Decker on Mark 7:19

Rod Decker has a brief but helpful explanation on the translation and interpretation of Mark 7:19. Read it here.

Darrell Bock: Influential Books

The Koinonia blog has posted a brief video of Darrell Bock discussing some books that were influential in his life.

The Age of Accountability

Alan Bandy has a nice post on the doctrine called the age of accountability which is related to when children become spiritually accountable to God. Read it here.

Adams on 100 Recommended Reads

Colin Adams has a pretty interesting list of recommended reads broken down by categories. Have a look here.

Syntactical Diagram of 1 Peter 1:8-25

For those who have facility with Greek, Daniel Doleys has now posted his syntactical diagram of 1 Peter 1:8-25.

Paul. Food Sacrificed to Idols, and the Jerusalem Council

One of the challenges of taking the Jerusalem Council as a historical event is Paul’s apparent silence concerning it in his epistles, even when such a reference might be appropriate (e.g., his discussion of food sacrificed to idols; cf. 1 Cor 8:1––11:1; Acts 15:20, 29; 21:25) and even though Luke states the Paul was present at the Council and even carried its results to the church at Antioch. There are generally two broad approaches concerning this problem.

1. Some interpreters conclude that the Jerusalem Council was a Lukan creation and never actually happened. This view is generally unacceptable for conservative interpreters.

2. Other interpreters affirm the general historicity of the Jerusalem Council. In this position there are at least three variations. (1) The Jerusalem Council did occur, but contrary to Luke’s assertion, Paul was not there. Therefore, Paul does not refer to the decision of the Council either because he is unaware of it or that he does not feel bound by it since he was not present during the proceedings. (2) The Jerusalem Council was attended by Paul as Luke records, but he chooses to ignore the Council’s decision in his correspondence with Corinth and perhaps elsewhere. Perhaps Paul changed his mind or he might have viewed the Council’s decision as ad hoc or limited to churches in Syria. (3) The Jerusalem Council was attended by Paul as Luke records, and Paul follows the Council’s decision. This last view is the view of Alex T. Cheung, Idol Food in Corinth: Jewish Background and Pauline Legacy, Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series 176 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1999). Cheung writes:

“As I have shown earlier, the most likely scenario is that, in his first visit to Corinth, Paul prohibited-perhaps without any qualification-the consumption of idol food. He thus acted in accordance with the decree, whether he appealed to it or not. However, after Paul had left Corinth, some from the leadership of the church, perhaps because of their enlightened view of Christian freedom, but more likely due to social pressure, began to eat idol food. Paul attempted to correct them in his previous letter but was rebutted with clever arguments which were constructed with distortions of his earlier teachings and which seized on the potential impracticality of Paul’s unguarded language. This led to Paul’s response in 1 Cor. 8:1–11.1, which is both strongly combative and highly nuanced. To quote the decree there would not have served Paul’s purpose.

“To sum up, I have shown that the arguments advanced against the historical accuracy of Luke’s account of the Jerusalem council are not insurmountable. On the contrary, they readily fall apart if we are allowed to make one major assumption—that the decree is consistent with Paul’s missionary preaching, that Paul indeed prohibited eating idol food. As we shall see, this assumption also allows us to make sense of a plethora of early Christian writings touching on Paul’s stance in the matter of idol food” (p. 194).

I am very sympathetic to Chueng’s conclusions and his position on Paul’s perspective concerning idol food has been echoed by David Garland’s excellent 1 Corinthians commentary in the Baker Exegetical series.

Malcolm on the Flow of 1 Corinthians

Matthew Malcolm has posted on his understanding of Paul's flow of thought in 1 Corinthians. You can access it here.

What Your Pastor Wishes You Knew About Him

Andy Nasselli has summarized a list by Dan Burrell, a former pastor, on ten things that your pastor probably wishes you knew about him. The ten are:

1. Bible college and seminary weren’t enough.
2. Good sermon preparation takes time.
3. His family is important too.
4. Be kind if you have a criticism.
5. Give your pastor time to grow.
6. Your pastor probably views you differently than you view him.
7. Pastors sometimes find it difficult to have friendships.
8. Your pastor may well be different out of the pulpit than when he’s in the pulpit and that doesn’t necessarily make him a hypocrite.
9. Your pastor has bills too.
10. Your pastor loves the work of the ministry.

Syntactical Diagram of 1 Peter 1:1-7

For those who have facility with Greek, Daniel Doleys has posted his syntactical diagram of 1 Peter 1:1-7.

O Pulpit Where Art Thou?

There is an interesting post by Erik asking and answering the question, "O Pulpit Where Art Thou?" See also Colin Adam's follow-up here.

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews that may be of interest from a Bible Exposition perspective include:

Roger David Aus
The Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus and the Death, Burial, and Translation of Moses in Judaic Tradition
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6771
Reviewed by James Crossley

Mark G. Brett
Decolonizing God: The Bible in the Tides of Empire
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6923
Reviewed by Roland Boer

Régis Burnet
L'évangile de la trahison: Une biographie de Judas
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6867
Reviewed by Stephan Witetschek

Chaim Cohen, Victor Hurowitz, Avi Hurvitz, Yochanan Muffs, Baruch Schwartz, and Jeffrey Tigay, eds.
Birkat Shalom: Studies in the Bible, Ancient Near Eastern Literature, and Postbiblical Judaism Presented to Shalom M. Paul on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6944
Reviewed by Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

Daniel K. Darko
No Longer Living as the Gentiles: Differentiation and Shared Ethical Values In Ephesians 4.17-6.9
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6667
Reviewed by William R. G. Loader

J. Harold Ellens, ed.
Miracles: God, Science, and Psychology in the Paranormal: Volume 1: Religious and Spiritual Events
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6859
Reviewed by Susanne Heine

Gene L. Green
Jude and 2 Peter
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6969
Reviewed by Peter H. Davids

Michael P. Knowles
We Preach Not Ourselves: Paul on Proclamation
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6588
Reviewed by H. H. Drake Williams III

Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns, eds.
Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry and Writings http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6690
Reviewed by Francis Dalrymple-Hamilton

Jerome H. Neyrey and Eric C. Stewart, eds.
The Social World of the New Testament: Insights and Models
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6883
Reviewed by Heather McKay

Leo G. Perdue
The Sword and the Stylus: An Introduction to Wisdom in the Age of Empires
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6647
Reviewed by Benjamin G. Wright III

Stanley E. Porter and Christopher D. Stanley, eds.
As It Is Written: Studying Paul's Use of Scripture
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6726
Reviewed by Rodrigo J. Morales

Tom Thatcher and Stephen D. Moore, eds.
Anatomies of Narrative Criticism: The Past, Present, and Futures of the Fourth Gospel as Literature
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6908
Reviewed by Steven Hunt

Peter T. Vogt
Deuteronomic Theology and the Significance of Torah: A Reappraisal
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5484
Reviewed by Trent C. Butler