The New Testament Library Series - Opinions?
Hi all,
Does anyone here already own The New Testament Library Series? If so, what are your opinions on the various books/collection?
Faithlife had a blog spot on this resource last year: https://blog.logos.com/2017/07/5-reasons-check-new-testament-library-series/
However, that blog was severely lacking in any real substance. Also, the Amazon reviews for most of these books (while seemingly informative) all seem to be from the same few reviewers - not sure if they were paid or not.
Thanks!
Comments
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My two-cent response: Authors such as Boring, Cousar, and Furnish suggest this series is more liberal than conservative theologically speaking, however in the best of liberal tradition, close attention is given to the text and its social setting, which is evident in the page previews. Traditional authorship of Pauline letters would likely be doubted. For me, this set would be useful when wanting to consult points-of-view outside of my evangelical tradition.
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Josh said:
Hi all,
Does anyone here already own The New Testament Library Series? If so, what are your opinions on the various books/collection?
Faithlife had a blog spot on this resource last year: https://blog.logos.com/2017/07/5-reasons-check-new-testament-library-series/
However, that blog was severely lacking in any real substance. Also, the Amazon reviews for most of these books (while seemingly informative) all seem to be from the same few reviewers - not sure if they were paid or not.
Thanks!
I am a layperson. One of the kids is taking an elective on Biblical Interpretation at one of the "secular" universities. To give you an idea of the theological orientation of his class: his textbook is Harper Collins Study Bible (which is not available on Logos.) My problem was: how to teach him to read critical Bible commentaries without turning him into an atheist. I need a liberal commentary that broadens his view without hurting his faith. I did not think an evangelical commentary like MacArthur's would be well received by his professor:
Westminster Bible Companion: great for devotional, but too brief for academic purpose
Interpretation: great for devotion, lots of discussion of theology, but does not go deep into the text. The volumes are slightly dated.
ICC: Too much detail, sometimes too long, sometimes too esoteric. Many volumes were published before 1930.
Anchor: many great volumes, but many are written by skeptics of the faith. Too thick for college students
Hermeneia: too long, too skeptical at times.
New Interpreter's Bible: just the right length for devotional use; adequate for undergraduate class.
NTL and OTL: Just the right length. Devotional quality is lower than New Interpreter's Bible, but the academic discussion is more up-to-date. Brevard Child's commentaries are classics in the field, especially in canonical criticism. They are also modern: many volumes were published after 2000. While they are liberal, I found that the authors are not skeptical of our faith and are very serious when reading the Bible. They get to the point quickly, summarizing the current critical issues related to the passages.
So I ended up recommending NTL and OTL to him. This set is perfect for someone who wants to understand the liberal viewpoint without becoming a skeptic, who cannot afford the time to read a very long commentary.
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Paul Lee said:
I am a layperson. One of the kids is taking an elective on Biblical Interpretation at one of the "secular" universities. To give you an idea of the theological orientation of his class: his textbook is Harper Collins Study Bible (which is not available on Logos.) My problem was: how to teach him to read critical Bible commentaries without turning him into an atheist. I need a liberal commentary that broadens his view without hurting his faith. I did not think an evangelical commentary like MacArthur's would be well received by his professor:
Westminster Bible Companion: great for devotional, but too brief for academic purpose
Interpretation: great for devotion, lots of discussion of theology, but does not go deep into the text. The volumes are slightly dated.
ICC: Too much detail, sometimes too long, sometimes too esoteric. Many volumes were published before 1930.
Anchor: many great volumes, but many are written by skeptics of the faith. Too thick for college students
Hermeneia: too long, too skeptical at times.
New Interpreter's Bible: just the right length for devotional use; adequate for undergraduate class.
NTL and OTL: Just the right length. Devotional quality is lower than New Interpreter's Bible, but the academic discussion is more up-to-date. Brevard Child's commentaries are classics in the field, especially in canonical criticism. They are also modern: many volumes were published after 2000. While they are liberal, I found that the authors are not skeptical of our faith and are very serious when reading the Bible. They get to the point quickly, summarizing the current critical issues related to the passages.
So I ended up recommending NTL and OTL to him. This set is perfect for someone who wants to understand the liberal viewpoint without becoming a skeptic, who cannot afford the time to read a very long commentary.
Thanks for your assessment of "liberal" commentaries.
Bump. Does anyone else have anything to say about this series?
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