All of us on staff at CSNTM love books. And we know that many of our friends do too. Here are a few recommendations if you’re still in need of ideas for gifts this Christmas season. The descriptions accompanying each book are taken directly from the publisher, but we included a link to our blog if we reviewed or mentioned it earlier this year. Happy reading!
Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism
Edited by Elijah Hixson and Peter Gurry
Since the unexpected popularity of Bart Ehrman’s bestselling Misquoting Jesus, textual criticism has become a staple of Christian apologetics.
Ehrman’s skepticism about recovering the original text of the New Testament does deserve a response. However, this renewed apologetic interest in textual criticism has created fresh problems for evangelicals. An unfortunate proliferation of myths, mistakes, and misinformation has arisen about this technical area of biblical studies.
In this volume Elijah Hixson and Peter Gurry, along with a team of New Testament textual critics, offer up-to-date, accurate information on the history and current state of the New Testament text that will serve apologists and Christian students even as it offers a self-corrective to evangelical excesses.
A great gift for pastors, Bible teachers, and people curious about the text of the New Testament
Brother Hugo and the Bear
Written by Katy Beebe and Illustrated by S.D. Schindler
It befell that on the first day of Lent, Brother Hugo could not return his library book. The Abbot was most displeased.
“Our house now lacks the comforting letters of St. Augustine, Brother Hugo. How did this happen?”
“Father Abbot,” said Brother Hugo, “truly, the words of St. Augustine are as sweet as honeycomb to me.
But I am afraid they were much the sweeter to the bear.”
The precious book, it turns out, has been devoured by a bear — and so the Abbot tasks Hugo with replacing it. Letter by letter and line by line the hapless monk crafts a new book and sets off to return it. Once a bear has a taste of letters, though, he’s rarely satisfied. With a hungry bear close on his heels, will Brother Hugo ever make it back with his fine parchment in one piece?
Based loosely on a note found in a twelfth-century manuscript, this humorous tale will surely delight readers who have acquired their own taste for books.
A great gift for children and parents
Watch the Book Trailer
An Introduction to the Greek New Testament, Produced at Tyndale House, Cambridge: Produced at Tyndale House, Cambridge
By Dirk Jongkind
Is the New Testament text reliable?
What do we do with textual variants?
How do I use the Greek New Testament?
This short book, written as a companion to The Greek New Testament, Produced at Tyndale House, Cambridge, provides crucial information about the Tyndale House Edition in particular and the Greek New Testament in general.
Dirk Jongkind, one of the principal scholars behind this groundbreaking project, answers critical questions for understanding the biblical text so that you can have clarity and confidence as you engage with the New Testament in the original Greek.
A great gift for students and people who want to learn more about how scholars make the Greek New Testament
You can read CSNTM’s review here.
New English Translation Bible, Full-notes Edition
Ever feel lost in translation? With the NET Full-notes Edition of the Holy Bible, you don’t need to be. Modern readers can find it challenging to connect with the ancient words and cultural contexts of the biblical writers. The NET offers a completely new solution: pairing a readable, everyday English translation with the largest set of translators’ notes ever created for a Bible. The NET’s 60,000 notes bring complete transparency to every major translation decision and invite you to look over the translators’ shoulders, allowing you to come to your own understanding of the Scriptures. It is an indispensable resource for every Bible reader.
Features include:
- The newest complete English translation based on the most up-to-date manuscript discoveries and scholarship
- A translation that explains itself—over 60,000 translators’ notes offer unprecedented transparency
- Full-color maps
- Durable Smyth-sewn binding lays flat in your hand or on your desk
- 8.75-point print size Scripture text in Thomas Nelson’s exclusive NET Comfort Print® typeface
A great gift for people needing a new study Bible with detailed notes on translation, biblical theology, and textual criticism
You can read about the connection between the NET Bible’s formatting and New Testament manuscripts here.
Watch Thomas Nelson’s promotional video about the translation: