Author: George Van Pelt Campbell
Located in: Grove City
Submitted: October 02, 2020
Tell us a little about yourself. I was a pastor for 19 years before coming to Grove City College 21 years ago to teach Old Testament and sociology of religion. I have a keen interest in equipping people to encounter the richness and beauty of the Bible. My students often tell me that my classes do just that for them.
What was your motivation behind this project? With the Jewish community, I believe the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, to be the core of Scripture. All the major themes of the Bible begin there and the rest of the Bible was written to expound it. The book explains the message of the Torah and its five parts so that readers have the tools and helps to dive in and grasp its depth and so pastors can preach through it.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? A major component of the book is showing how Christians see Jesus in the Torah and how the Torah prepares the way for Jesus. I also hope readers will awaken to the Torah's foundational argument that we live best when we are animated by faith, like Abraham was.
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? I gained a greater appreciation of the profound coherence of the Bible, of the gravity that Scripture attributes to God's holiness, and of how waiting on the Lord animates the life of believers from the Bible's beginning.
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: Eugene Merrill, 2010 President of the Evangelical Theological Society, said "This is the finest work of its kind that I have ever come across." Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., President Emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, said of the book, "It is a most enjoyable read." Finally, Old Testament Professor William A. Ross of Reformed Theological Seminary wrote, "This eminently readable, trim volume is packed with keen literary observations, theological insight, and practical points."
