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The Old Testament is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred by both Judaism and Christianity.^[1] The number of these writings varies markedly between denominations, Protestants accepting only the Hebrew Bible's canon but dividing it into 39 books, while Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, Coptic and Ethiopian churches recognise a considerably larger collection.^[2]

The books can be broadly divided into the Pentateuch, which tells how God selected Israel to be his chosen people, the history books telling the history of the Israelites from their Conquest of Canaan to their defeat and exile in Babylon, the poetic and "wisdom" books dealing, in various forms, with questions of good and evil in the world, and the books of the biblical prophets, warning of the consequences of turning away from God. For the Israelites who were its original authors and readers these books told of their own unique relationship with God and their relationship with Proselytes, but the over-arching Messianic nature of Christianity has led Christians from the very beginning of the faith to see the Old Testament as a preparation for the New Covenant and New Testament.

Content[link]

The Old Testament contains 39 (Protestant) or 46 (Catholic) or more (Orthodox and other) books, divided, very broadly, into the Pentateuch (meaning "five books"), the historical books, the "wisdom" books and the prophets.^[3] The difference of seven books between the Catholic and Protestant canons stems from the fact that the early Christians used a Greek translation of the Jewish scriptures, called the the Septuagint.^[4] The Protestant churches later dropped those books which were not accepted by the Jews. The following table shows the arrangement of the holy books in the Jewish Bible and the Old Testament: (Books additional to the Hebrew Bible in italics)^[5]

Themes of the Hebrew scriptures[link]

God is consistently depicted as the one who created the world and guides its history. He is not, however, consistently presented as the only god who exists - monotheism apparently only developed around the time of the Babylonian exile of the 6th century BC. Nevertheless, he is always depicted as the only God whom Israel is to worship, and both Jews and Christians have always interpreted the bible as an affirmation of the oneness of God.^[7]

The Old Testament also stresses the special relationship between God and his chosen people, Israel. This relationship is expressed in the biblical covenant (contract) between the two, mediated by Moses. The law codes in books such as Exodus and especially Deuteronomy are the terms of the contract on Israel's side; on God's side, he swears to be Israel's special protector and supporter.^[7]

Further themes in the Old Testament include salvation, redemption, judgement, obedience and disobedience, faith and faithfulness, among others. Throughout there is a strong emphasis on ethics and ritual purity, both of which God demands, although some of the prophets and wisdom writers seem to question this, arguing that God demands social justice above purity, and perhaps does not even care about purity at all. The Old Testament's moral code enjoins fairness, intervention on behalf of the vulnerable, and the duty of those in power to administer justice righteously. It forbids murder, bribery and corruption, deceitful trading, and many sexual misdemeanours. All morality is traced back to God, who is the source of all goodness.^[8]

The question of evil plays a large part in the Old Testament. The problem the Old Testament authors faced was that a good God must have had just reason for bringing disaster (meaning notably, but not only, the Babylonian exile) upon his people. The theme is played out, with many variations, in books as different as the histories of Kings and Chronicles, the prophets like Ezekiel and Jeremiah, and in the wisdom books like Job and Ecclesiates.^[8]

Composition of the Hebrew scriptures[link]

The first five books - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, book of Numbers and Deuteronomy - make up the Pentateuch, the story of Israel from the Creation to the death of Moses. Few scholars today doubt that it reached its present form in the Persian period (538-332 BC), and that its authors were the elite of exilic returnees who controlled the Temple at that time.^[9] The books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings follow, forming a history of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the fall of Jerusalem: there is a broad consensus among scholars that these originated as a single work (the so-called "Deuteronomistic history") during the 6th century Babylonian exile.^[10] The two Books of Chronicles cover much the same material as the Pentateuch and Deuteronomistic history and probably date from the 4th century BC.^[11] Chronicles links with the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, which were probably finished during the 3rd century BC.^[12] Catholic and Orthodox Old Testaments contain two (Catholic Old Testament) to four (Orthodox) books of Maccabees, written in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC.

The history books make up around half the total content of the Old Testament. Of the remainder, the books of the various prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the twelve "minor prophets" - were written between the 8th and 6th centuries BC, with the exception of Jonah and Daniel which are much later,^[13] and the "wisdom" and other books - Job, Proverbs and similar books - date from the 5th century BC to the 2nd or 1st, with the exception of some of the psalms.^[14]

From scripture to canon: formation of the Old Testament[link]

The interrelationship between various significant ancient manuscripts of the Old Testament, according to the Encyclopaedia Biblica (1903) Some manuscripts are identified by their siglum. LXX here denotes the original Septuagint.

Greek, Latin and Protestant Old Testaments[link]

The process by which scriptures became canons and Bibles was a long one, and its complexities account for the many different Old Testaments which exist today. By about the 5th century BC Jews saw the five books of the Torah (the Old Testament Pentateuch) as having authoritative status; by the 2nd century BC the Prophets had a similar status, although without quite the same level of respect as the Torah; beyond that, the Jewish scriptures were fluid, with different groups seeing authority in different books.^[15]

The scriptures were translated into Greek between about 280-130 BC.^[16] At this stage (i.e., around the time of Christ) there was no collection of these scriptures - the various texts were read as separate scrolls. It was only in the early centuries of the Christian era that the scriptures began to be bound together into books and that Bibles as we know them today came to be invented. The Greek translations, called the Septuagint, contained several books (using that term loosely) not found in the modern Hebrew Bible (1-2 Esdras, Judith, Tobit, 1-4 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, and numerous additions to other books), based loosely on chronology and "literary typology" (i.e. subject matter).^[17] It continues in use to this day as the Old Testament of the Eastern Orthodox Church.^[18]

