Reddit reviews The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
We found 4 Reddit comments about The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
IVP Academic
> Josephus and writers dependent on him spoke of portents in the heavens preceding the fall of Jerusalem. These portents were meant to give the wicked cause to fear (Is 19:16; Jer 4:9). This is the language of the end (how most Jewish people in this period understood Is 13:10; 34:4; cf. 24:23; Ezek 32:7-8). Some ancient Jewish literature used this cataclysmic language for historical events (the Sibylline Oracles use it for an earthquake; cf. Ps 18:6-19; Jer 4:20-28), but most reserved it for the end or transformation of the present world order and the establishing of God’s eternal kingdom.
Your argument gives me the impression that little care was taken in choosing the 4 Gospels, which is not the case. The narratives in each of these 4 Gospels center around Jesus the Son of God. They each have different perspectives but they tell the same story.
I would encourage you to seek out other sources than the one you listed. It is chock full of half-truths and unsubstantiated claims.
An excellent scholarly book that I recommend is the Bible Background Commentary by Dr. Craig Keener
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0830824782/ref=pd_aw_fbt_14_img_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=EH9584H2HJYY87QJF9T9
I've been reading Dr. William Lane Craig's Reasonable Faith and finding it to be pretty stimulating so if you want something on the more academic end then that could be good.
CS Lewis's The Great Divorce is a good, quick read with an interesting take on the natures of Heaven and Hell.
Rev. Dr. Mary Kathleen Cunningham is a very good scholar who I studied under during undergrad and who has put together a very nice reader which surveys the spectrum of belief in the creationism/evolution debate called God and Evolution which is good if you're interested in that kind of thing.
Dr. Craig Keener has a good, cohesive commentary on the New Testament which you can buy as a single volume called The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament.
So there's a few to start out with. Let me know if you're looking for anything more specific and I can try to help (I have a budding theological library in my apartment).
I'd go with the The IVP Bible Background Commentary(volume for both testaments) or the Cultural Background Study Bible with the same (limited) notes.