xviii | About the Authors
Craig has authored 20 books , four of which have won book awards in Christianity Today . His IVP Bible Background Commentary : New Testament ( 1993 ), now in its 2nd revised edition ( 2014 ), has sold more than half a million copies ( including editions in several languages , including more than fifty thousand copies in Korean ). His recent books include Acts : An Exegetical Commentary ( 4 vols ., 4500 pages ; Baker Academic , 2012 – 2015 ); Miracles : The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts ( 2 vols ., Baker Academic , 2011 ); The Historical Jesus of the Gospels ( Eerd mans , 2009 ); The Gospel of Matthew : A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary ( Eerdmans , 2009 ); Romans ( Cascade , 2009 ); 1 – 2 Corinthians ( Cambridge , 2005 ); The Gospel of John : A Commentary ( 2 vols ., Hendrickson / Baker Academic , 2003 ).
Dr . Keener describes the origins of his interest in the cultures of the New Testament world :
“ Not everyone is called to spend their professional career studying the cultural settings of the Bible , but some of us are called to bring this information in an accessible way to the body of Christ , as in this Bible . I ’ ve been studying the Bible ’ s cultural settings since the beginning of my undergraduate work . But the Lord was preparing me for this field of study even before my conversion . Even as an early teenager I was reading the works of Plato and Tacitus , the Roman historian , and spent time studying many different ancient sources .
“ After my conversion I said to myself , ‘ No , I don ’ t need to study any of these sources . I ’ m just going to read the Bible . The Bible is good enough on its own .’ But the more I read the Bible , often 40 chapters a day , the more I realized that the authors took for granted some information that their first readers knew — information that I didn ’ t have without studying background . Additionally , cross-cultural experiences in Africa , Asia and Latin America have helped me to think more cross-culturally . Both in preaching and teaching contexts , I have found that understanding the culture of the Bible helps my hearers understand the Biblical text more concretely and accurately .”
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