Commentaries: conservative and Liberal

Greetings!

I am new to the world of commentaries.

I want to buy the best liberal and the best conservative commentary for each book of the bible. Not looking for the best series or best one volume commentary.

Is there general agreement on the best conservative and best liberal commentaries for each individual book of the bible?

Is there a web site where I can find out what are the best liberal and conservative commentaries for each book of the bible?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

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Simon’s Brother

Is there a web site where I can find out what are the best liberal and conservative commentaries for each book of the bible?

Paul, What is the best of each type of commentary is a subjective question but http://www.bestcommentaries.com/ is a good starting point in your search.

Mark Barnes

Is there general agreement on the best conservative and best liberal commentaries for each individual book of the bible?

None at all!

Is there a web site where I can find out what are the best liberal and conservative commentaries for each book of the bible?

In addition to the website mentioned above, there are two books in Logos that might help.

Both authors are relatively conservative, but include the full range of commentaries in their scope, and their comments should give you a rough idea where a commentary falls on the conservative/liberal spectrum.

tom

Is there general agreement on the best conservative and best liberal commentaries for each individual book of the bible?

None at all!

[y] There isn't even an understanding of what is considered to be conservative and what is considered to be liberal.

Commentaries are written with a particulate audience in-mind. For an example, I love the Hermeneia series. While It is one of the best series when it comes to understanding the biblical languages, I would not recommend this series to people who do not know biblical Greek and/or Hebrew.

Logos did have a product guide when it comes to commentaries. While I have not been able to find the page after Logos updated their website, it is on archive.org: http://web.archive.org/web/20080302022854/http://www.logos.com/commentaries/multivolume. Because this page is from 2008, it does not list any commentaries that Logos has added in the last six years.

Ken McGuire

There isn't even an understanding of what is considered to be conservative and what is considered to be liberal.

[Y][Y] I had been wanting to say that... It has gotten so that I refuse to use the terms because they seem to have no meaning.

DMB

I always joke that you can assign the labels in reverse order in the 1st century ... liberals 'love!' .... conservatives 'heretics!'.

I also notice some religious traditions seem to stress a strong discipline in the logic, while others demand consistency with the tradition. That's one big reason I rarely have any problem with Catholic authors (even though I'm 'fundementalist').

Lee

Commentaries are written with a particulate audience in-mind.

They were written for me, a mote of dust! [:D]

Dan Francis

In addition to the website mentioned above, there are two books in Logos that might help.

https://www.logos.com/product/5342/new-testament-commentary-survey-6th-ed

https://www.logos.com/product/31954/old-testament-commentary-survey-5th-ed

Probably your best move because one might say this series is liberal or that series is conservative and find out Volume B of a conservative series is rather liberal, and Volume A of this fairly liberal series is rather conservative. I personally do not care for the labels much. New Interpreter's Bible (12 vols.) is in many ways and books fairly conservative and in other ways fairly liberal, depending on the author of book and their approach to a topic.

-Dan

JPH

and find out Volume B of a conservative series is rather liberal, and Volume A of this fairly liberal series is rather conservative

or you have an entire series that is generally labeled conservative, e.g. wbc, but then you spend a some years in and out of it and find that it's just not.

Dan Francis

wbc, but then you spend a some years in and out of it and find that it's just not.

Word Biblical Commentary (WBC) (59 vols.) is one of my favourite series.

[:D]

William Gabriel

There isn't even an understanding of what is considered to be conservative and what is considered to be liberal.

Easy, anyone who believes in fewer points of doctrine than me is a flaming liberal and might as well deny the faith. Anyone who believes more points of doctrine than me is a fundamentalist whack-job, and I would never want to associate with them.

[said w/ tongue-in-cheek good faith humor, in case anyone--conservative or liberal--misses it [;)]]

DMB

William, that's a real keeper! Kudos.

Mike Pettit

I am not so sure that mixing Liberal and Conservative (whatever they mean) is necessarily a good idea as the difference lays not so much in how the text is viewed but the suppositions that underpin the text and as such you really cannot draw wisdom equally from both as they do not logically mix.

It makes much more sense to combine commentaries that differ widely but not on the liberal/Conservative axis (i.e. Roman and Reformed is a useful mix as I suppose would be emerging and Liberal if that rocks your boat)

Of course always challenge how you view the texts, but differences aid synthethis of knowledge, jumping between contradictions on a whim does not.

