biblical studies

The Bible and the Education of Children: Lessons from Alexander Campbell, RQ article by Samjung Kang-Hamilton

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…most of the prior literature has ignored his [AC] understanding of the education of children in the Bible.  This essay will begin to close that gap and suggest ways in which an understanding of Campbell would help strengthen children’s ministry in Churches of Christ today.  The following sections will examine Campbell’s views on (1) the Bible and children, (2) childhood, (3) the nature of education, (4) its purposes; (5) and its methods and  contexts.  his work helps us get past the current practice of treating the Bible as a set of morality tales.

So ends her opening section. Kang-Hamilton lays out a thesis that Campbell’s notions on the education of children offers to the contemporary church a resource for (re)thinking children’s ministry and the teaching of the Bible to and for children.  I’m already favorably impressed, as a researcher who sees many such gaps, as a teacher and a ministry leader in a congregational education ministry, and, not least of all, as a parent.  I will over the next few days post short summaries and excerpt’s from each section of her article. Come back to see what she discovers from AC and what she makes of it for our situation.

Samjung Kang-Hamilton, “The Bible and the Education of Children: Lessons from Alexander Campbell” Restoration Quarterly 52:3 third Quarter 2010, 130-143.  For more about RQ, click here.

Explorations in Stone-Campbell Bibliography: Commentaries

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I have in mind a series of reflections on commentaries in the Restoration Movement.  This genre is only beginning to be explored, so I think a short series is in order.  As I continue to look into it, consider three broad time frames:

–19th century: this list will be rather short

–20th century to 1950 or DSS (Dead Sea Scrolls, discovery of the scrolls brought new light to bear on biblical studies).  Dividing the 20th century right down the middle at 1950 doesn’t necessarily entail that the post-1950 commentaries take into account the impact of the scrolls, but it is a handy dividing point.

–20th century 1950-to present

If you have comments or suggestions, please chime in.

Salvation from Sin reviewed in Christian Standard, 1913

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OUR READING TABLE

“SALVATION FROM SIN.”

Such is the title of a book just from the press of the McQuiddy Printing Co., Nashville, Tenn.  It is composed of selections from the writings of David Lipscomb, and edited by J. W. Shepherd.  I hesitate not to say that this is one of the greatest books that has been published in the last ten years.  In saying this I do not mean to endorse all of its contents, for I think that the author misapplies some of his principles and misinterprets some Scriptures, but these are the rare exceptions.  The chapter on the Bible is exceptionally good, and is well worth the price of the book;  I have been a pretty close student of the blessed Book for about fifty years, but Bro. Lipscomb’s treatment of the subject has given me a better conception and a higher appreciation of it than I ever had before.  He points out with remarkable clearness and force the effect that the Bible has had upon the world’s civilization, and shows that even the material interests of men have been greatly enhanced through the influence of this Book.    The volume contains nineteen chapters of well-digested matter, and the whole book gives evidence of great care in its preparation for the press.  It gives evidence of wide and close study on the part of the author, and I can heartily commend it to the reading public.  Price, $1.50 per copy.

J. B. Briney.

PEWEE VALLEY, KY.

—–

“Our Reading Table,” Christian Standard, May 10, 1913, p. 769.

Explorations in Stone-Campbell Bibliography: Addendum to 2009 Year-in-Review

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Last week I quickly surveyed a few books published in 2009 which I think merit attention for their contribution to Stone-Campbell studies.  I neglected to include a milestone publication in Biblical studies.  About this time last year ACU Press issued The Transforming Word, a one-volume commentary on the Bible. 

It is a landmark achievement in that it is the first multi-authored one-volume commentary produced from within the Stone-Campbell movement (each of the three major streams are represented among its authors, although most authors are from Churches of Christ). Also, about six weeks ago it was announced that Books-A-Million will carry it in each of its retail stores, making it the first such volume of “ours” available in this way to the wider reading public. 

There has been a consistently strong tradition of commenting on the Biblical text from within the movement, particularly on the New Testament.  We have not published many commentaries on the Old Testament and still fewer commentaries engaged (much less employed) the methodologies of current Biblical scholarship for the sake of a wide readership.  Only in the last generation or so have Churches of Christ commentators with the highest academic credentials (Ph.D.’s in their field of publication) published commentaries and most of these have been for the academic community.  Our emphasis, historically, has favored in-house commentaries which eschewed “technical questions.” 

Now, whether you agree with this emphasis or not, and whether they acheived their purposes or even did a good job, is another matter for future posts.  The Transforming Word  is the first of its kind, and for this reason alone I think it should have been included in my earlier list.  As I have opportunity to read it, study with it, and read reviews of it, I may weigh in again on its merits.  For that matter, I smell a few installments of Explorations about commentaries brewing already.

Tolle lege!