It's the last Theology Thursday of 2011! Once again, I'd like to encourage you all to join me with adopting a book and reading through the Bible in a year in 2012.
"How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have declared all the judgements of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word." - Psalm 119 9-16
As a Christian, wife, mother of a little girl and two fur-babies, Mississippi State Bulldog, and PhD, I lead a very busy life. If you add on top of that my obsession for organization and loves for couponing, sewing, knitting, cooking, reading, gardening, and a host of other random hobbies, you've got the recipe for...well...variety. And variety is the spice of life!
Showing posts with label Adoption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adoption. Show all posts
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
MrsDrPoe: The Gospel According to Mark
For this week's Reading Review, I present to you part of The Pillar New Testament Commentary, "The Gospel According to Mark" by James R. Edwards:
As I mentioned several weeks ago, Mr. Poe adopted the book of Mark; this commentary was given to him indirectly by our friend Mr. Ellis to start his Mark library. Since we have recently found ourselves in several studies on this gospel, I thought it would be in my best interest to read this commentary as well. (If you're considering adopting Mark, this is definitely a reference book you should add to your library.)
Although you could probably guess from the length of this commentary, it is very detailed and contains a plethora of information from a wide variety of sources. Mr. Edwards has done quite a bit of research and provides essentially a very comprehensive verse-by-verse investigation of this gospel. Also to his credit, the book is very well organized, and the footnotes contain a wealth of additional information related to the commentary.
Mr. Edwards draws the reader's attention to the themes and unique literary devices Mark employed in his gospel, such as the "sandwich" where a story is placed in a story to help draw connections between them. One of my favorite topics discussed in the commentary is the way Mark contrasts faith and fear and shows us what true faith in God should look like.
While I have not extensively researched the available material on the topic of Mark's gospel, there are a few comments made in the book that appear to be contrary to scripture, such as those on repentance in reference to Mark 2. While commentaries are often helpful in increasing our understanding of the scriptures, they should never replace the Bible itself; thus, as always, I would advise you to read this book with an open Bible, testing every comment made against the whole Word of God.
As I mentioned several weeks ago, Mr. Poe adopted the book of Mark; this commentary was given to him indirectly by our friend Mr. Ellis to start his Mark library. Since we have recently found ourselves in several studies on this gospel, I thought it would be in my best interest to read this commentary as well. (If you're considering adopting Mark, this is definitely a reference book you should add to your library.)
Although you could probably guess from the length of this commentary, it is very detailed and contains a plethora of information from a wide variety of sources. Mr. Edwards has done quite a bit of research and provides essentially a very comprehensive verse-by-verse investigation of this gospel. Also to his credit, the book is very well organized, and the footnotes contain a wealth of additional information related to the commentary.
Mr. Edwards draws the reader's attention to the themes and unique literary devices Mark employed in his gospel, such as the "sandwich" where a story is placed in a story to help draw connections between them. One of my favorite topics discussed in the commentary is the way Mark contrasts faith and fear and shows us what true faith in God should look like.
While I have not extensively researched the available material on the topic of Mark's gospel, there are a few comments made in the book that appear to be contrary to scripture, such as those on repentance in reference to Mark 2. While commentaries are often helpful in increasing our understanding of the scriptures, they should never replace the Bible itself; thus, as always, I would advise you to read this book with an open Bible, testing every comment made against the whole Word of God.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
MrsDrPoe: Bible Adoption Challenge
Happy Theology Thursday to all! School beginning and summer quickly coming to a close means that the Summer Bible Reading Challenge is almost over as well. How did you do? I hope you were all able to keep up with the reading schedule you picked for yourselves and that going through whatever plan you chose helped you grow spiritually in both your personal study and your study with others!
Since we're now in the habit of reading a portion of God's word daily (whether we were before or not), I propose another challenge: adoption of a Bible book. This idea is not my own; our friend, Mr. Holley, has been suggesting it to serious Bible students for years. In fact, Mr. Holley suggests the eventual adoption of multiple books (one from the OT and one from the NT, to start).