In 331, Constantine I commissioned Eusebius to deliver fifty Bibles for the Church of Constantinople. Athanasius^[19] recorded Alexandrian scribes around 340 preparing Bibles for Constans. Little else is known, though there is plenty of speculation. For example, it is speculated that this may have provided motivation for canon lists, and that Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus are examples of these Bibles. Together with the Peshitta and Codex Alexandrinus, these are the earliest extant Christian Bibles.^[20] There is no evidence among the canons of the First Council of Nicaea of any determination on the canon, however, Jerome (347-420), in his Prologue to Judith, makes the claim that the Book of Judith was "found by the Nicene Council to have been counted among the number of the Sacred Scriptures".^[21]

In Western Christianity or Christianity in the Western half of the Roman Empire, Latin had displaced Greek as the common language of the early Christians, and about 400 AD Pope Damasus I commissioned Jerome, the leading scholar of the day, to produce an updated Latin bible to replace the Vetus Latina. Sometime in the centuries after the Septuagint (exactly when is disputed) the Rabbis (Jewish religious scholars and teachers) defined the Jewish canon, which is a much shorter canon of only 24 books, and Jerome used it (commonly called the Hebrew Bible) instead of the Greek Old Testament as the basis for his translation, citing "Hebraica Veritas" (Latin: Truth of the Hebrew). His Vulgate (i.e. common language) Old Testament became the standard bible used in the Western Church, specifically as the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate, while the Churches in the East continued, and still continue, to use the Septuagint.^[22]

Jerome had wanted to drop all the books that did not appear in the Hebrew Bible, but St Augustine, a bishop and another great scholar of the day, opposed him and won the argument, notably at the Council of Carthage on 28 August 397. In the 16th century the Protestant reformers reopened the debate, and sided with Jerome, but only for their own congregations: yet although Protestant Bibles now have only those books that appear in the Jewish Bible, they have them in the order of the Greek Bible.^[23] The Catholic Church, largely in reaction to this attack on tradition, officially adopted a canon, the Canon of Trent, which can be seen as following Augustine's Carthaginian Councils or the Council of Rome,^[24] and includes most, but not all, of the Septuagint (3 Ezra and 3 and 4 Maccabees are excluded);^[25] the Anglicans after the English Civil War adopted a compromise position, restoring the 39 Articles and keeping the extra books that were excluded by the Westminster Confession of Faith, but only for private study and for reading in churches, while Lutherans kept them for private study, gathered in an appendix as Biblical Apocrypha.^[23]

Other versions[link]

While the Hebrew, Greek and Latin versions of the Hebrew Bible are the best known Old Testaments, there were others. At much the same time as the Septuagint was being produced, translations were being made into Aramaic, the language of Jews living in Palestine and the Near East and likely the language of Jesus: these are called the Aramaic Targums, from a word meaning "translation", and were used to help Jewish congregations understand their scriptures. For Aramaic Christians there was a Syriac translation of the Hebrew Bible called the Peshitta, as well as versions in Coptic (the everyday language of Egypt in the first Christian centuries, descended from ancient Egyptian), Ethiopic (for use in the Ethiopian church, one of the oldest Christian churches), Armenian (Armenia, a former kingdom, now part of modern northeast Turkey, was the first to adopt Christianity as its official religion), and Arabic.^[26]

Christian theology and the Old Testament[link]

Christianity is based on the claim that the historical Jesus of Nazareth was also the supernatural Christ, the Saviour. This claim is in turn based on Jewish understandings of the meaning of the Hebrew term Messiah, which, like the Greek "Christ", means "anointed". In the Hebrew Scriptures it describes a king anointed with oil on his accession to the throne: he becomes "The Lord's anointed". By the time of Jesus, some Jews expected that a flesh and blood descendant of David (the "Son of David") would come to establish a real Jewish kingdom in Jerusalem, instead of the Roman province; others stressed the Son of Man, a distinctly other-worldly figure who would appear as a judge at the end of time; and some harmonised the two by expecting a this-worldly messianic kingdom which would last for a set period and be followed by the other-worldly age or World to Come. Some thought the Messiah was already present, but unrecognised due to Israel's sins; some thought that the Messiah would be announced by a fore-runner, probably Elijah (as promised by the prophet Malachi, whose book now ends the Old Testament and precedes Mark's account of John the Baptist). None predicted a Messiah who suffers and dies for the sins of all the people.^[27] The story of Jesus' death therefore involved a profound shift in meaning from the tradition of the Old Testament.^[28]

The name "Old Testament" reflects Christianity's understanding of itself as the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophesy of a New Covenant (which is similar to "testament" and often conflated) to replace the existing covenant between God and Israel (Jeremiah 31:31).^[1] The emphasis, however, has shifted from Judaism's understanding of the covenant as an eternal contract between God and Israel to one between God and those who are "in Christ".^[29]

In Hebrew, God has a name, namely YHWH. As Hebrew was originally written without vowels it is generally pronounced in English as Yahweh. The Hellenised Jews who produced the Septuagint translated this as kyrios, meaning "Lord". This produced a crucial change of meaning: Yahweh, the national god of the Israelites, became the universal Lord.^[30]

See also[link]

• Abrogation of Old Covenant laws
• Covenant (biblical)
• Expounding of the Law
• Law and Gospel
• List of ancient legal codes
• Lost books of the Old Testament
• Old Testament: Timeline
• Quotations from the Old Testament in the New Testament
• Supersessionism
• List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts
• Table of books of Judeo-Christian Scripture
• Book of Job in Byzantine illuminated manuscripts

