Shameless self promotion Archives

Book Announcement: 40 Questions about Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

Some regular readers of Reading Acts have noticed I have slowed down a bit this year. Here’s why: I have been writing a book on the Apocrypha and pseudepigrapha for Kregel’s 40 Questions series. The book is now finished, edited, (nearly) printed, and will be available mid-November. Kregel tells me they will have copies at ETS and SBL in November, so if you are at the conferences, pick up a copy at a good discount. For most of the summer I have been working on a second project for Kregel, the Acts volume in their Through Old Testament Eyes commentary series. I am about three-quarters of the way through the first draft.

I am extremely grateful to David deSilva, who wrote the foreword for 40 Questions about Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha. I read the first edition of his Introducing the Apocrypha when it came out and reviewed it for Trinity Journal (TJ 27 [2006]: 172-4). The Amazon link below includes all the endorsements, and I am also thankful to the scholars who read an early draft of the book and thought enough of it to write some very kind words.

Here are the links to Amazon and Logos for preorders (so you can beat the Christmas rush).

Amazon

Logos Bible Software

I hope you will read this book and benefit from it. One nice thing about the 40 Questions series is that you don’t need to read the whole book cover to cover. Read the chapters that interest you (or answer the questions you want to ask). This first section covers questions about the Old Testament canon and why some Christians accept the Apocrypha while others do not. Then I cover the books of the Apocrypha and selected books of the pseudepigrapha.

What is this book about? As I explain in the introduction, the Apocrypha and pseudepigrapha have fascinated me ever since I found a copy of the Lost Books of the Bible in a bargain bin at a used bookstore. I grew up in a conservative evangelical environment, which barely recognized the Apocrypha, usually dismissing the books as “in the Catholic Bible.” They did not even know books like 1 Enoch or Jubilees existed. Reading these “lost” books felt rebellious! Biblical studies classes in my undergraduate studies introduced me to more of the literature. Professor Dale DeWitt assigned W. D. Davies, Paul and Rabbinic Judaism (Fortress, 1970), which first exposed me to the breadth of literature that could help contextualize the New Testament. As an undergraduate, I recall holding the freshly published volumes of James Charlesworth’s Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (Doubleday, 1983). I knew I wanted to read as much as I could in these books, but that was not possible at the time. In my first PhD seminar, I was told to “read Charlesworth and write a paper on it.” That was the whole assignment. I ended up writing several hundred pages (badly edited) on the value of each of these books for studying early Judaism and the New Testament (and my professor was unimpressed; he told me to never do that again). As I wrote my dissertation (published as Jesus the Bridegroom), I often returned to Second Temple literature. I integrated these books into my research for undergraduate classes on apocalyptic literature and early Judaism. In 2022, I published The Book of Enoch for Beginners. Although the book is very basic (and short), it has sold well, and I continue to receive good feedback on it.

40 Questions about Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha has two goals. First, many Christians consider these books non-canonical and therefore unimportant for understanding the New Testament. Since they are not part of the “real Bible,” they can be safely ignored, or even shunned as dangerous. I want this book to demystify the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha so that this rich literature can be used to understand the context of the New Testament and the development of both early Christianity and early Judaism.

Second, the literature surveyed in this book is fertile ground for conspiracy theories. It is easy to find someone on YouTube talking about esoteric hidden knowledge they have “discovered” in the Enoch literature. I have been asked about “portals” after an uninformed reading of 1 Enoch, or about real-life giants from the Book of the Watchers. An important goal of this book is to shed light on the Apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, clarifying misconceptions and false information in popular media.

Galatians: Freedom through God’s Grace

My new book, Galatians: Freedom through God’s Grace, is now available through Amazon in paperback or a (cheaper) Kindle.

I have been working on this book for a long time, and I am glad to have it in print.You can also order it through the Wipf & Stock website (it is a little less expensive there, they will charge shipping so it is about the same as Amazon Prime). If you are a blogger and want to review the book Wipf & Stock has a “Request Review Copy” on their page and they can send you a copy. If you happen to be around the Grace Christian University campus, drop into my office and I would be happy to sell you a copy (I have a few on hand).

