F.F. Bruce

[GHansen]

I'd often wondered why the SDA denomination paid for some scholars to  study under Dr. Bruce at Manchester University. Dr. Ford was probably the best known but certainly not the only SDA academic to study under Dr. Bruce. Dr. Bruce's Hebrews commentary actually includes an acknowledgment of an SDA scholar who contributed to Dr. Bruce's thinking on the subject. What really surprised me about Dr. Bruce's scholarship was his conservative approach to Scripture. His commentary  The Gospels and Epistles of John evinces a very conservative interpretation of Scripture. When I say "conservative" I mean that he sticks to the text, to what is right before the reader. He doesn't skate all over the Bible, just goes verse by verse through the text. This book was used in a Sabbath school class for newcomers at one large SDA church I attended. While he has done some very technical and scholarly works such as his Galatians commentary, his Romans commentary is among the most readable and profound commentaries.  The only other commentary comparable to it is Cranfield's "Shorter Commentary on Romans." Admittedly, I'm not an authority on Roman's commentaries; consequently, this is just my opinion.

Dr. Bruce wrote a number of books for general readers which are surprisingly enlightening. The spiritual message is not obscured by scholarly details. Paul and his Converts  and The Message of the NT are among this number. Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free contains a chapter "What the Law Could Not Do." That chapter alone is worth the cost of the book. Fortunately, books by Dr. Bruce are easily found among the inventory of used book sellers and were quite inexpensive a few years back.