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Bandstra, Barry L (2004). Reading the Old Testament: an introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Wadsworth. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=vRY9mTUZKJcC&pg=PA489&lpg=PA489&dq=Bandstra,+Barry+L+%282004%29.+Reading+the+Old+Testament:+an+introduction+to+the+Hebrew+Bible&ct=result#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Barton, John (1997). How the Bible came to be. Westminster John Knox Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=UfU4_9M4N2YC&printsec=frontcover&dq=How+the+Bible+came+to+be+Barton&ct=book-thumbnail#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Barton, John (2001). "Introduction to the Old Testament". In John Barton, John Muddiman. Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford University Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=3surkLVdw3UC&pg=PA6&dq=B.+Collecting+the+Hebrew+Scriptures&ct=book-thumbnail#v=onepage&q=B.%20Collecting%20the%20Hebrew%20Scriptures&f=false. 
• Blenkinsopp, Joseph (1998). "The Pentateuch". In John Barton. The Cambridge companion to biblical interpretation. Cambridge University Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=PSHCRgS_SAUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Cambridge+companion+to+biblical+interpretation&ct=result#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Boadt, Lawrence (1984). Reading the Old Testament: an introduction. Paulist Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=LGQNT6G_do8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Reading+the+Old+Testament:+an+introduction&ct=book-thumbnail#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Brettler, Marc Zvi (2005). How to read the Bible. Jewish Publication Society. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=39nQafdJ_ssC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Brettler+how+to+read+the+bible&ct=book-thumbnail#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Bultman, Christoph (2001). "Deuteronomy". In John Barton, John Muddiman. Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford University Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=3surkLVdw3UC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Oxford+Bible+commentary&ct=result#v=onepage&q=Deuteronomy&f=false. 
• Coggins, Richard J (2003). "1 and 2 Chronicles". In James D. G. Dunn and John William Rogerson. Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Eerdmans. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&dq=Chronicles+Richard+J+Coggins&ct=result#v=onepage&q=Deuteronomy%20John%20W%20Rogerson&f=false. 
• Crenshaw, James L (2010). Old Testament wisdom: an introduction. Westminster John Knox Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=tKpWNrkO8dEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Old+Testament+wisdom:+an+introduction++By+James+L.+Crenshaw&ct=result#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Davies, G.I (1998). "Introduction to the Pentateuch". In John Barton. Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford University Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=3surkLVdw3UC&pg=PA12&dq=Oxford+Bible+Commentary+Introduction+to+the+Pentateuch&ct=book-thumbnail#v=onepage&q=Oxford%20Bible%20Commentary%20Introduction%20to%20the%20Pentateuch&f=false. 
• Dines, Jennifer M (2004). The Septuagint. Continuum. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Qv8Riv3QIbQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Dines+Septuagint&ct=book-thumbnail#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Farmer, Ron (1991). "Messiah/Christ". In Watson E. Mills, Roger Aubrey Bullard. Mercer dictionary of the Bible. Mercer University Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC&pg=PA570&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Gentry, Peter R (2008). "Old Greek and Later Revisors". In Raija Sollamo, Anssi Voitila, Jutta Jokiranta. Scripture in transition. Brill. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=NoCJKyxEujEC&pg=PA301&dq=Old+Greek+and+Later+Revisors:+Can+we+always+distinguish+them?&ct=book-thumbnail#v=onepage&q=Old%20Greek%20and%20Later%20Revisors%3A%20Can%20we%20always%20distinguish%20them%3F&f=false. 
• Grabbe, Lester L (2003). "Ezra". In James D. G. Dunn and John William Rogerson. Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Eerdmans. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&dq=Deuteronomy+John+W+Rogerson&ct=result#v=onepage&q=Deuteronomy%20John%20W%20Rogerson&f=false. 
• Hasel, Gerhard F (1991). Old Testament theology: basic issues in the current debate. Eerdmans. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=yJJ6bE0kt1YC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Old+Testament+theology&ct=book-thumbnail#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Herion, Gary A (2000). "Covenant". In David Noel Freedman. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Eerdmans. http://books.google.ca/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Old%20Testament&f=false. 
• Jobes, Karen H; Silva, Moises (2005). Invitation to the Septuagint. Baker Academic. 
• Jones, Barry A (2000). "Canon of the Old Testament". In David Noel Freedman. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Eerdmans. http://books.google.ca/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=Old%20Testament&f=false. 
• Juel, Donald (2000). "Christ". In David Noel Freedman. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Eerdmans. http://books.google.ca/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Eerdmans+Dictionary+of+the+Bible&ct=book-thumbnail#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• McLay, Tim (2003). The use of the Septuagint in New Testament research. Eerdmans. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=41rx-TDIF9gC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Use+of+the+Septuagint+in+New+Testament+Research&ct=book-thumbnail#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Miller, John W (2004). How the Bible came to be. Paulist Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=a4VnOt-jstoC&printsec=frontcover&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Miller, John W (1987). Meet the prophets: a beginner's guide to the books of the biblical prophets. Paulist Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=mHXM3wjVP-gC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Meet+the+prophets:+a+beginner%27s+guide+to+the+books+of+the+biblical+prophets&ct=book-thumbnail#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Rogerson, John W (2003). "Deuteronomy". In James D. G. Dunn and John William Rogerson. Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Eerdmans. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&dq=Deuteronomy+John+W+Rogerson&ct=result#v=onepage&q=Deuteronomy%20John%20W%20Rogerson&f=false. 
• Schniedewind, William M (2004). How the Bible Became a Book. Cambridge. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=tCTVc8_2vVQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=How+the+Bible+Became+a+Book&ct=result#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Soggin, J. Alberto (1987). Introduction to the Old Testament. Westminster John Knox Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=mqSNsKXnHQgC&pg=PA40&dq=Soggin+Hebrew+bible&ct=book-thumbnail#v=onepage&q=Soggin%20Hebrew%20bible&f=false. 
• Würthwein, Ernst (1995). The text of the Old Testament: an introduction to the Biblia Hebraica. Eerdmans. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=FSNKSBObCYwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=W%C3%BCrthwein+The+Text+of+the+Old+Testament&ct=book-thumbnail#v=onepage&q&f=false. 