Mike Childs

Great thread.

I am generally regarded as the most conservative voice theologically in our United Methodist Conference. (I think that is an honest statement.). When my son married a precious young woman whose parents belonged to an independent church, the father was very concerned about her marrying the son of one of those liberal United Methodist pastors. All that I could do was laugh and say was, "'Tis a charge that has seldom been made!". We so often judge each other prematurely.

Concerning commentaries these are my thoughts.

1. One should not get one's understanding of a passage of Scripture from any commentary, but from inductive study. Commentaries should come last in the study process for comparison purposes, and to check our results. If our understanding of a passage is too far from all solid commentaries, we might want to reconsider.

2. The most important thing is not whether the author is liberal or conservative, but the author's scholarship. Does the author's theological bias and presuppositions control his understanding of the passage? Does the author of the commentary have an agenda? Does the author have solid exegetical skills?

3. The most helpful commentaries are not those that parrot my own views. I already know what I think. The best commentaries are ones that make me think, and help me understand why I believe what I believe. Understanding the other side of an argument is crucial to understanding your own views.

4. A variety of types of commentaries are helpful - after I have thoroughly studied a passage inductively. A mixture of scholarly, exegetical, and expository commentaries is a good approach.

5. When it comes to theology, remember John Wesley's wise words: "He may be almost as orthodox—as the devil, (though, indeed, not altogether; for every man errs in something; whereas we can’t well conceive him to hold any erroneous opinion,) and may, all the while be as great a stranger as he to the religion of the heart."

Dan Francis

Great thread.

Great thoughts... thank you for sharing.

-Dan

Kent

Easy, anyone who believes in fewer points of doctrine than me is a flaming liberal and might as well deny the faith. Anyone who believes more points of doctrine than me is a fundamentalist whack-job, and I would never want to associate with them.

[Y]

elnwood

There are commentary recommendation lists all over the web.

If you want to compare which commentaries liberals like, and which ones conservatives like, find a list from a liberal institution and one from a conservative institution.

Liberal Commentary lists:

Princeton Theological Seminary
http://www.ptsem.edu/uploadedFiles/Academic_Affairs/Academic_Departments/Biblical_Studies/CommontariesMasterList.pdf

Georgetown University
http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/pilchj/OT%20Comms.htm
http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/pilchj/NT%20Comms.htm

Luther Seminary
https://www2.luthersem.edu/mrogness/Resources_Preaching/Commentaries/commentaries.htm

Conservative Commentary lists:

The Masters Seminary
http://www.tms.edu/pdf/850Books.pdf

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
http://www.danielakin.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/2013-BTL-final-for-posting-sts.pdf

Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary
http://www.dbts.edu/pdf/Booklist.pdf

Sacrifice

Besides the recommended books above, online lists of what 'some' would refer to as be conservative -

Ligonier:

http://www.ligonier.org/blog/top-commentaries-on-every-book-of-the-bible/

and

Covenant Theological Seminary (Academics > Library > Commentary Guide):

http://www.covenantseminary.edu/library/commentaries/

Rosie Perera

I am very interested in this new series of commentaries that traces what has been thought about a certain passage over the centuries, and how it has been received and responded to historically, in theology, the arts, etc. I hope we can get it in Logos before long:

Blackwell Bible Commentaries

Dan Francis

Luther Seminary
https://www2.luthersem.edu/mrogness/Resources_Preaching/Commentaries/commentaries.htm

I noticed they mentioned:

At the request of Professor Ramp (Professor of Homiletics, 1998-2001), a contingent of Bible Division faculty met to discuss what commentaries we would suggest for preachers. We agreed that volumes in the following series are generally very good:

1. The Interpretation Commentary series Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (INT) (43 vols.)

2. The Westminster Bible Companion Westminster Bible Companion Series (33 vols.)

3. The Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament (ACNT) Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament (ACNT) (15 vols.)

4. The New Interpreter’s Bible, 12 volumes, Nashville: Abingdon, 1994- New Interpreter's Bible (12 vols.)

It is Interesting and nice that all 4 of these series are are Logos (NIB is still in pre pub but should be here soon enough)......

-Dan

Dan Francis

I am very interested in this new series of commentaries that traces what has been thought about a certain passage over the centuries, and how it has been received and responded to historically, in theology, the arts, etc. I hope we can get it in Logos before long:

Blackwell Bible Commentaries

[Y]