Listening to Scripture

“Like Aaron Copland in his classic What to Listen for in Music, Craig Bartholomew helps readers of the Bible to know what to listen for in Scripture and how to do so with attention and intelligence, in spirit and in truth. Bartholomew uses both ears, the academic and the devotional, and three hermeneutics (liturgical, ethical, and missional) to listen especially to what is most important: God’s address, words that guide and govern the church today.”

“Listening to Scripture is remarkably expansive and accessible in its vision and applicability as it guides Christians through an integrative journey of personal devotions, academic study, preaching and teaching, and missional outreach. I am already incorporating the book’s insights and devotional exercises into my own life, my undergraduate Old Testament classes, and my parish Bible study. Listening to Scripture is the integrative vision that I have been hungering for and that my students and fellow congregants so desperately need. Its vision and invitation encompass the wholeness of our being so that God’s work of redemption flows into us and through us.”

“Craig Bartholomew continues his important project of relocating a post-Enlightenment scientific hermeneutical approach to Scripture within the broader framework of listening to God’s address. His earlier book on the issue was outstanding, but its length and academic depth proved challenging to many. In this new book, Bartholomew gives us a shorter and more accessible study that will be suitable for hermeneutics classes in seminaries. I plan to use it in my course. Devotional and warm, Listening to Scripture is also rigorous and challenging! A delightful book.”

“No one has taught me more about reading Scripture seriously as both an academic and a committed Christian than Craig Bartholomew. This accessible introduction to reading the Bible is needed in a time when, as Craig describes it, ‘Bibles may be selling like hotcakes, and we may have several in our homes, but that does not necessarily mean a lot of listening and obeying is going on.’ While I—and you—may not agree with all of Craig’s methods or conclusions, this book is without a doubt an excellent primer for hearing the voice of our triune God in the text of Holy Scripture.”

“Once again, Craig Bartholomew delivers a must-read treatise on how to read the Scriptures. As he says, his aim is that we will read the Bible in such a way that it ‘sets us running along God’s ways in God’s world, feeling his pleasure.’ Suffice it to say that this book hits where it aims. Bartholomew reminds us that interpreting the Bible must not be divided into ‘devotional’ versus ‘academic’ activities. Rather, both head and heart remain engaged, founded on the fear of the Lord, beginning with prayer and ending with internalizing Scripture so that it becomes part of us, part of our way of being in God’s world. Bartholomew calls his readers to consider the historical, literary, and theological dimensions—a triadic approach—and he leads readers to respond liturgically, ethically, and missionally. For such is the broad task of biblical interpretation. This is not just another classroom manual on hermeneutics. It’s an exercise in hearing and joyfully obeying the voice of the living God.”