Further reading[link]

• Anderson, Bernhard. Understanding the Old Testament. (ISBN 0-13-948399-3 )
• Bahnsen, Greg, et al., Five Views on Law and Gospel. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993).
• Berkowitz, Ariel and D'vorah. Torah Rediscovered. 4th ed. Shoreshim Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0-9752914-0-8
• Dever, William G. Who Were the Early Israelites? William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 2003. ISBN 0-8028-0975-8
• Gerhard von Rad: Theologie des Alten Testaments. Band 1–2, München, 8. Auflage 1982/1984, ISBN
• Hill, Andrew and John Walton. A Survey of the Old Testament. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000. ISBN 0-310-22903-0 .
• Kuntz, John Kenneth. The People of Ancient Israel: an introduction to Old Testament Literature, History, and Thought, Harper and Row, 1974. ISBN 0-06-043822-3
• Lancaster, D. Thomas. Restoration: Returning the Torah of God to the Disciples of Jesus. Littleton: First Fruits of Zion, 2005.
• Rouvière, Jean-Marc. Brèves méditations sur la Création du monde Ed. L'Harmattan, Paris, 2006
• Salibi, Kamal. The Bible Came from Arabia, London, Jonathan Cape, 1985 ISBN 0-224-02830-8
• Schmid, Konrad. The Old Testament: A Literary History,Fortress Press, Minneapolis, 2012. ISBN 978-0-8006-9775-4
• Silberman, Neil A., et al. The Bible Unearthed. Simon and Schuster, New York, 2003. ISBN 0-684-86913-6 (paperback) and ISBN 0-684-86912-8 (hardback)
• Sprinkle, Joe M. Biblical Law and Its Relevance: A Christian Understanding and Ethical Application for Today of the Mosaic Regulations. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2006. ISBN 0-7618-3371-4 (clothbound) and ISBN 0-7618-3372-2 (paperback)
• Papadaki-Oekland, Stella. Byzantine Illuminated Manuscripts of the Book of Job. ISBN 2-503-53232-2 & ISBN 978-2-503-53232-5

External links[link]

• Church Fathers on the Old Testament Canon
• Full texts of the Old (and New) Testaments including full Catholic canon
• Protestant Old Testament on a single page
• Old Testament Reading Room - Extensive online OT resources (incl. commentaries), Tyndale Seminary
• Old Testament Video Lectures from Yale University
• Old Testament stories and commentary
• Old Testament Timeline

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 from:-1540 till:-1077 shift:(10,-2) color:yellow text:New Kingdom
 from:-1070 till:end shift:(10,-2) color:yellow text:3rd Intermediate Period

bar:mesopot
 from:-3300 till:-2900 shift:(2,-2) color:orange text:Uruk III-IV
 from:-2900 till:-2334 shift:(2,-2) color:orange text:Early Dynastic Sumer
 from:-2333 till:-2150 shift:(2,-2) color:orange text:Akkad
 from:-2150 till:-2050 shift:(0,-2) color:orange text:Gutian
 from:-2050 till:-1940 shift:(2,-2) color:orange text:Ur III
 from:-1894 till:-1595 shift:(2,-2) color:orange text:Old Babylonian
 from:-1595 till:-1155 shift:(2,-2) color:orange text:Kassites
 from:-1155 till:-1025 shift:(2,-2) color:orange text:Isin
 from:-911 till:-626 shift:(-4,-2) color:red text:
 from:-626 till:end shift:(0,-2) color:orange text:Kaldu

bar:assyria
 from:-2400 till:-2240 shift:(2,-2) color:red text:Ebla
 from:-1900 till:-1600 shift:(2,-2) color:red text:Old Assyrian
 from:-1600 till:-1240 shift:(2,-2) color:red text:Hurrians
 from:-911 till:-612 shift:(2,4) color:red text:Neo-Assyrian

bar:canaan
 from:-1800 till:-1600 shift:(4,-2) color:purple text:"Amorites"
 from:-1450 till:-1200 shift:(4,-2) color:purple text:Ugarit
 from:-1030 till:-587 shift:(4,-2) color:purple text:Israel and Judah

bar:anatolia
from:-2100 till:-1950 shift:(4,-2) color:green text:Troy IV
from:-1750 till:-1550 shift:(4,-2) color:green text:Old Hittite
from:-1400 till:-1160 shift:(4,-2) color:green text:New Hittite
from:-1160 till:-700 shift:(4,-2) color:green text:Syro-Hittite polities, Urartu

 bar:mediterr
from:-1900 till:-1700 shift:(2,-2) color:mediterr text:Protopalatial
from:-1700 till:-1450 shift:(2,-2)  color:mediterr text:Neopalatial
from:-1450 till:-1100 shift:(2,-2)  color:mediterr text:Mycenaean Greece
from:-1100 till:-750 shift:(2,-2)  color:mediterr text:Greek Dark Ages
from:-750 till:end shift:(2,-2)  color:mediterr text:Archaic Greece

vep:Vanh Zavet

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David Pawson
Born	1930
Occupation	International Bible Expositor, theologist, Pastor, previously Chaplain
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Durham University & Cambridge University
Genres	Christian apologetics, Evangelist
Subjects	Bible study (Christian)

J. David Pawson (born 1930) is a prominent Bible teacher based in Great Britain. He is the author of more than thirty books.

