What the Bible Really Tells Us: The Essential Guide to Biblical Literacy
T.J. Wray'sWhat the Bible Really Tells Usprovides the general public and undergraduates in Bible and Religion courses everywhere with a step by step introductory level text in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament that is perfect for the present crop of readers. Her wry sense of humor and years of teaching expertise come through and the book also untangles some of the most vexing problems of theology, ethics, and society in an easily readable style. A great addition to a personal or institutional library!---Richard Freund, director, Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies, University of Hartford.T. J. Wray has done it again! With a remarkable blend of biblical knowledge, human insight, and literary skill, she has hit a '10' on the scale in interpreting the Bible for people who have great interest yet relatively little knowledge. How can anyone forget what the Bible has to say about our future, money, sex, the world in which we live, what is fair, and our relationship with God? Perhaps no one butWhat the Bible Really Tells Uscomes to remind us about realities that we dare not forget.---Raymond F. Collins, visiting scholar, Brown UniversityHoned from years of excellent teaching, TJ Wray's clarifying guide to biblical literacy is both witty and profound. Now, her readers get the benefit of her compelling classroom instruction and will love her as much as those students do!---Robin M. Jensen, Luce Chancellor’s Professor of the History of Christian Art and Worship, Vanderbilt UniversityTJ Wray'sWhat the Bible Really Tells Usis a fascinating, trip through all the basics of Biblical scholarship. Wray writes in an engaging accessible style that is perfect for the average reader who knows something about the Bible but little about the mysteries of what Bible scholars have uncovered in their work over the past two centuries. Wray makes the critical, academic, study of the Scriptures an enlightening but always enjoyable journey. She pulls the readers in from the first chapter and never lets them go with practical stories and examples but plenty of solid content. This book is perfect for the average reader as well as ideal for basic courses in the Bible at the college level.---James A. 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mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]What the Bible Really Tells Us: The Essential Guide to Biblical Literacy.Wray, T. J. (Author) Oct 2011. 220 p. Rowman & Littlefield, hardcover, $24.95. (9780742562530).220.6.The Bible is one of a few works that is best read with an introduction or guide at hand. Wray’s book is an engaging and excellent example of just such an aid. The collection of texts we now call the Bible was written over the course of many centuries, by different authors, in different languages, and under differing social and political circumstances. Understanding the times and places from whence these texts came is key to understanding what they mean. Wray devotes a couple of introductory chapters to the biblical world and the tools and methods scholars use in their exegetical work. But her intention is to get people reading the Bible, not to offer an academic, verse-by-verse commentary. Subsequent chapters, therefore, explore what the Bible says about such issues as wealth, heaven, hell, sex, and the environment, dispelling many commonly held assumptions and pointing out where disagreements in interpretation lie along the way. Wray succeeds in sharing the wisdom of the Bible by making it accessible, interesting, and fun.