“A sower went out to sow . . . seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. . . . As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit” (Matthew 13:3, 8, 23).
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (I Corinthians 3:6-7).
Planters PressTM is the imprint of Bob Walton, who for forty years taught Bible in Christian high schools in the Philadelphia area. The books published through Planters Press represent courses he has developed, taught, and refined over many years in the classroom, along with more recent works of apologetics. The books are designed for classes and readers from high school students through educated laymen. Lord willing, these books will be of use to teachers and students alike in Christian schools, churches, and homeschool settings.
A new addition to Planters Press is the availability of play scripts for high school and community theater groups. During my teaching career, I directed more than fifty plays, including two for which I wrote the scripts. I have now included these two in the books made available through this website. They are based on literary classics, and in adapting these I have tried to retain as much as possible the language of the original authors.
Orders from Planters Press may be placed through Paypal, in which case shipping is free. You may also order through CreateSpace or Amazon by using the appropriate buttons below.
Questions? Write to me now at: rwalton@rcwalton.com
Defending Your Sword: Responding to Attacks on the Bible
Defending Your Sword is the first book published by Planters Press that is not based on one of the author’s high school courses. It was written as a resource for Christians who encounter skeptics who claim that the Bible is full of errors, that it contradicts itself, and that it therefore cannot be inspired by God. The book is divided into three sections. The first addresses fundamental issues like the importance of worldview, the matter of origins, the existence of God, the problem of knowledge, and the relationship of Christianity to science. The main body of the book deals with questions concerning the biblical manuscripts, the formation of the canon, authorship, date, accuracy, consistency, miracles, inspiration, and the role of faith. In the final section, the author seeks to get behind the presentation problems and arguments and examine the personal experiences and moral issues that often underlie rejection of the Bible.
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Defending Your Shield: Responding to Attacks on the Uniqueness of Christianity
Defending Your Shield continues the work begun in Defending Your Sword in that it seeks to answer objections raised against the uniqueness of Christianity. Have you ever encountered arguments like the following? Ancient Near Eastern religions all had creation and flood stories and legends of gods coming to earth, dying, and rising again; Christianity just borrowed from them. All religions are basically man-made and are derived from the cultural environment in which they arose. All religions are basically the same because they are different ways of worshiping the same Ultimate Reality; it doesn’t really matter what religion you practice as long as it meets your needs. All religions are essentially harmful; they are relics of our primitive past and we are quickly evolving beyond the need for them. How can Christians claim to have the truth when they are divided into thousands of denominations and can’t even agree among themselves? This book is a resource for responding to these and other challenges.
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Making Dry Bones Live
Making Dry Bones Live contains the author’s Church History course. The book covers the Ancient Church (to 476), the Medieval Church (476-1517), the Protestant Reformation (1517-1648), the Modern European Church (from 1648), and the American Church (from 1607). The book’s forty-five chapters are suitable for classroom use; the text also includes study and review questions for students. The author attempts to bring the history of the Christian Church to life, not only by telling exciting stories of Christians of the past, but also by explaining doctrinal issues with which the Church has grappled and seeking to apply the lessons of the past to the reader of the present. The text is suitable for pastors and laymen and for teachers and students in Christian schools, Sunday Schools, and home schools. A teacher’s manual is available free of charge from the author in electronic format with the order of ten copies or more.
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Eternal Values for a Valueless Age
Eternal Values for a Valueless Age contains the author’s Christian Ethics course in book form. The book is a survey of the Ten Commandments, beginning with an introductory chapter that examines and critiques various unbiblical approaches to ethical decision-making, then contrasts them with fundamental biblical principles. Each succeeding chapter focuses on one of the commandments in the Decalogue, opening with background material that will help the reader understand the ideas behind each commandment, then treating a series of practical and/or controversial issues associated with it. The book is intended, not only to help readers who desire to follow Christ to think through some of the great issues of the day from a biblical perspective, but also to enable them to articulate principles of Christian morality in a society that increasingly rejects those principles.
