology.

I don't know if you can narrow it given these criteria.

DC

Rusting Car Bumper

To clear up something also, I am interested at the top level in the state of scholarship. I am not interested myself in gaining enough insight to form my own opinions (as I think that would take too many years) but I am interested in forming an opinion about the state of scholarship.

For example, I want to form opinions like:
"Very few serious scholars believes that book A was written by person W."

"The three most popular theories for how X book came about was A B and C. Nobody takes theory D seriously anymore."

"The story blah blah is thought by many (or most) scholars to be reflective of such and such style which was prominent at the time."

That sort of thing...

DC

Celsus

What if there is no consensus, or if the consensus is crap?

Joel