Biography[link]

According to his autobiography,^[1] Pawson's immediate ancestors were all farmers, Methodist preachers or both - dating back to John Pawson, a friend and follower of John Wesley. His father, H. Cecil Pawson, was head of Agriculture at Durham University and also Vice President of the Methodist conference.^[2] From his childhood in the north of England David Pawson had wanted to be a farmer, but by the time he had completed his studies for a B.Sc. in Agriculture at Durham University, he felt God was calling him into full-time Christian ministry. He then studied for an M.A. in theology at Wesley House, Cambridge University, and subsequently joined the Royal Air Force as a chaplain, serving in Aden.

After leaving the RAF he served as a Methodist minister, but became increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of infant baptism. After appearing before a doctrinal committee of the Methodist church, he volunteered to leave the denomination, and did so. Shortly thereafter he accepted an invitation to become the pastor of Gold Hill Baptist Church in Buckinghamshire.

Later, as pastor of Guildford Baptist Church ('Millmead', which he helped to design), he established a reputation among both evangelicals and charismatics as a Bible teacher. From here his teaching tapes - originally made for the church's sick and elderly members - became popular worldwide. Under his ministry, Millmead became one of the largest Baptist churches in the United Kingdom.

Pawson left Millmead in 1979 and engaged in an itinerant worldwide Bible teaching ministry. As of 2010, Pawson, aged 80, is still preaching at events across the globe.

Teachings[link]

In The Normal Christian Birth, Pawson argued that a biblical initiation into Christianity should involve more than a simple 'sinners prayer'. Whilst accepting the fundamental basis of salvation by faith, he argued that the Biblical model of a person's "birth" into God's kingdom included aspects which are frequently ignored or forgotten today. He proposed four principal steps: repentance towards God; believing in Jesus, baptism in water and receiving the Holy Spirit. This, according to Pawson, is the biblical pattern for a "normal Christian birth". According to the book itself, "David Pawson advocates a synthesis of the 'liberal' emphasis on repentance, the 'evangelical' on faith, the 'sacramental' on baptism and the 'pentecostal' on the Spirit." This work of Pawson has been influential and is taught at a number of theological seminaries and mission stations.

In Leadership is Male, he teaches that leadership is a role given by God to men. In so doing, he criticizes men for not taking proper responsibility in important aspects of family and church life. He argues that modern men too often neglect their social obligations and should return to the Biblical model of manhood. This book's foreword was written by a woman, Elisabeth Elliot.

In The Road to Hell, Pawson is critical of Annihilationism, the teaching that the punishment of hell is not eternal. He teaches that people who go to hell experience eternal suffering. According to the book itself, by "challenging the modern alternatives of liberal 'universalism' and evangelical 'annihilationism', David Pawson presents the traditional concept of endless torment as soundly biblical."

In Unlocking the Bible, Pawson presents a book by book study of the whole Bible. The book is based on Pawson's belief that the Bible should be studied, as it was written, "a book at a time" (certainly not a verse, or even a chapter at a time); and that each book is best understood by discovering why and for whom it was written. It is based on an arranged series of talks in which he set out the background, purpose, meaning and relevance of each book of the Bible, and was transcribed into written form by Andy Peck. The groundwork for this study was laid in the 1960s and '70s, when Pawson took his congregation through nearly half of the Old Testament and all of the New Testament line by line (recordings of those studies are still distributed).

In When Jesus Returns, he critically considers in the light of scripture the major views on eschatology popular in the church today, specifically the preterist, historicist, futurist and idealist schools of interpreting the Book of Revelation. He rejects postmillennialism in favour of a premillennial understanding of the Second Coming, so that Jesus will return bodily in power immediately before his reign over the world for a millennium from Jerusalem. He asserts that the supernatural taking up of believers alive at this time (following the 'tribulation' period of persecution), so as to join the returning Christ, fulfils the Rapture prophecies; he argues against a pre-tribulation timing of the rapture. He further argues that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land is a fulfilment of scriptural prophecy, and that prophecies spoken about Israel relate specifically to Israel (not to the church), so that the outstanding prophecies about Israel will be fulfilled before the end of the age.

In Jesus Baptises in One Holy Spirit, Pawson discusses the evidence for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit as a separate event from believing, repentance and water baptism. He argues that a believer does not receive the indwelling Holy Spirit until s/he is baptized in the Spirit, a distinct experience evidenced by charismatic gifts such as prophecy or tongues. This differs from the evangelical view that the Spirit is automatically received when a person believes, and the Pentecostal view that receiving the indwelling Spirit (at conversion) and receiving the Baptism in the Spirit are two experiences with different purposes.

In The Challenge of Islam to Christians, Pawson documents the present rapid rise of Islam in the West. He explains what Islam is, arguing that its rejection of Jesus Christ's divinity mean the two faiths cannot be reconciled, and he proposes a Christian response, based on the church purifying itself. The book details Pawson's testing of his premonition that Britain would become Islamic. In comparing the situation to that portrayed by the Hebrew prophet Habakkuk, Pawson implies that the rise of Islam could be impending judgement for the immorality into which Western churches and secular humanist society has sunk.

In Once Saved, Always Saved?, Pawson uses scripture to question the frequent evangelical claim that someone who has once believed in Jesus Christ will end up with Christ in heaven whatever that person subsequently believes or does. (Twelve years earlier, another evangelical, RT Kendall, summed up this claim in a book having the same title without a question mark.) Pawson points to the need to persevere in faith, and to the repeated exhortations in scripture to do so.

In Word and Spirit Together: Uniting Charismatics and Evangelicals (a revision of Fourth Wave), Pawson calls for an end to the division between charismatic and Evangelical Christians over the issue of Spiritual Baptism and charismatic gifts. He argues that the charismatic gifts are for the church today but that their practice should be built on a solid scriptural basis. He therefore argues that the two groups should learn from each other, to the benefit of both.