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Thinking Inside the Box
Thinking Inside the Box contains the author’s Christian Perspective course, a survey of academic disciplines students are likely to encounter in college. Thirteen disciplines are included, broken down into sections on the Humanities, the Social Sciences, the Natural Sciences, and the Fine Arts. Each discipline is examined with the intention of distinguishing between biblical and secular worldviews in approaching the subject. Readers are taught to look for unstated assumptions and discern how those assumptions lead to the conclusions that are presented by professors and textbook writers. Everyone has a worldview, a set of presuppositions, often unstated and sometimes unconscious, that provides the picture frame through which he interprets reality. For the Christian, this worldview must be derived from the Scriptures – God’s revelation is the box through which we view the world as we seek to “think God’s thoughts after Him.”
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The Bible Tells Me So: A Survey of Bible Doctrine
The Bible Tells Me So is an expanded version of the author’s Bible Doctrine course. It covers the foundational teachings of God’s Word topically, beginning with the Doctrine of Scripture, then moving on to the Doctrine of God, then Christ, then the Holy Spirit. Having examined what the God has revealed about Himself in His Word, the text then turns to the Doctrine of Man (including the Doctrine of Sin), the Doctrine of Salvation, and then finishes by examining the Doctrine of the Church and Eschatology, the Doctrine of Last Things. Special features include “So What?” boxes addressing the practical applications of some of the more obscure doctrines of the faith along with “Highlights from History” boxes discussing the historical contexts in which various doctrinal disputes arose and the ways in which they were resolved by the Church.
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The Road to Redemption: A Chronological Overview of the Old Testament
Most surveys of the Old Testament treat the books one by one in canonical order, but this often leaves readers confused about how these books relate to one another. The Road to Redemption is an effort to address that problem by treating the books of the Old Testament in chronological order. This involves interspersing the books of poetry and prophecy where they fit as we move through the events recorded in the books of history. In addition to helping readers see how the books of the Old Testament connect in time, this text also emphasizes how they convey the single great message of God's saving work, and therefore point toward the coming of Christ.
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The Greatest Life Ever Lived: A Survey of the Life of Christ
The Greatest Life Ever Lived is an expanded version of the author’s Life of Christ course. It is based on a harmony of the Gospels that weaves together the four Gospel narratives into a continuous account of the life and ministry of Christ. The book attempts to clarify puzzling questions often asked by those who would challenge the authenticity of the Gospels or claim that they contradict one another while also incorporating historical and cultural background information that enlightens the stories of Jesus’ life and His teachings. Practical applications of Jesus’ sermons and parables as well as the events of His life are included, emphasizing His saving work on the Cross and how everything in the Gospels points toward and leads up to that climactic saving work. Indexes of Scripture references, names and places, and important terms are included.
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The Spread of the Gospel: A Chronological Overview of the New Testament Church After the Ascension
The Spread of the Gospel is a chronological overview of the New Testament Church after the Ascension of Jesus. The book of Acts, treated verse by verse, provides the framework, and chapters on the other books of the New Testament are interwoven where they fit in chronologically. The chapters on each book other than Acts include background, an overview, verse by verse treatment of representative passages, and study questions for review and discussion.
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Sense and Sensibility
This Jane Austen romance is ideal for stage production. The playwright has attempted as much as possible to retain the beauty and wit of Austen's writing rather than dumbing it down it for modern audiences. Written for 17 actors (7 men, 10 women) with three simple interior sets.
More info →Sense and Sensibility Royalties
Royalties for producing "Sense and Sensibility" are $50 per performance, payable to the playwright.
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The Woman in White
This story is a melodrama filled with mystery and romance, heroes and heroines who demonstrate integrity and overcome adversity, and despicable villains who seek to destroy others for their own benefit. the playwright has sought to preserve the language of the original novel rather than modernizing it. Written for 15 characters (8 men, 7 women, doubling possible) with three simple interior sets.
More info →The Woman in White Royalties
Royalties for producing "The Woman in White" are $50 per performance, payable to the playwright.
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If God is Good: The Problem of Suffering in This World and the Next
How can one explain the presence of so much suffering in the world given what the Bible tells us about God? If He is able to prevent evil and chooses not to do so, how can He be loving? If He wants to eradicate evil and is unable to do so, He clearly is not all-powerful. If He is both loving and omnipotent, then how do we explain the presence of evil? Furthermore, how can anyone believe in a supposedly-loving God who would consign uncounted numbers of His human creatures to eternal torment in the fires of Hell? The book seeks to provide biblical answers to these questions, not only to equip Christians to respond to critics, but also to give comfort to those who are suffering and tempted to ask why God would allow them to do so.
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