Handbook of Basic Bible Texts: Every Key Passage for the Study of Doctrine and Theology

This book is awesome and it was brand new. It came right on time for my class

Sometimes, when reading a book, I skip the footnotes in order to save time. I wouldn't dare do that with this book! The footnotes are the best part because they show HOW the verses are understood by those with opposing beliefs. They show why, for example, you can have two or more different theological views each supported by the SAME bible verses! Very interesting reading. This book is a great quick reference and is also good for devotional reading. I assign this book when I teach new members classes in my church! This is a book that should never go out of print!

This is an excellent book to help you understand the basic theological differences between major doctrinal interpretations. Instead of giving you "unbiased" commentary on each verse which is almost always, by definition, slanted toward one side or another, the author simply gathers together the main texts each side uses to prove their position. This not only helps you decide for yourself if you agree with any of them or not, but it also trains you to recognize a good or bad argument when you hear one. Since the different views must rely only upon the scriptures to support them in this book, you begin to see which arguments are the strongest biblically and which ones seem to be stretching the truth. All of the comparative doctrinal texts are placed in close proximity for easy comparison. You will learn a lot of theology (hopefully not just your own) by simply reading this book.