Support Ministry

This book is one of the five most significant books in my life. It is hard to estimate how much of what I believe, and how I think, comes from these pages. It is really that good.

I had Dr. Ladd as a professor in seminary. The first day of class he said that he would not lecture on the textbook; it would be a waste of our time. Rather, we were to come witih questions. We came the next day and Dr.Ladd said, "Any questions?" He waited 5 seconds and said, "Class dismissed." We never came to class again without our questions ready.

I first met Paul at a translation meeting of the ESV. He is one of the twelve translators. He is one of the funniest people I know, and his gentle southern humor comes through even in the heat of translation meeting. But I quickly learned that behind the gentle front was a blistering quick mind, one that was intent on making sure that the ESV never presented God as the author of evil -- a difficult translation issue if you are aware of the issues.

I read the book more as a way to get to know Paul better, and thoroughly enjoyed the exercise. I preached a sermon series on the 52 main stories of the Bible, and this text was the main secondary source for the first 26 stories. It traces themes through the Hebrew Scriptures along with enough content to hold it all together. If you want a wholistic understanding of the Old Testament, this is the book.