The New Testament: A Student's Introduction Review

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(More customer reviews)As a college religion teacher, I recommend this book. Its scholarship is first rate. The author, whose religious affiliation is unknown to me, presents a forceful analysis of early Christianity. I rate it highly as an introduction.
Yet I feel thatI should point out that it may be destructive of a young person's Christian faith-- if that person did not understand the disclaimer that the book is written from a scholar's point of view. In practice, what this means is that a scholar who deals with empirically verifiable historical entities can never affirm that genuine miracles have occurred in history. The best a scholar can affirm is that some Biblical writer "thought" a miracle occurred. But Christianity has always affirmed that it is witness to God's real inbreaking into human history, not just a witness to someone's mental projections of a God's inbreaking. A scholar can only say that the apostles "were convinced" that Jesus had risen, not that He acually was risen.
Another consequence, in my view, is that the scholar's approach forces the author to affirm that Christians did not believe in the divinity of Jesus until after Paul. Paul's Jewish monotheistic upbringing could not find a workable terminology to fully express Jesus' divinity without compromising monotheism: but not being able to articulate some idea is not the same as not having that idea.
Excepting the above remarks, the book certainly gives Christians a well rounded view of how the Risen Jesus began to influence the formation of the New Testament.

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The West in the World, Volume I: To 1715 Review

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(More customer reviews)I believe these two historians have made a giant leap forward as it pertains to piecing together history, then doing it from as many perspectives as possible. The use of religion as a whole, not just a single one, to reflect its contributions - whether positive or negative - on an area has truly made this a fitting purchase. While I do not agree with all aspects or trains of thought, I can truly respect the effort and point of view of these two authors.

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Connect students to the stories of history. Connect students to success in history. Connect students to the experience of history.
At McGraw-Hill, we have spent the past few years deepening our understanding of the student and instructor experience.Employing a wide array of research tools including surveys, focus groups, and ethnographic studies, we've identified areas in need of improvement to provide an opportunity for greater learning and teaching experiences.The new edition of The West in the World is a direct result of this in-depth research.
The West in the World's newest edition is also a first in the teaching and learning of Western Civilization. Its groundbreaking web-based digital solution, its unique mid-length and lively narrative, and its rich, outstanding visuals creates a unique teaching and learning environment propelling greater student success and overall improved course results. Instructors gain better insight into students' engagement and understanding as students develop a base of knowledge and construct stronger critical thinking skills. Unparalleled coverage of art and culture as well as science and technology sets the stage and provides rich insights into historical time periods and events. The captivating stories and lush images keep students turning the page, helping prepare for class discussion and course work while its new teaching and learning platform, Connect History, enables students to engage with course content in meaningful ways.
The West in the World illustrates the significance of economic, political, social and cultural interactions that shaped Western civilization while asking students to analyze the events and themes in order to build a greater understanding of the past and an appreciation of history's influence on the present. With The West in the World, students are no longer simply reading; they are reading, interacting, and engaging in a visual, auditory, and hands-on learning experience. As students uniquely experience the history of Western Civilization, The West in the World propels students to greater understanding and the achievement of greater course success.
Experience The West in the World and experience greater course success.

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Of Plymouth Plantation 1620 - 1647 Review

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(More customer reviews)I came across this book quite by accident and didn't think it would be much of a read. Generally speaking I don't read histories and one from the early 1600's was a pretty daunting task - or so I thought. In fact, it was a great tale of adventure and faith and an extremely insightful and thought provoking book about how this country was started and what it must have looked like to those who arrived here some 350 years ago.I really did love this book.
Bradford is an engaging writer whose prose isn't hard to understand. In places his understatement about the death and hardship faced almost constantly is even amusing. Nothing of the kind of challenges that the Leyden pilgrims faced in Massachusetts will seem familiar to a modern reader. Just the same, the fact that it all happened is fascinating. One can almost imagine being there, looking over the decks of the Mayflower and facing all that December gray and wilderness and wondering what you were doing coming here. Told in first person it reads like an adventure as much as a history.
The pilgrims here are also quite human and not at all the diorama characters of a first graders Thanksgiving craft project. They face social challenges and the horrors of death and disease. Attacks by natives actually occured on occasion. The dream of a sort of providence is one that proves difficult in the real world. Bradford mourns the loss of these ideals and the people who imported them. There's something a little sad in his later passages, whether it be age or a truly lost paradise one never really knows. But what Bradford imagined as a sort of religious nirvana clearly doesn't pan out in the end. Nevertheless it is well worth the journey. I highly recommend a read of this American classic.

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Modern Library College EditionsWilliam Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation" is a remarkable work by a man who himself was something of a marvel.It remains one of the most readable seventeenth-century American books, attractive to us as much for its artfulness as for its high seriousness, the work of a good storyteller with intelligence and wit. Edited, with an Introduction, by Francis Murphy.

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The History of Christianity: An Introduction Review

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(More customer reviews)This is truly a superb history of Christianity. The book deals with all the complex and subtle nuances of Christian history, yet it is always readable and concise. This book is approachable enough to serve as a first introduction for those new to the field, yet it is scholarly enough to challenge any reader.

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From earliest foundations and precepts to challenges of the new millennium,The History of Christianity provides a comprehensive and balancedtreatment of the birth, expansion, and continuing influence of Christianity.Exploration of the growth of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and the Americasconveys its global scale. Fascinating biographical details go beyond namesand dates to reveal flesh-and-blood realities of key figures.

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