Top Customer Reviews
By Java Dude on October 27, 2016
Format: Paperback
While reading this book, and this applies to all others I have read by the same author, you will have the treat of ready access to a deep and wide resource in the form of Dr. Jackson’s education, teaching, and preaching. With advanced degrees from Yale and Harvard (GJ - Notre Dame, rather than Harveard - but two of my ND professors now occupy endowed chairs at Harvard), Jackson’s writing reflects a disciplined approach he honed in the process. He has a love for footnotes and quotations from sources. Jackson will bring into play tools from original languages of the Bible, history, geography, philosophy and of course theology, and use them to craft a narrative that is unusually comprehensive. Lucid and refreshingly succinct, Dr. Jackson carves with precision to his points.
Making Disciples is not merely a discussion of the venerable “Great Commission” found in the closing verses of Matthew 28. That subject is vivisected, to be sure, but an historical background of the English versions of the Bible is also presented, along with Luther’s German Bible and the Vulgate Latin. All of this serves to add context and relevance to the discussion itself without distraction. Jackson writes with a density not to be found in many wordy so-called Christian books that flood the best seller lists. He’s not being paid by the word here, and he doesn’t profit a couple million dollars each time he takes to pen, as do the megachurch rockstars so long in enthusiasm and short in academia. Dr. Jackson writes from mind and heart and the reader is a benefactor.
After reading Making Disciples, you will learn how Bible versions often contain agendas carefully inserted into the translation, along with footnotes that work to undermine the original Greek meaning, here and there again, to bend the Bible to suit the particular theology being advanced. Many examples are provided from both Testaments, laid bare and naked, and they can be startling to behold. A question is made to whether some new versions are actually new at all, or simply a profitable exercise in Bible merchandising.
A call to appreciate again (for some of us) and anew (for younger of us) the King James Version is made by Jackson, and solid argument provided to bolster its accuracy and beauty. To overcome some of the difficulties of the KJV, Jackson recommends the 21st Century translation, available on Amazon in book form, and also online at BibleGateway dot com. I have begun including KJV21, as it is also known, in my own studies and enjoy it.
I highly recommend this short book to anybody with respect and love for the inerrant Word.
Making Disciples is not merely a discussion of the venerable “Great Commission” found in the closing verses of Matthew 28. That subject is vivisected, to be sure, but an historical background of the English versions of the Bible is also presented, along with Luther’s German Bible and the Vulgate Latin. All of this serves to add context and relevance to the discussion itself without distraction. Jackson writes with a density not to be found in many wordy so-called Christian books that flood the best seller lists. He’s not being paid by the word here, and he doesn’t profit a couple million dollars each time he takes to pen, as do the megachurch rockstars so long in enthusiasm and short in academia. Dr. Jackson writes from mind and heart and the reader is a benefactor.
After reading Making Disciples, you will learn how Bible versions often contain agendas carefully inserted into the translation, along with footnotes that work to undermine the original Greek meaning, here and there again, to bend the Bible to suit the particular theology being advanced. Many examples are provided from both Testaments, laid bare and naked, and they can be startling to behold. A question is made to whether some new versions are actually new at all, or simply a profitable exercise in Bible merchandising.
A call to appreciate again (for some of us) and anew (for younger of us) the King James Version is made by Jackson, and solid argument provided to bolster its accuracy and beauty. To overcome some of the difficulties of the KJV, Jackson recommends the 21st Century translation, available on Amazon in book form, and also online at BibleGateway dot com. I have begun including KJV21, as it is also known, in my own studies and enjoy it.
I highly recommend this short book to anybody with respect and love for the inerrant Word.
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By Glen on September 10, 2016
Format: Paperback
A thorough treatise on the error of "make disciples" by Lutheran Bishop Gregory L. Jackson. For more history information about the destructive philosophy of Pietism check out his blog: [...]
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GJ - Reviews really help in the teaching office of the church. Many of the books I might want to study or buy begin with reading some book reviews. One does not have to be a professional book reviewer to post a review.
Thank you for everyone who wants to help. Thanks, Java Dude and Glen.
Start by going to the Pastor Gregory L. Jackson author page and picking a book to review.
