98 of 100 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quick and practical study bible for the Methodist masses, February 2, 2009
This review is from: The Wesley Study Bible (Leather Bound)
My first impressions of this new study bible (just got it today) are quite positive. Physically, the binding is a surprisingly supple and attractive leatherette for the price. The bible is a nice size, with large pages and not too thick. It lays nicely in the lap or hand for reading. The typography inside is nothing exciting, but clean and readable. There are lots of color maps at the back and an index to the two kinds of special notes (described below). Alas, I already noticed a typo in the introduction to Matthew.
I have several other study bibles, from the NIV study bible (my favorite because of its charts, references, and resources) to the NLT study bible (also lots of goodies, a little more conservative) to various NRSV study bibles (often overly academic or liberal). This Wesley Study Bible seems to be aimed a little differently. In the tradition of John Wesley's own notes on the bible, the editors and contributors have provided an academically solid, yet practical commentary aimed squarely at working preachers and the folks in the pews.
There are three types of notes: (1) Running footnotes at the bottom of each page which do a verse-by-verse job highlighting important points in scripture and quickly explaining their significance. These often refer to other scriptures, tracing important themes throughout the bible. Occasional references are made to John Wesley's own sermon and notes. (2) Pull-out boxes for Wesleyan Core Terms such as "prevenient grace" - the grace of God which enables us poor sinners to freely respond to God's offer of salvation. (3) Life Application Topic pull-outs which are mini sermons or devotions on topics like mercy, service, true riches, and the wages of sin.
The scholarship is pretty middle-of-the-road (as was Wesley). It has a much higher view of scriptural authority than the extremes of the "Jesus was a very nice man and we should try to be like him" liberals, but doesn't see every word and punctuation mark as carved into stone by God himself without human intermediary as the fundamentalists seem to suggest.
If you are looking for an in-depth academic study bible, this ain't it. If you are looking for a platform for extreme viewpoints to the right or left, this ain't it. But if you are looking for a satisfying reading bible with thoughtful and thought-provoking notes and commentary, this is the ticket. It is going to earn a place next to my NIV study bible on the shelf.
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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great to Have a Bible with Wesleyan Study Notes, March 15, 2009
This review is from: The Wesley Study Bible (Leather Bound)
As a United Methodist pastor, it is exciting to see this Bible being recieved so well. I feared that this Bible might be too "scholarly" for the general congregational population but I have been pleasantly surprised to see that the study notes have been written for the average reader. It is wonderful to have a Bible with study notes that are steeped in the Wesleyan theological tradition that are accessible to most readers. I am recommending this Bible from the pulpit of my church and will continue to do what I can to get this Bible into the hands of as many folks as I can. I have studied personally with some of the contributors to this Bible and am looking forward to discovering all that it has to offer in the years to come.
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wesley Study Bible- The Good and the Bad, September 25, 2009
This review is from: The Wesley Study Bible (Leather Bound)
I was required to buy this study Bible as a textbook for my Methodist Doctrine class at Methodist Theological School in Ohio, and I am glad that I was. If I had not been required to buy this book, I might not have decided to spend the money on another NRSV Bible, and therefore would have lost out!
First, the good:
1. The imitation leather cover and the ribbon bookmark make this bible lovely, and it comes with a very nice presentation box. The binding lays flat no matter what page the Bible is opened to. Note to Abingdon: Future editions of The United Methodist Book of Worship should be bound in this way.
2. The cost is low for a study Bible, especially one of this quality.
3. The notes give attention both to critical study of the origins of the Scriptures and to the theological interpretation of the text in its final form. In addition to the "standard" notes, text boxes provide additional notes on "life application topics" and "Wesleyan Key Terms". The notes are detailed enough to be of use to clergy in sermon preperation, but simple enough to be readable by any layperson with a high-school education. The notes presume no prior theological knowledge.
4. This study Bible is based on the NRSV translation, which I consider the best among all the current translations of the Bible. It is accurate, readable, and inclusive- the translators used the same "as literal as possible, as dynamic as necessary" approach to translation that the translators of the NIV used, but they did it right! Essentially, the NRSV paid translates passages speaking about human beings in a way that makes it clear that they apply to both men and women. In addition, the NRSV stands in the tradition of the King James Version, and tries to echo its phrasing- quite simply, it's English is not only clear, it is beautiful as well.
5. This study Bible is a joint project of mainline and evangelical scholarship; the most liberal denomination involved in the project is the United Church of Canada, while the Christian and Missionary Alliance is probably the most conservative denomination involved in the project. All those of us who hope for unity in the Body of Christ should be overjoyed by this cooperation in a project involving precisely the issues that divided mainline and evangelical protestants from one-another in the 1920s.
The Bad:
1. The NRSV has two downsides- the Old Testament was translated in a way that is difficult to interpret typologically- the Hebrew was translated , and it introduces the unbiblical word "sodomites" as a translation for arsenokoiti in Corinthians.
2. The pages are so thin that a marker-type highlighter will bleed through, but a crayon-type highlighter smudges the ink.
3. The margins leave little room for the owner of the Bible to leave his or her own notes.
4. The indices of life application topics and Wesleyan core terms contain no page numbers, which makes them less then useful. This is stupidity of the first water on the part of Abingdon Press.
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