The Westminster Guide to the Books of the Bible
With this volume, Ramsay (religion, Bethel Coll.) has updated his Layman's Guide to the New Testament (Westminster/John Knox, 1980), adding sections on the Old Testament and Apocrypha and using the New Revised Standard Version as his text. Three concerns drive his explication: What does the book or passage say? What did it mean when written? What does it mean today? Ramsay handles the first two questions adroitly and wisely avoids sermonizing on the third. His facility with historical and textual criticism is admirable and his honesty regarding the books' value is refreshing. By frequently using the latest archaeological finds, he invites the reader deeper into the text, and his style is so natural that even such reputedly "dry" books as Leviticus and Numbers come to life. One of the finest introductions to the Bible available, this would make an excellent text for an introductory Bible class, a Bible study group, or the lay reader who desires a deeper understanding of the Bible, in part and in its entirety.W. Alan Froggatt, Bridgewater, Conn.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.