The process of adoption is relatively simple- you choose a book that you wish to adopt, read that book as much as possible (at least once a week), and simultaneously collect and read other books (commentaries, etc.) on your book. By the end of a year, you will have read your adopted book at least 52 times and added several reference books to your theological library. Another suggested "tool" for better understanding your book is to find someone else who has studied your book a lot; this person can help answer your questions, provoke new lines of thought, and suggest materials and references that will help you in your study. It also helps to start a reading-the-Bible-through-in-a-year program while you're "camped out" in your adopted book. This way you'll make connections with your book and the rest of the Bible and vice versa...it's like using the Bible as a commentary on itself!
Perhaps one of the best places to start is to try to adopt one of the gospels (although you may wish to read through all four multiple times before settling on one- you may set a goal of having a book chosen by Jan 1 and then spending a whole calendar year on it). Mr. Holley's book is Luke; Mr. Ellis' book is Mark; Mr. Poe has also adopted Mark. One benefit to starting with a gospel is that improved study of these books will automatically provide you with a method for sharing the story of Jesus. It's amazing how many questions can be answered from camping out in a gospel, taking the passages in context of the whole book instead of just a paragraph.
On a personal note: for the past few months I've been trying to decide on a gospel that I wanted to be "my" book...I'm currently studying Mark and Luke, but I also really like the idea of starting at the beginning with Matthew, and Mr. Holley suggested John because it bridges Matt and Mark with Luke. I plan to read through them all again before I make my decision...I'll let you know how that goes.
If you'd prefer to start elsewhere, that's cool too- the same procedure is used. The goal of course is to continue to adopt books, spending a year (or two) on in-depth study in each one, slowly building your Bible knowledge, faith, and relationship with Christ, brothers and sisters, and the lost. Just think of how many books you could immerse yourself in in a lifetime! I guess I'm not just challenging you (and myself) to a program for the upcoming year, but for all the years to come...are you up for it?
Since we're now in the habit of reading a portion of God's word daily (whether we were before or not), I propose another challenge: adoption of a Bible book. This idea is not my own; our friend, Mr. Holley, has been suggesting it to serious Bible students for years. In fact, Mr. Holley suggests the eventual adoption of multiple books (one from the OT and one from the NT, to start).
The process of adoption is relatively simple- you choose a book that you wish to adopt, read that book as much as possible (at least once a week), and simultaneously collect and read other books (commentaries, etc.) on your book. By the end of a year, you will have read your adopted book at least 52 times and added several reference books to your theological library. Another suggested "tool" for better understanding your book is to find someone else who has studied your book a lot; this person can help answer your questions, provoke new lines of thought, and suggest materials and references that will help you in your study. It also helps to start a reading-the-Bible-through-in-a-year program while you're "camped out" in your adopted book. This way you'll make connections with your book and the rest of the Bible and vice versa...it's like using the Bible as a commentary on itself!
Perhaps one of the best places to start is to try to adopt one of the gospels (although you may wish to read through all four multiple times before settling on one- you may set a goal of having a book chosen by Jan 1 and then spending a whole calendar year on it). Mr. Holley's book is Luke; Mr. Ellis' book is Mark; Mr. Poe has also adopted Mark. One benefit to starting with a gospel is that improved study of these books will automatically provide you with a method for sharing the story of Jesus. It's amazing how many questions can be answered from camping out in a gospel, taking the passages in context of the whole book instead of just a paragraph.
On a personal note: for the past few months I've been trying to decide on a gospel that I wanted to be "my" book...I'm currently studying Mark and Luke, but I also really like the idea of starting at the beginning with Matthew, and Mr. Holley suggested John because it bridges Matt and Mark with Luke. I plan to read through them all again before I make my decision...I'll let you know how that goes.
If you'd prefer to start elsewhere, that's cool too- the same procedure is used. The goal of course is to continue to adopt books, spending a year (or two) on in-depth study in each one, slowly building your Bible knowledge, faith, and relationship with Christ, brothers and sisters, and the lost. Just think of how many books you could immerse yourself in in a lifetime! I guess I'm not just challenging you (and myself) to a program for the upcoming year, but for all the years to come...are you up for it?
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