This book had its origins in my teaching ministry at Rush Creek Bible Church, but taught the material in several other contexts over the years and used this blog as a sounding board for material which found its way into the book. I intended this book as a basic introduction to Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. It would make a good pastor’s commentary or a supplement for teaching Galatians in a Sunday School or small group Bible Study for a quarter.

Here are my goals in this book in contrast to other styles of commentaries already on the market. First, this is not an exegetical commentary. I rarely comment on Greek grammar except where it is critical to the meaning of a verse. While I do include some cultural and historical background in order to illuminate the text, I do not claim to be comprehensive in this area. There is far more to say about the background to Galatians than I cover in this book. There are several places in the book where I reflect some insights of the so-called “new perspective on Paul,” but this book is neither a critique nor a defense of this view of Paul’s letters.

Second, I do not intend for this book to be an expositional commentary, although that is the closest model. Expositional commentaries focus on an English translation and attempt to explain the details of the text. My goal is not necessarily the details but the overall point Paul makes in the letter. I move through Galatians in sections and comment on the most important aspects of the text in order to understand what Paul is trying to say both to the original readers and to Christians living in similar situations in the twenty-first century. I have attempted to ground this contemporary application in the text of the Bible.

Third, I intend this book for laymen, Bible teachers, and busy pastors who need an overview of the main issues in the book of Galatians. I envisioned this book being used in a small group Bible study or Sunday School class as a supplement to a personal study of Galatians. No book should ever be used to replace reading Scripture, but perhaps this book will help readers to better understand some nuances of Paul’s thought in his letter to the Galatians.

Here is how you can help me out. First, buy a copy of the book for yourself or your pastor. Second, recommend your church library purchase a copy; if you attend a Bible College or seminary, request the book for your library.

If you do buy the book please leave a review on Amazon. You can even review the book if you did not buy it from Amazon. Just a few kind words would really help others to purchase the book. I hate to be whiney about it like some YouTuber, but it is (unfortunately) important to have good reviews on Amazon these days. So leave your comments and rating at Amazon and I will be eternally grateful.

In old news, Jesus the Bridegroom is only $10 for Kindle, and I see a few cheaper copies both new and used if you want a print copy. Again, please consider leaving a review for that book as well.

So what’s next? I have two or three similar books in process, I hope to have Ephesians finished by the end of the year.

My New Book: Galatians: Freedom through God’s Grace

My new book, Galatians: Freedom through God’s Grace, is now available through Amazon with the Kindle version coming soon.

Craig Keener’s commentary on Galatians also came out recently and I am happy to say at 156 pages, my book is almost as long as his bibliography.

I intended this book as a basic introduction to Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. I divided the book into fourteen chapters (plus one chapter for the introduction). I think it would fit nicely into a Sunday School or small group Bible Study for a quarter. In fact, the book has its origins as a Sunday Evening Bible Study at my church.

Here are my goals in this book in contrast to other styles of commentaries already on the market.

First, this is not an exegetical commentary. I do not comment on the Greek text nor do I try to solve every difficulty in the text. Perhaps I will return to the text of Galatians and produce a more formal and scholarly commentary in the future, but the goals of this commentary preclude me from dealing with more technical aspects of the letter. I rarely comment on Greek grammar except where it is critical to the meaning of a verse. While I do include some cultural and historical background in order to illuminate the text, I do not claim to be comprehensive in this area. There is far more to say about the background to Galatians than I cover in this book. There are several places in the book where I reflect some insights of the so-called “new perspective on Paul,” but this book is neither a critique nor a defense of this view of Paul’s letters.

Second, I do not intend for this book to be an expositional commentary, although that is the closest model. Expositional commentaries focus on an English translation and attempt to explain the details of the text. My goal is not necessarily the details but the overall point Paul makes in the letter. I will therefore move through Galatians in sections and comment on the most important aspects of each section to understand what Paul is trying to say both to the original readers and to Christians living in similar situations in the twenty-first century. I have attempted to ground this contemporary application in the text of the Bible.

Third, I intend this book for laymen, Bible teachers, and busy pastors who need an overview of the main issues in the book of Galatians. I envision this book being used in a small group Bible study or Sunday School class as a supplement to reading the letter to the Galatians. No book should ever be used to replace reading Scripture, but perhaps this book will help readers to better understand some nuances of Paul’s thought in his letter to the Galatians.

