For most pastors and church members the field of biblical studies belongs to a different world. Biblical studies in the West is dominated by technical inquiry into the origins, authorship, and sociological background of the text, while pastoral studies focuses on concerns of pastoral counseling and the healing of persons and communities.
An experienced participant in both of these areas, Gordon Oliver asks imaginative questions out of genuine curiosity: What is a Bible anyway? Who owns the Bible? How does it witness to Jesus Christ? Can Jesus and pastoral practice really go together? Oliver retrieves the Bible from being something that divides believers and instead builds a bridge between the academy and the local congregation. This concise, critical, constructive book follows the recently published volume The Bible in Pastoral Practice, edited by Paul Ballard and Stephen Holmes.