Review: The New Spirit-Filled Life Bible NKJV

Why is it so difficult to find a good Bible these days? In the last year, I've received a few different study Bibles that included the kinds of study materials I love, but also came with either a liberal interpretation (i.e. The New Living and New Century versions) or, as in the case of "The New Spirit-Filled Life Bible," a Charismatic and Arminian interpretation of key passages. The least they could do for the more debatable passages is include references to both sides of the argument. It's rather disappointing, because, if it were not for the study Bible's clear view that you can lose your salvation and that the speaking of tongues still exists, this would be a great study Bible. And I still plan to use it, but with care. It has great every-day applications of verses, wonderful word definitions, and extensive notes. Any Pentecostal or Charismatic will certainly love it. I'm close to loving it.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from BookSneeze for my honest review of it.

Review: The World of Jesus

It's no surprise that Dr. William H. Marty is a professor. His book "The World of Jesus" reads like a text book, complete with both incredibly obvious or ridiculously difficult discussion questions at the end of each chapter. The only bits that do not read like a history book are the chapter openings, particularly useless narrative shorts based on Bible and history stories. But the book itself isn't entirely useless. It's a great history of the times leading up to and following the Gospel accounts. Reading the book brought back memories of my high school days when I loved reading my history text books. Unfortunately, this history book doesn't actually provide all that many insights for understanding the New Testament. It's mostly a flat history of people and places, but not so much culture or Biblical insights, and I only made about three underlines. But it's still a great read if you're interested in the history behind the Bible.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The World of Jesus