In New Testament times there did not seem to be any doubt that Jesus said he was God. But nearly 300 years later a priest in Alexandria, Egypt, taught that although Jesus had divine attributes, He Himself was not God—a viewpoint that remains among some groups today. Recognizing that the doctrine of the deity of Christ was under attack, Dr. William J. Martin, lecturer at University of Liverpool, and Dr. F.F. Bruce, professor at the University of Manchester, wrote a little book stating the c...

This modern classic in New Testament studies offers a compelling defense of the reliability of the Christian Scriptures. Christianity Today named "The New Testament Documents" one of the top 50 books that have shaped Evangelicals. "Our object," says F.F. Bruce, "is to find out what historical research reveals about the origin of the New Testament canon." Concise chapters explore dates and origin of various New Testament books, the formation of the New Testament canon, and examines the Gosp...

F.F. Bruce’s account of finding the Dead Sea Scrolls and learning of their importance will make you feel as if you are making the discoveries yourself. Although first written fewer than ten years after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, this third edition (1964) is an excellent, readable introduction to "the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times.” F.F. Bruce’s balanced and thoughtful book answers the questions readers still want to know about the story, the Qumran community, th...

What is the gospel? And how was it first preached—and defended? In their eagerness to tell the world about Jesus Christ, early Christians met religious opposition (from the Jews), cultural opposition (from paganism), political opposition (from the Roman empire), and philosophical opposition (from “Christian deviations” such as legalism, Gnosticism, and Docetism). F.F. Bruce shows how early Christians responded to each such opposition. They did not accommodate themselves to the worldviews t...

"So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us," said the Apostle Paul. Yet some Christians seem to regard complete freedom from any kind of tradition as a sign of spiritual maturity. The fact is, when we seek to abandon old traditions, we create new ones. F.F. Bruce explains it this way: "It is noteworthy how often the renunciation of an old tradition is followed by the speedy development of a new one." Tradition Old and New traces the development of ...

The Books and the Parchments is a classic text on the history and origins of the Bible. It explains the languages in which the Bible was written, how the books of the Bible were chosen, and the Bible's transmission and translation – from the earliest translations to the most popular English versions. Included are sections on the "Lost Books of the Bible" and the Apocrypha and other early Christian books. Professor Bruce makes it clear that he was writing for "non-specialists . . . and . . ...

This story of the early Christian church – from its infancy to the conversion of the English in about A.D. 800 – pictures a church that is an unquenchable spiritual force organized for tribulation. Its spiritual resources are never stronger than in times of seeming disaster. The book is divided into three sections: “The Dawn of Christianity” deals with the church from its infancy to the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70; “The Growing Day” continues to the accession of Constantine in A.D. 313; a...

It is plain from Paul’s writings that presentations of the Christian message other than his own were current during his apostolic career. This concise and scholarly study describes four of the non-Pauline movements in the early church, each of which can be identified with a particular leader: Peter, acknowledged leader of the apostles; Stephen and the Hellenists (Jews who spoke Greek culturally and linguistically); James and the Church of Jerusalem; and John and his circle, including his i...

How did the books of the Bible come to be recognized as Holy Scripture? Who decided what shape the canon should take? What criteria influenced these decisions?After nearly nineteen centuries the canon of Scripture still remains an issue of debate. Protestants, Catholics, and the Orthodox all have slightly differing collections of documents in their Bibles. And many Christians today, while confessing the authority of all of Scripture, tend to rely on only a few books and particular ...

This book is perhaps the most accessible introduction to the writings of St. Paul ever written in modern English. That’s because Professor Bruce does not approach his “expanded paraphrase” as a Bible translator, but as a storyteller recounting the life of Paul after his conversion and his correspondence with churches and individuals. This expanded paraphrase “is designed to make the course of Paul’s argument as clear as possible,” says F.F. Bruce. One unique aspect of The Letters of Paul i...

This ebook opens our understanding of the Acts of the Apostles so that “you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed.” Acts is the second volume of the history of Christian origins by Luke, a doctor who wrote “an orderly account” of the life of Christ and the early church. The first volume is Luke’s gospel. Written as part of Scripture Union’s Bible Study Commentary series, which encourages regular, systematic personal Bible reading, this commentary is also ...

This outstanding commentary is easy to read, informative, and intended for the general reader interested in serious Bible study. The translation used is Bruce's own. He sets passages in their historical and cultural context, compares them with the other three Gospel accounts, and opens the meaning of the verses. The book has won such praises as "scholarly, concise, and practical"; "the best overall commentary on the Gospel of John"; and "clear-headed and consistently informative." Drawing ...