In Defending Christian Zionism, Pawson puts the case that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land is a fulfilment of scriptural prophecy, and that Christians should support the existence of the Jewish State (although not unconditionally its actions) on theological grounds. He also argues that prophecies spoken about Israel relate specifically to Israel (not to the church, as in "replacement theology"). However he criticises Dispensationalism, a largely American movement holding similar views about Israel. Pawson was spurred to write this book by the work of Stephen Sizer, an evangelical Anglican who rejects Christian Zionism. A debate can be heard between the two at Pawson/Sizer debate. Pawson's book Israel in the New Testament continues the Christian Zionist theme.

In the Come with me through series, Pawson goes through an entire book of the Bible. This series is also based on the preaching of David Pawson to his congregation back in the 60's and 70's. There are currently just a few titles released in this series with more to come.

Books[link]

• Christianity Explained, 2006, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 1-901949-46-X
• Explaining Water Baptism, 2000, David Pawson, Sovereign World Ltd, ISBN 1-85240-083-8
• Explaining the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, 2004, David Pawson, Joyce Huggett, Sovereign World, ISBN 1-85240-383-7
• Explaining the Resurrection, 2000, David Pawson, Sovereign World, Ltd, ISBN 1-85240-089-7
• Explaining the Second Coming, 2000, David Pawson, Renew, ISBN 1-85240-118-4
• Hope for the Millennium, 1999, David Pawson, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-73559-7
• Head in the Clouds, 1999, David Pawson, Hodder & Stoughton Religious, ISBN 0-340-60812-9
• Is John 3:16 the Gospel?, 2007, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications International Ltd, ISBN 1-901949-55-9
• Infant Baptism Under Cross-examination, 1976, David Pawson, Colin Buchanan, Grove Books Ltd, ISBN 0-901710-89-X
• Is the Blessing Biblical?, 1996, David Pawson, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-66147-X
• Jesus Baptises in One Holy Spirit: When?, How?, Why?, Who?, 1997, David Pawson, Hodder&Stoughton Religious, ISBN 0-340-69398-3
• Jesus Baptises In One Holy Spirit, 2006, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 1-901949-44-3
• Leadership Is Male, 1990, David Pawson, Thomas Nelson Inc, ISBN 0-8407-9023-6
• Loose Leaves From My Bible, 1994, David Pawson, North Bank Graphics, ISBN 0-9522985-0-3
• Not as Bad as the Truth: Memoirs of an Unorthodox Evangelical, 2006, David Pawson, Hodder Headline, ISBN 0-340-86427-3
• Once Saved, Always Saved?: A Study in Perseverance and Inheritance, David Pawson, Roger Forster, Hodder Headline, 1996, ISBN 0-340-61066-2
• Tell me the truth!, 1977, David Pawson, Harold Shaw, ISBN 0-87788-837-X
• The Road to Hell: Everlasting Torment or Annihilation? 1996, David Pawson, Hodder Headline 1996 and Terra Nova Publications International Ltd 2007, ISBN 0-340-53964-X
• The Normal Christian Birth: How to Give New Believers a Proper Start in Life, David Pawson, Hodder & Stoughton 1989 and Hodder Headline 1991, ISBN 0-340-48972-3
• The Challenge of Islam to Christians, 2003, David Pawson, Hodder Headline, ISBN 0-340-86189-4
• Unlocking the Bible Omnibus: A Unique Overview of the Whole Bible, 2003, David Pawson, HarperCollins UK, ISBN 0-00-716666-4
• When Jesus Returns, 1995, David Pawson, Hodder & Stoughton Religious, ISBN 0-340-61211-8
• Word And Spirit Together, 2007, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 1-901949-53-2
• Where is Jesus now?, 2001, David Pawson, Kingsway Publications, ISBN 0-85476-930-7
• Why Does God Allow Natural Disasters?, 2007, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, 2007, ISBN 1-901949-56-7
• Defending Christian Zionism, 2008, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, 2008, ISBN 978-1-901949-62-9
• Practising the Principles of Prayer, 2008, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 978-1-901949-58-2
• Living in Hope, 2008, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 978-1-901949-60-5
• The God and the Gospel of Righteousness, 2008, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 978-1-901949-59-9
• Come with me through Revelation, 2008, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 978-1-901949-61-2
• Israel in the New Testament, 2009, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 978-1-901949-64-3
• Come with me through Mark, 2009, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 978-1-901949-66-7

References[link]

External links[link]

• David Pawson website
• A brief history of Guildford Baptist Church

Lewis Black
Black, December 2007
Birth name	Lewis Niles Black
Born	(1948-08-30) August 30, 1948 (age 63) Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film, theatre
Nationality	American
Years active	1981 – present
Genres	Satire, news satire, political satire, observational comedy, black comedy, rant
Subject(s)	American politics, American culture, current events, pop culture
Influences	George Carlin,[1] Lenny Bruce,[1] Richard Pryor,[1] Lily Tomlin, Bill Hicks, Bob Newhart,[1] Shelley Berman[1]
Influenced	Dara Ó Briain[2]
Notable works and roles	Back in Black on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart The Carnegie Hall Performance Lewis Black's Root of All Evil Stark Raving Black
Website	lewisblack.com
Grammy Awards
Best Comedy Album 2007 The Carnegie Hall Performance 2011 Stark Raving Black
American Comedy Awards
Funniest Male Stand-Up Comic 2001

Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian, author, playwright, social critic and actor. He is known for his comedy style, which often includes simulating a mental breakdown, or an increasingly angry rant, ridiculing history, politics, religion, trends and cultural phenomena. He hosted the Comedy Central series Lewis Black's Root of All Evil, and makes regular appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart delivering his “Back in Black” commentary segment. When not on the road performing, he resides in Manhattan. He also maintains a residence in Chapel Hill, N.C. He is currently the spokesman for Aruba Tourism, appearing in television ads that aired in late 2009 and 2010. He was voted 51st of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time by Comedy Central in 2004; and was voted 5th in Comedy Central's Stand`Up Showdown in 2008 and 11th in 2010.

