Scripture, Canon, & Inspiration: Faith in Pursuit of Conversation (Volume 1)

“Offers an entry into conversations that we absolutely must have if Christian faith is to continue to be a significant voice in our culture.”
--Dr. William Kooi

"Tackles the classical issues related to canon and inspiration with amazing simplicity and earthiness."
--Dr. William J. Abraham

"An engaging account of several critically important discussions going on among biblical scholars and leaders in churches today."
--Dr. Lee Martin McDonald

Correct publication date: May 10, 2012. Is the Bible what Christians say it is? Or is its place on a shelf with other great classics? If you have had or heard questions like these, this book is a faith-impacting must read. Through its crisp and engaging style, you will tackle head-on the central and highly controversial topic of the nature of the Bible. At its heart: an alarmingly simple and provocatively original thesis. Readers will want to engage in this highly relevant and incredibly crucial conversation about the Bible.

Pointing to the shift at the beginning of the 20th centuryfrom the view that the New Testament was written in a special "HolyGhost Greek," the book points to a parallel transformation underway at thebeginning of the 21st century that will forever change the way theBible is viewed, read, and applied.

"I suggest that the church is right now at no less amomentous juncture for its description of the nature of the Bible. Forright now, regardless of what church you can name, there is no reasonor call or excuse for Christian individuals or churches or churchleaders (or academicians for that matter), to be standing still intheir attitude towards the Bible. Not today. Not only is it notnecessary, it should be wholly repellent to us. There are too manythings at stake to live in the past or to be satisfied with overlysimplified views of the Bible that do not stack up with what we nowknow about the origins of Christianity, the nature of canonicity, thehistory of biblical manuscripts, and so much more about the Bible.

Well-researched and well-argued, Scripture, Canon, & Inspiration is written in an easy-flowing, conversational style.

(The publication date listed by Amazon.com--Sept 23, 2011--is incorrect).

Gary D. Collier is founder and director of The Coffee with Paul Classroom. He is the author of ** Reading the Bible Like Jesus ** Divorce and the Christ Community ** Unrelenting Faith (forthcoming) He energetically promotes the concept of a conversational approach to Scripture. In contact with people from 42 countries around the world, he is uniquely qualified as the Bible translator, developer, and teacher of an innovative new approach to adventurous Bible study for people who crave more than what is typical. As the founder and co-chairman of the one-time Seminar for Biblical Hermeneutics at the Christian Scholar's Conferences held at college campuses throughout the United States, as a former teacher of biblical languages at Fuller Theological Seminary and the Iliff School of Theology, and biblical languages and literature at Martin University, and as a minister in California and Indiana, Gary has devoted his life to the innovative, responsible, and contextual application of the Bible to life.