The Influence of the Bible on People - Book Report/Review Example

? How to read the Bible for all its worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart Introduction The Bible is a book that has been present for decades. The Bible is a collection of texts that are considered sacred by Christians. There being the presence of different religious groups, Christians have the Bible as their main source of inspiration. The Bible has two parts; ‘the Old Testament’ and ‘the New Testament’. ‘The Old Testament’ is the first part of the Bible. Scriptures have been read and some have impacted on the society while others have not. The Bible is a Holy book and preaches on the good of the society1. Its scriptures were written in order to make an impact on society. The Bible helps Christians understand their religion. Before modern times, the Bible was in a few written languages. In today’s time, the Bible is consisted of many languages so that its readings can be understood by many. The Bible has had a major influence on individuals and on the literature today. When people read the Bible, there is acquisition of divine inspiration and depending on the reader, there is the acceptance of the teachings that the Bible teaches. Criticism of the Biblical has been present since when the Bible gained popularity. Criticism is the investigation that an individual does to the Bible in order to bring out the required text. Though the Bible has gained popularity and acceptance from society, some have been against the Bible in terms of it being a source of information and guidance. Many have supported the idea that the Bible is an accurate description of the actual events that happened and also the main source of guidance. In this essay, attention will be focused on the book, “How to read the Bible for all its worth” and determine whether the authors have in mind the real meaning of the Holy book of scriptures2. The book, written by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, is a book that has been written with the intention of guiding individuals to study the Bible in a structured way. The set of the book is simple. It starts with the importance of the need to interpret the bible. Then it also looks at the various translations that have come to exist since the Bible came into existence.  When the two authors were writing this book, their aim was to help Christians understand how the Scriptures in the Bible can be understood by context3. Their main aim was to help them by showing Christians how to approach the various meanings and genres that are within the Scripture. Christians should know how to apply the scriptures in their everyday life and this is a concern the authors had in mind while writing the book. The summary of the book is simple; it shows Christians the need and importance of interpreting the Bible. It also shows the importance of a good translation as this goes a long way in terms of understanding and applying the scriptures. The authors have managed to succeed in their mission, as many Christians have been able to relate the Bible to the real world that they live in. For most of the literature in the book, it is safe to say that they are worthy or praise apart from a few areas that require critique.4 One area worthy of praise is the fact that they have managed to address an area that churches have not been able to address yet they emphasize on reading the Bible but do not show their followers how to do it. The authors emphasize on the understanding of the context and all the aspects that are involved in reading the scriptures. This is something that the churches have failed to do.5 That is one thing that is worth of praise of the authors and their book. They have explained the translations of the Bible in a clear and profound manner. Another thing worth of praise is how they bring out the narratives from the Old Testament. They do so in a way that readers understand them in the context that is required. The purpose of such narratives is so that people can personally relate to them; so that they can improve on their ethics and learn from the narratives. Another thing that is worth of praise is the fact that there is the presence of comparable particulars. This helps the readers to apply their own knowledge in order to compare and contrast between scriptures and readings that bring about the same meaning. The authors emphasis on the application of the scriptures depending on the level of understanding of the scriptures. Another thing worth of praise is their commitment of ensuring that there is the proper interpretation of the text in the Bible and also the application of what is learned to a similar situation. 6The authors particularly state that one example of interpreting the scripture in accordance to how it should be done is by making sure that they look out for each other. They teach Christians that should there be a need for them to solve matters between themselves instead of bringing their disputes to the church. 7The church is a sacred place, not a conflict resolving place. These are some of the praiseworthy characteristics of the authors and their book. There are some few areas that require criticism and some people may tend to disagree with the writing. One thing that the authors do wrong is leaving so much room for the estimation and interpretation of the reader. In the book, there are certain factors that contradict what the Bible stands for. They leave too many assumptions for the reader to fill in with their own interpretation. A perfect example can be taken from their discussion about the relation to the Bible and the culture of society. There is a factor that the authors have not brought to conclusion. The writers tend to agree that women can lead and that people can follow them and abide to their rules. This is a fact that is supported by a scripture in the Bible; from the Book of Acts, there is the presence of the proof that women can lead men. This is from the reading where Aquila and Priscilla taught the man Apollos. According to this scripture, a woman can lead and teach a man, but as far as tradition is concerned, it is only men that can be elders, both in the church and the traditional setting of the society.8 The authors do not give the reader a conclusion about how to go about this topic. Their argument in accordance to tradition and as far as Christianity is concerned is not strong enough to bring the discussion to a conclusion. They do not give the reader a closure to the topic. Another negative outcome form the book is how they argue the facts about the Book of Psalms. There are certain scriptures that have been interpreted wrongly. Some of the scriptures that they have described have come out in the exact opposite than they were initially intended to mean. Their interpretation of the Book of Psalms is more of a wrong interpretation. They argument brings about the emotional contrast that the book of Psalms is about. The book is about the praises to God, and not about mocking and accusations to God. Conclusion In general, the Bible is a book that has been present over the years and will continue to be present over the next years to come. The important factor in all this is that there has been the presence of writers such as Fee and Stuart who have come forward with the intention of making the Bible to be more understood and to raise the awareness of the importance of the Bible. The two authors succeeded in their mission to write a book that will enable Christians understand the Holy Book in accordance to how it should be. They managed to teach people about how to properly handle the readings and also how to apply the scriptures in their specific context. Their book sums up the Bible in many ways than one. Their book is simple to read, easy to understand and interpret and most importantly is that individuals can now relate to it. With this book, there is the likely possibility that many more will benefit from it. Bibliography Fee, Gordon D., and Douglas K. Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. Grand Rapids,Mich: Zondervan, 2003. Read More