Early life[link]

Black is the son of Jeannette, a teacher, and Sam Black, an artist and mechanical engineer.^[3] He was born and raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Silver Spring, Maryland,^[4] graduating from Springbrook High School in 1966, summa cum laude.

Black recounts in his book Nothing's Sacred that he scored highly on the math section of his SAT exam and later applied to Yale, Princeton, Brown, Amherst, Williams, and Georgetown. Every college he applied to except Georgetown rejected him, and by that point he had decided he didn't want to go there, so he spent a year at University of Maryland before transferring to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There, he studied playwriting and was a brother of Pi Lambda Phi International fraternity and a member of Student Congress.^[5] He earned an MFA degree at the Yale School of Drama in 1977, and was once married for less than a year.^[6]

Black's career began in theater as a playwright. He served as the playwright in residence and associate artistic director of Steve Olsen's West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theatre Bar in Hell's Kitchen in New York City, where he collaborated with composer and lyricist Rusty Magee and artistic director Rand Foerster on hundreds of one-act plays from 1981 to 1989. Also with Rusty Magee, Black wrote the musical The Czar of Rock and Roll, which premiered at Houston's Alley Theatre in 1990.

Black's stand-up comedy began as an opening act for the plays; he was also the master of ceremonies. After a management change at the theater, Black left and began working as a comedian, as well as finding bit parts in television and films.

Comedic style[link]

Black's style of comedy is that of a man who, in dealing with the absurdities of life and contemporary politics, is approaching his personal limits of sanity. Sarcasm, hyperbole, profanity, shouting and trademark angry finger-shaking bring emphasis to his topics of discussion. He once described his humor as "being on the Titanic every single day and being the only person who knows what is going to happen." He claims that he doesn't write his jokes down, he merely starts talking about something that makes him angry until he has to move on before he has a stroke.^{[citation needed]}

Black has described his political affiliation as: "I'm a socialist, so that puts me totally outside any concept...the Canadians get it. But seriously, most people don't get it. The idea of capping people's income just scares people. 'Oh, you're taking money from the rich.' Ooh, what a horrifying thing. These people really need $200 million".^[7]

Black lists his comedic influences as George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Lily Tomlin, Bill Hicks, Bob Newhart and Shelley Berman.^[1]

Career[link]

Comedy Central Presents[link]

In 1998, Black starred in his first comedy special on the series Comedy Central Presents. He starred in two additional episodes of the series in 2000 and 2002. He starred in another special for the network in 2002, titled Taxed Beyond Belief.

Hosting[link]

Since 2003, Black has hosted the World Stupidity Awards ceremony at Montreal's Just for Laughs comedy festival for the three years the awards were presented.

Black hosted the Comedy Central television series The Root of All Evil in 2008. The show pitted two people or pop-culture topics against each other as a panel of comedians argued, in the style of a court trial, which is more evil, e.g., "Paris Hilton vs. Dick Cheney" and "Internet Porn vs. YouTube". After hearing arguments from both sides, Black, acting as judge, made the final decision as to which is more evil.^[8]

Black hosted Comedy Central's Last Laugh '07, which aired on December 2, 2007 along with Dave Attell and D.L. Hughley.

On February 18, 2008, Black hosted History of the Joke with Lewis Black,^[9] a 2-hour comedy-documentary on The History Channel.

At the end of 2009, Black returned to the History Channel to host Surviving the Holidays with Lewis Black, in which he discussed the year-end pressures of Thanksgiving, Channukah, Christmas, and New Year's.

Stand-up shows[link]

In 2004, he had an HBO stand-up special titled Black on Broadway.

On April 21, 2006, Black performed at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC for an HBO special, Red, White, and Screwed. It aired on June 10, 2006, and a DVD was released October 3, 2006. When explaining his choice of venue, Black said that "some asshole" was paid to count the number of times the word "fuck" was said from his previous HBO special, Black On Broadway, and that the original location, the Kennedy Center, wanted him to cut back on its use. Black was told the number was 42, when actually it was approximately 78.^{[citation needed]}

On February 11, 2007, Black received a Grammy award for "Best Comedy Album" for his album The Carnegie Hall Performance.^[10]

Comedy Central's "Stand-Up Month" in January 2008 features specials originally presented on HBO by Black, along with programs featuring Dane Cook and Chris Rock.

In January 2008, as part of Comedy Central's "Stand-Up Month", Black's routine finished at #5 on "Stand-Up Showdown 2008", a viewer-based countdown of the top "Comedy Central Presents" routine. Black. also was voted 11th in 2010.

On August 2, 2009, Black filmed two shows at the Fillmore Theater in Detroit, MI. These shows were the basis for a concert film called Stark Raving Black, which appeared in theaters for a limited time in October. It was released on June 15, 2010 .^[11]

Film and television career[link]

Black appeared in episode 25 "Aria" (1991) of Law and Order as porn director Franklin Frome, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Obscene" (2004) as a shock jock, and in The Big Bang Theory episode "The Jiminy Conjecture" (2009) as an entomologist. He also released his autobiography, Nothing's Sacred, in 2005. Since November 9, 2005, Black has been making appearances in small segments on The Weather Channel. In December 2005, he appeared in an animated holiday special The Happy Elf, as the voice of the extremely tightly wound elf, Norbert.

