Decker on the Authorship of Mark’s Gospel

Rodney Decker has a nice post on the external evidence regarding the authorship of Mark's Gospel. You can read it here.

National Geographic Special on Herod's Tomb

National Geographic has created a nice interactive website for their forthcoming special on Herod's tomb scheduled to air on November 23. The site has articles, pictures, and videos. Check it out here.

Defining Apocalypse, Apocalypticism, and Apocalyptic Eschatology

Patrick George McCullough has a helpful post on "Defining Apocalypse, Apocalypticism, and Apocalyptic Eschatology." I don't agree with all the conclusions but it is a decent summary of the state of scholarship is on the issue. Read it here.

House on "The Future of National Israel in Dispensational Thought"

Rodney Decker as posted H. Wayne House's paper and responses to it that are scheduled to be delivered at this year's Dispensation Study Group meeting at ETS. You can access it as well as papers from previous years here.

What if Martin Luther Had Read the Dead Sea Scrolls? Historical Particularity and Theological Interpretation in Pauline Theology: Galatians as a Test

Michael Bird has made a draft of his forthcoming ETS paper entitled "What if Martin Luther Had Read the Dead Sea Scrolls? Historical Particularity and Theological Interpretation in Pauline Theology: Galatians as a Test Case" available here.

Mahaney on Busyness

C. J. Mahaney has posted a rather convicting article which posits that just being busy does not make one diligent, faithful, or fruitful. You can read the article here.

Bibliographic Resource for the Book of Esther

West Wickham has noted a new resource for those doing research in the book of Esther. Edith Lubetski and Meir Lubetski, The Book of Esther: A Classified Bibliography. Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2008.

According to the blurb at the publisher's website,

This comprehensive bibliography to scholarly works on the biblical book of Esther contains over 1800 references. It includes titles of books, collected works, Festschriften, theses, journal articles, essays in collections, encyclopaedia and dictionary articles, and online material. It is a classified bibliography, arranged in three main categories -- commentaries, biblical chapters and verses, and subject headings in alphabetical order.

The scope of the bibliography is international, and its focus is on research from the last hundred years. Scholars, students, clergy, and librarians -- among them literary scholars, psychologists, sociologists, historians, linguists, art historians, political scientists, feminists, and Christian and Jewish scholars -- will find this unique volume an indispensable resource and stimulus to further research. A special feature of the bibliography is its extensive coverage of Jewish sources.

Nice Review of Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament

Matthew D. Montonini has a nice review of Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Darrell L. Bock, Peter Enn's book Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. You can read it here.

What do You Require of Your Potential Elders?

See this post on what one church requires before potential elder candidates are examined and nominated.Thanks to Colin Adams for pointing this out.

A Blog Devoted to New Testament Discourse Grammar

Steve Runge has a new blog devoted to New Testament discourse grammar. You can see it here.

SBL Related Site on Biblical Hebrew Poetry

Although the site appears to be in process, some might be interested in visiting a new website devoted to biblical Hebrew poetry. You can visit the site here.

Thanks to John Hobbins for the heads-up.

A Survey Pastors and Their Books

See this interesting survey of over 1800 pastors about their book budgets, personal libraries, etc.

Kamell on James 4

Miriam Kamell who has cowritten a commentary on James with Craig Blomberg has posted some observations on James 4. You can read it here.

Dating the Crucial Sources in Early Christianity

Mark Goodacre has posted the paper that he is presenting at this year's SBL meeting entitled, "Dating the Crucial sources in Early Christianity." You can access the pdf here.

Paul Among the Storytellers

Bruce Fisk has uploaded the paper he plans to read at SBL entitled, "Paul Among the Storytellers: Reading Romans 11 in the Context of Rewritten Bible." You can see it here.

Mounce on Philippians 1:6

See Bill Mounce's discussion on Philippians 1:6 here.

The Bible's Buried Secrets

Some might be interested in this film which is scheduled to air on November 18 on PBS. The following is the blurb from thew website (view here) which also includes a couple of short clips.

Providence Pictures has been working hard for years to produce The Bible's Buried Secrets, which premieres November 18th at 8:00 pm on NOVA. We scouted and filmed at archaeological sites throughout the Middle East—including Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. We interviewed leading biblical scholars from around the world. Our animators have built a one-of-a-kind Bible filled with masterpieces of art and brought ancient Israel to life through the most accurate 3D models. Our reenactments rival Hollywood for their art direction and cinematography, and surpass any film on historical accuracy—even going so far as to teach modern scribes to write paleo-Hebrew, the original alphabet of the Bible. We're confident that our film will be the definitive documentary on biblical archaeology for years to come.

In July 2008, NOVA showcased a 4-minute trailer to The Bible's Buried Secrets for a gathering of media from around the country. As soon as they started blogging about it, the public response was swift and impassioned. Attacks and a petition drive to defund PBS were launched by one organization that describes their mission "to change the culture to reflect Biblical truth" and that "God has communicated absolute truth to man through the Bible." They condemned the film without even seeing the trailer, let alone the film. We'd love to know what you think. Check out the trailer and feel free to join the discussion! And be sure to watch the broadcast November 18 on PBS.

Walton on Deuteronomy 24:1-4

John Walton has posted an interesting passage on the divorce text in Deuteronomy 24:1-4. You can read it here.