Overview

The Bible is a collection of sixty-six books, written by many different people over many thousands of years. All of its writers lived in an ancient-world context and thought in ancient-world ways. But as Bible readers today, we live and think in the modern world--which is increasingly a postmodern world. Things that were ""obvious"" to them are not ""obvious"" to us, and vice versa. For Christians who want to be faithful to the Bible as the Word of God, the time and distance between then and now is a real challenge to navigate. Stephen Burnhope suggests that we won't get it right by collapsing that gap--by just picking the text up and reading it. ""The Bible says . . . [insert a verse]"" is not enough. We will mishear both what the human authors were saying and what the divine author was saying. Reading the Bible well starts from reading it with its writers--understanding it as they understood it: what they were saying; why they said it; and how they said it. All of which is shaped and framed by the Bible's ""big themes"" that, once we're aware of them, we see running throughout, from cover-to-cover.

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Reviews

""The question of how we interpret Scripture--and interpret it we must--is a centuries-old challenge and will continue to be so, no doubt, until Jesus returns. Steve Burnhope's excellent new book, Reading the Bible with Its Writers, takes a deceptively simple, yet richly suggestive, approach to this complex issue. Burnhope invites us to take the big themes of the Bible as our first and most important interpretive key, then consider genre and its implications as the second. Rather than reaching for our favorite 'proof texts, ' this way of reading the biblical texts honors both their human and divine origins and challenges us again to think carefully about what it means to call them 'the Word of God.'"" --Neal Swettenham, founding senior pastor, Melton Vineyard Church ""To be an evangelical is to engage the Bible seriously. Steve Burnhope supports this vision by helping us read the Bible with the grain, attending to its key themes and different genres. In this way he helps us attend to the process of interpretation. There are always disputes about interpretation, and I have some here as well, but Burnhope rightly focuses on hearing God's voice so that we respond with our 'yes' to live in a flourishing relationship with him."" --Ben C. Blackwell, professor, Westminster Theological Centre ""This book is the key to unlocking your understanding of the Bible in ways you've always hoped for: designed to be accessible, concise, and practical, making it easy for everyone to read and interpret the whole Bible. Steve expertly moves us beyond dry facts and proof-texting to discover the truth and life-giving power of Scripture. Discover what the Bible said and why to hear its message for today."" --Jason Swan Clark, director, London Centre for Spiritual Direction ""Steve Burnhope's writing exemplifies the timeless adage that true understanding is the key to clear and simple explanation. In his latest book, Reading the Bible with Its Writers, he once again speaks directly to the thoughtful Christian, inviting readers to engage deeply with the what, why, and how of the Bible's original authors. Steve encourages us to move beyond isolated texts and explore the overarching story and broader themes woven throughout scripture. This book is an invaluable resource for any Bible reader but is particularly beneficial for pastors and those, like me, who have the privilege of preaching and teaching regularly."" --David Graham, lead pastor, Southcourt Baptist Church, Aylesbury, United Kingdom ""Steve is a rare breed, in that he can take challenging, complex theological concepts, and communicate them, not only in an articulate and clear way, but in a pastoral way as well. There is such a need for pastoral wisdom in the outworking of theological truth and I am grateful that Steve has stepped into that space with Reading the Bible with Its Writers, and I highly recommend both it--and Steve--to you."" --Henry Cross, pastor, Rock and Redeemer Vineyard Church, Dunstable, United Kingdom

Author Information

Stephen Burnhope (PhD in New Testament) is former senior pastor of two Vineyard Churches in the UK. He is the author of several books. His website is steveburnhope.com.

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