The Sword of the Spirit by Msgr. John Steinmueller
This book is a brief primary on the history and theology of the Bible. It deals with the relationship of human and Divine authorship and how interpretations need to use all of Scripture, the history of biblical commentary (especially the Church Fathers), and the teaching authority of the Catholic Church, i.e. the Magisterium. He also discusses the pitfalls and errors of modern scholarship and techniques in understanding the meaning and historicity of the Sacred Scriptures.
The book is very brief but also very concise. It makes a good starting point for a broader understanding of biblical scholarship. Some of the details are a little off, like when he complains about scholars who claim two or more authors for Isaiah or that the Letter to the Hebrews was not written by Paul. Both are commonly accepted in Catholic and Protestant circles and Steinmueller himself says that the Catholic Church does not teach definitively about any authorship of the books of the Bible. He's occasionally dogmatic without dogma to back him up, though I feel those instances are obvious and easily discerned from his higher quality writing in this book.
The other problem with this book is its unavailability. It's not in print and very hard to find online (it's not listed on Goodreads and I can't add it since it doesn't have an ISBN). It is on my list of books to read this year, so I have read it.
Mildly recommended.
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