Here is how you can help me out. First, buy a copy of the book for yourself (I do not mind if you want to wait for the less expensive Kindle version). Second, recommend your church library purchase a copy; if you attend a Bible College or seminary, request the book for your library.

If you do buy the book please leave a review on Amazon. You can even review the book if you did not buy it from Amazon. Just a few kind words would really help others to purchase the book. It is incredibly important to have good reviews on Amazon these days, so please leave your comments and rating at Amazon and I will be eternally grateful.

In old news, Jesus the Bridegroom is only $10 for Kindle, and I see a few cheaper copies both new and used if you want a print copy. Again, please consider leaving a review for that book as well.

So what’s next? I have two or three similar books in process, I hope to have Ephesians finished this fall.

Logos Bible Software Upgrade Sale Ends Soon

In case you have not seen the announcements, Logos Bible Software released a major upgrade at the end of last year. I did a “first look” review of Logos 8 here. There are plenty of new features to justify an upgrade and the software runs much more efficiently than the previous version. Everything runs faster than Logos 7 so the upgrade is well worth getting.

If you upgrade to Logos 8, you can save 25% on any upgrades to Logos 8 and pick five free books. Follow the link and used the code READINGACTS8 and save a little money on the upgrade. But this upgrader discount ends on February 7, 2019. If you do not already have Logos, here is a loophole in the sale. Get Logos 7 Fundamentals for $59 then upgrade to a Logos 8 base package and use the code to save 25%.

As always, be sure to check out the Logos Free Book of the Month. They give away a new book every month and usually have promotional pricing on one or two others from the same publisher. This is a great way to build up your library.

One Million Hits on Reading Acts!

Reading Acts launched in September 2008, and after three years hit about 50,000 views. As of today, the blog had its one millionth hit! Although the majority of these are undoubtedly spambots from eastern Europe hoping to steal my identity or sell me low-cost Ugg books, there are quite a few regular readers who occasionally leave comments, so I know some people are actually reading what I write.

In the early days I might have seen 20-30 hits a week, but now the average is well over 800 per day so far in 2016, and the last month as been closer to 1000 per day. Since the end of 2015 I am seeing about 25000 a month, and growth almost every month over the last two years.

I am quite humbled that Reading Acts has lasted long enough to pass this mark. Yesterday was my 1700th post over the nearly eight years I have been writing here. This is quite a few considering I do not write the types of posts that tend to go viral. You know the type: cheap shot political articles, clickbait, celebrity gossip, etc. I also do not espouse radical theological opinions to generate hits. No historical Adam histrionics or anti Rob Bell rants. Maybe if I wrote acid-laced rants about these hot topics I would generate more traffic, but I really can’t pull that sort of thing off.

For the most part I write all the posts (there have only been three guest posts). I did publish my dissertation in 2012, but it is not controversial nor all that exciting, apparently. I think I only get hints from people looking for Brant Pitre’s book of the same name (and different subtitle). Go buy a copy and review it on Amazon, it is only $10 for the Kindle version.

Most of my posts plod along a a few hits a week although there are a few which consistently turn up as top posts every week. Sometimes there are hits coming from a moodle page or from a University discussion board. Since I cannot see them, hopefully people are treating me gently. With only a few exceptions, comments on Reading Acts have been helpful and friendly.

Speaking of future plans, I was hoping to update the Top Five Commentary series from 2012 this summer. In the last four years new commentaries on virtually every book of the New Testament have been published so my original lists are now out of date. Several people have encouraged me to add more categories (historical Jesus, Parables, Pauline studies, etc.) Leave a comment if you have a suggestion for a similar “top five” category, I might just include it.

I am also considering a summer series on Jewish apocalyptic literature since I am teaching a Daniel and Revelation summer class and a Second Temple Period lit class in Spring 2017. I need to sharpen up on the material and a blog series is a great place to start. I am teaching Romans in the fall, so I am planning on a slow read through the book starting in September and going through December.

Since one million hits is a pretty big milestone, I will celebrate with a few book giveaways over the next few weeks. I have been setting a stack of books aside to give away all winter long, now is the time to get them out there! Check back after the weekend for the first book giveaway.

Once again, thanks to everyone who reads this blog, even the spambots.