In the film Accepted, a film about high school graduates who create a college when they fail to get accepted into any, he played Dean Ben Lewis of the school "South Harmon Institute of Technology". He also appeared in the 2006 films Man of the Year and Unaccompanied Minors. Black hosted Comedy Central's Last Laugh '06, which aired on December 10, 2006.

Voice acting[link]

Black was the voice of "Manobrain" during the third season of the Cartoon Network series "Duck Dodgers". He was the inventor of a diet pill which was stolen while he was in college. He blamed the theft on his college friend Dr. I. Q. High, not realizing that the actual thief was Duck Dodgers. The theft set Manobrain on the path of evil.

Black provided the voice of the Deadly Duplicator in four episodes of the Adult Swim show Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law and in the video game based on the show.

Black did the voice-over for an oxpecker named Ted in Cartoon Network series My Gym Partner's a Monkey, appearing in "Hornbill and Ted's Bogus Journey." The character is portrayed in the same fashion as his comedy shows, though without the profanity. In addition, the bird's clothes, looks, and mannerisms match those of Black himself. Black currently voices Mr. E/Ricky Owens in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated.

Tours[link]

On June 18, 2007 he sat in with Southern rock/Jam band Gov't Mule at the 6th annual Bonnaroo music festival, where he had performed earlier that weekend, for what was to be a quick joke. A member of the audience threw a bottle at Black, which struck him. Black was upset and he encouraged the audience to boo the heckler before leaving the stage in disgust, while shouting obscenities at the heckler. This act was seen in an episode of "Lewis Black's Root of All Evil" titled "YouTube vs. Porn".

On June 29, 2007, Black gave a benefit show at Springbrook High School, his alma mater, in the school's auditorium for 1,100 alumni, faculty, and students. He performed in his usual style, stopping at points to remark how good it felt to use that language on that particular stage. At the end of the show he was given a Springbrook football jersey, and cursed at one teacher for giving him a B and causing him not to graduate first in his class.

In mid December 2007, Black went with Robin Williams, Kid Rock, Lance Armstrong and Rachel Smith, Miss USA 2007, on a USO trip to support the troops in Iraq and Kuwait. They then wrapped it up on Dec 22nd at the U.S Naval Station in Rota, Spain.

Black helped create the annual Carolina Comedy Festival at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.^[12]

In 2008 Black went on tour touting his book Me of Little Faith.^[13] He is also currently doing a stand-up tour called "Let Them Eat Cake".

Beginning in January 2010, Black embarked on a new tour called "In God We Rust".

Legal troubles[link]

In 2000, Black and fellow comedian Jim Norton were arrested for their involvement with "The Naked Teen Voyeur Bus",^[14] a specially designed bus with acrylic glass walls containing numerous 18 and 19 year old topless women. This bus rode around Manhattan while being broadcast on the Opie and Anthony radio show. Unfortunately, radio station management did not inform the O&A show that the bus's route was also the route that President Clinton was taking that same day. Twenty-eight hours after the arrest, Black and Norton were released. Black appeared on The Daily Show the following night where he stated he was exercising his constitutional rights. He then joked that the location of this particular right was unclear, but that it was "between 'all men are created equal' and 'don't shit where you eat.'"^[15] Additionally, at a fundraising event for New York Attorney General candidate Mark Green on June 28, 2006, Black talked about how he was unable to attend a previous fundraising event for Green because the arrest occurred shortly before.

Lewis Black after being released

Published works[link]

• Nothing's Sacred (2005)
• Nothing's Sacred (audio book) (2006)
• Nothing's Sacred (softcover version) (2007)
• Me of Little Faith (2008) (New York: Riverhead Books -- Penguin Group) 240 pages, ISBN 978-1-59449-994-5.
• Me of Little Faith (paperback version with added content) (2009)
• I'm Dreaming of a Black Christmas (2010)

Media releases[link]

CDs[link]

• The White Album (2000)
• Revolver (EP) (2002)
• The End of the Universe (2002)
• Rules of Enragement (2003)
• Luther Burbank Performing Arts Center Blues (2005)
• The Carnegie Hall Performance (2006)
• Anticipation (2008)
• Stark Raving Black (2010)
• The Prophet (2011)

DVDs[link]

• Unleashed (compilation of his four Comedy Central specials plus his appearances on The Daily Show: Indecision 2000) (2002)
• Black on Broadway (2003 HBO Special) (2004)
• A Pair of Lewis Black Shorts (Sidesplitters: The Burt & Dick Story and The Gynecologists) (2006)
• Red, White, and Screwed (2006 HBO Special)
• History of the Joke with Lewis Black (2008 History Channel special)
• Surviving the Holidays with Lewis Black (2009 History Channel special)
• Stark Raving Black (2010)
• In God We Rust (2012 Epix Special)

Filmography[link]

• Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
• Jacob's Ladder (1990)
• The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1990–1991) (TV series)
• Law & Order, "Aria" (1991)
• The Hard Way (1991)
• Homicide: Life on the Street, "Deception" (1997)
• Mad About You (Season 6, Episode 7: Played "The Pizza Slice") (1997) (TV series)
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, "Obscene" (2004)
• The Happy Elf (2005)
• Accepted (2006)
• Man of the Year (2006)
• Unaccompanied Minors (2006)
• Farce of the Penguins (2007)
• Falling for Grace (2007)
• History of the Joke (2008) (Documentary) History Channel
• Lewis Black's Root of All Evil (2008) (TV series) Comedy Central
• The Big Bang Theory, "The Jiminy Conjecture" (2009) (TV series) CBS
• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010) (TV series) Cartoon Network
• The Penguins of Madagascar, "Arch-Enemy" (2011) (TV series) Nickelodeon

References[link]