A Dunker Guide to the Bible

by Various

The Dunker Guide to the Bible is an accessible nuts and bolts approach to the Bible that covers Genesis thru Revelation. Drawing from the best and the brightest Church of the Brethren biblical teachers, this guide is the perfect tool for building a basic understanding of the Bible.

226 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 2010

About the author

Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm glad that Brethren Press compiled the Messenger articles that spanned several years into this book. I used the book as my morning reading at work each morning. It was a good reminder of the valuable insights that Brethren from a variety of backgrounds and theological bents have on various books of the Bible. Each quick introduction covered the basics of who, what, where (and sometimes to whom). Overall, it is a fantastic introduction to the themes of the Bible that Brethren use as cornerstones of our communal theology.

[Adellefrank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise bible study of relevant (& often ignored) issues, available from press

An excellent companion to personal or group bible study for any denomination, these short articles raise important ethical and theological issues - such as Jubilee and poverty (Leviticus), the nature of obedience (Numbers), and the ethics of war (Joshua) - that are not highlighted in mainstream Protestant commentaries.

WHAT THIS BOOK IS NOT
1. This commentary does not give a SINGLE "Church of the Brethren" PERSPECTIVE. In fact, the authors "intentionally represent the theological breadth of the church" (vi). Be prepared for frequent mental whiplash between chapters, when the issues highlighted and language used suddenly switch from more conservative to more liberal and vice versa.

2. While many of the authors are trained biblical scholars, this is not a COMPREHENSIVE or ACADEMIC SURVEY of the Protestant bible. The chapters are delightfully short and aim to provoke conversation around contemporary issues in light of each book. Most chapters do provide an outline of the sections within each book of the bible, but some outlines are better-written than others. This design gives just enough of a "big picture" for each book to provide context and then invites further study.

SUGGESTED COMPANION BOOK
I'd suggest using this book along with a good scholarly study bible, such as The HarperCollins Study Bible: Fully Revised & Updated or The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version

PURCHASING NOTEIf you can't find copies in the Big Box stores, you can buy this book directly from the Brethren press.

This is a copy of my review from Amazon.