New Areopagus Volume: "In the Original Text It Says"

Jan. 31, 2012 - PRLog -- Energion Publications is pleased to announce the release of “In the Original Text It Says”: Word-Study Fallacies and How to Avoid Them by Benjamin J. Baxter on January 31, 2012. This is the fifth book in the Areopagus Critical Christian Issues series, edited by David Alan Black and Allan R. Bevere.

In “In the Original Text It Says” (http://energionpubs.com/books/1893729176/) Baxter takes on the massive abuse of word studies in biblical exegesis by identifying the most common fallacies, their source, and how to avoid them. He then continues with examples from popular commentaries, focusing on things that might be misunderstood. It is brief, but packed with practical information.

This book is aimed at the pastor who has had a basic course in Biblical Greek and/or Hebrew but does not have facility reading the languages, but it will be valuable to the layperson with some experience reading Bible commentaries and study Bibles, as well as to persons with greater facility in the language who would like to improve their understanding of linguistics.

“'In the original text it says ...' and 'What the Greek (or Hebrew) really means ...' are two of the most dangerous clauses you'll hear from the pulpit. With few exceptions, when you hear something similar, you are about to be misinformed. I'm delighted to publish a book that will help people understand why that is and will also help pastors avoid misinforming their congregations,” said publisher Henry Neufeld.

“Baxter's book will be a valuable tool to help pastors and teachers avoid falling into some of the common errors and abuses of interpretation of the Bible. I highly recommend that pastors read and, more importantly, learn from and use this book,” said Dr. Stanley Porter, president and dean of McMaster Divinity College.

This book is and will be available from Energion Direct (http://energiondirect.com) or from most online retailers. Review or evaluation copies are available from the publisher. Including front and back matter, it has 96 pages.

About the Author:

Benjamin J. Baxter has his MA in Christian Studies from McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where he wrote his thesis examining and critiquing 32 commentaries from a modern linguistic perspective using two Old Testament and two New Testament passage. He has previously published two articles dealing with Biblical words and word studies for the McMaster Journal of Theology and Ministry. “In the Original Text It Says” is his first book. He lives with his wife Kaitlin in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

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Energion Publications publishes challenging, educational, and spiritually uplifting material for the broad Christian center. We look for books that present strong views presented in such a way as to invite dialog.