Looked at a sample page and it seemed very interesting.
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes
It has a lot of 5 star reviews on Amazon.
I own the paperback. While I sometimes wish they'd support/defend some of their assertions more (they deliberately do not, but coming from a PhD background instead of a pastoral/ThD background, I'd really like them to), it's quite a good book, on my top 5 list to recommend to people looking to understand the Bible better. It challenges unconscious assumptions nicely.
Pre-ordered!
I own the paperback.
I own it in Kindle - I could have sworn I bought it back in April upon a recommendation here in the forum (Rosie? MJ?), but google claims no such thing was ever made here. Well, perhaps it was something else that triggered me back then.
I'd highly recommend it.
I could have sworn I bought it back in April upon a recommendation here in the forum (Rosie? MJ?)
Let's question Google - that's about the time frame I thought I'd recommended it. I've got a hunch on how to find it ...
Please share, since googling our site was what I did unsuccessfully.
And thanks again for the recommendation!
I could have sworn I bought it back in April upon a recommendation here in the forum (Rosie? MJ?),
It wasn't me, and I can't find it on the Logos forums with google either. Maybe it was on Faithlife? Or maybe you read a review of it on some other site, a blog or something?
The title-specific link is here.
Thanks for the correction Lee. It has been changed.
I could have sworn I bought it back in April upon a recommendation here in the forum (Rosie? MJ?), It wasn't me, and I can't find it on the Logos forums with google either. Maybe it was on Faithlife? Or maybe you read a review of it on some other site, a blog or something?
Hm. Martha seems to think it was her. In the thread about "Majority World Theology" it wasn't mentioned (but that was later anyway). There was a - not really enthusiastic - review on thegospelcoalition.org, but this, too, came when I already had the book. Scot McKnight heartily promoted it on his jesuscreed blog but this was in Nov 2012.
Anyway, I found it a great read.
FWIW: It now also has a 5 star review on Logos.com with some links to further information.
That for the recommendation. I just pre-ordered it too.
Maybe they want us to research the assertions for ourselves? And not having seen the book [yet] your last remark also leads me to think that they want us to 'challenges unconscious assumptions' - even the ones that they did not list?
[And yes, I also hit the quick buy button]
Looks like an excellent book, and its points are well taken. We do tend to read into our cultural biases. Though, I am not sure they do not do some of the same thing. But the book certainly seems to point out a well needed corrective.
Does anyone know how this book compares to Why You Think the Way You Do?
I know the title you mentioned only from what is available for look-into at Logos and Amazon and some reviews, however I'd think that these books are not really comparable, since they answer different related questions. Maybe they can be seen as complementary of some sort.
WYTTWYD (afaik) tries to explain how the Western worldview came into existence, and traces its development over history. This might be nice background information to Misreading Scripture (or an interesting research idea afterwards), but that's definitely not the point here. Misreading Scripture makes us aware of the influence of our worldview, especially by providing an alternative explanation for real-world situations and biblical narratives. The aim of the book is not to feed us with more background knowledge about how things came to be, but to re-orientate our understanding in reading the bible.
Which means I'd suggest Misreading for a wider audience of people, including those who "just want to understand the bible better" or prepare to explain biblical texts to others on a small scale (e.g. sunday school, home bibly study, small groups) and are not at all interested in "philosophical questions" like the development of Western mindset and thinking.
My 2c
