Endorsements

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Endorsements

What others said about the first edition of From Literal to Literary

From Marcus Borg, author of the best-sellers Reading the Bible Again For the First Time:
Taking the Bible Seriously But Not Literally and The Heart of Christianity:
Rediscovering a Life of Faith

“An exceptionally fine book that midwives the movement from the narrowness of biblical literalism to the expansiveness of biblical literacy – a very relevant resource for recovering the rich resonances of biblical and Christian language”.

From John Shelby Spong, renowned speaker and author of many best-sellers, including The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible’s Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love

“A magnificent compilation of the words that have exercised such power in the development of our religious tradition. Those who still try to defend the claim that the Bible is the literal Word or words of God will be undone by this volume…”

From John B. Cobb, Jr., Professor Emeritus, Claremont School of Theology, author of The Process Perspective: Frequently Asked Questions About Process Theology

“…The organization and form of presentation make it readily available for sermon preparation and Bible study, and if it is widely used, it can contribute greatly to a more intelligent and informed Christianity.”

From Jonathan Wortmann, Pastor, Pilgrim Congregational Church, Southborough, Massachusetts

“From Literal to Literary deepens my sermon research in a matter of minutes. It is semesters worth of Greek and Hebrew condensed into fewer than 400 pages. It should be on every minister’s desk and in the library of anyone who wants to explore deeply the Bible and the Christian faith.”

From Lawrence M. Wills, Professor of Biblical Studies,Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, author of The Quest of the Historical Gospel: Mark, John and the Origins of the Gospel Genre

“I found the research and conclusions interesting, a very helpful bridge between the (post-) modern and the ancient worlds. I learned a lot of new, interesting, and surprising things about biblical terms that I thought I had studied a hundred times before.”

From Anatoly Liberman, Professor of Germanic Philology, University of Minnesota, author of Word Origins... And How We Know Them: Etymology for Everyone

"The further we are from a word's literal meaning, the more abstract it becomes in our conscience. Hence the title of James R. Adams's book. Its main idea is that biblical language should be understood primarily as the metaphor. The author traces the origin of 164 words, from DESPAIR to SALVATION and from CHRIST to SATAN (even METAPHOR is there), shows how multiple translations of the Old and the New Testament from Hebrew and Greek color our attitude toward some of the most basic concepts, and does it in a lively, readable way."

From Literal to Literary was selected by the Massachusetts Bible Society as a
FEATURED TITLE.