I have to hand it to Ben Witherington III. His Socio-Rhetorical commentaries are to serious study what N.T. Wright’s “For Everyone” series is for a lighter and more accessible study. I have worked through his Socio-Rhetorical commentary on Corinthians and I have just started working through the one on Mark. Both are excellent. I have heard his Acts commentary is good as well. Have any of you used any of these? What are your thoughts?
Christianity
The Verse that Cured My Legalist Christian Beliefs
For many years, my in-ness or out-ness varied moment by moment…even second by second based on how well I performed
Matt Dabbs
September 18, 2023
0 Responses
I used 1st Corinthians as you did. Outstanding. I think I heard from a couple other scholarly types that Romans was first class, also. Daniel has been using Acts recently, and he raves about it. Daniel & I think Witherington is just about the contemporary equivalent to what F.F. Bruce was back in the day.
He and N.T. Wright are top notch in my book. The F.F. Bruce comparison is pretty good but I can’t help but remember that Bruce was the President of the Society for Old Testament Study and also the President of the Society for New Testament Study. That is just ridiculously stout.
Matt, one of the books I’m currently hanging out with (as opposed to working through) is “The Paul Quest” by Witherington. The Appendix, “Timely Remarks on the Life of Paul,” is the best, most convincing chronology that I’ve seen. It’s even got a catchy title, which seems to be another one of Witherington’s many strengths. He also has a nice blog.