Mar 12, 2011

Goodacre on the Pedagogical Advantages of the Q hypothesis

  
See this post by Mark Goodacre "On the Pedagogical Advantages of the Q hypothesis." What Goodacre says about Q could be said of a number of the so-called "assured results of critical scholarship." I lack the time to address this in greater detail now, but Goodacre has given us an interesting and provocative post.
 

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:


Natalie B. Dohrmann and David Stern, eds.
Jewish Biblical Interpretation and Cultural Exchange: Comparative Exegesis in Context
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7304
Reviewed by Jeffrey L. Morrow

John H. Elliott
The Elect and the Holy: An Exegetical Examination of 1 Peter 2:4-10 and the Phrase Basileion Hierateuma
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6811
Reviewed by Thomas J. Kraus

Frederick Mario Fales
Guerre et paix en Assyrie: Religion et impйrialisme
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7802
Reviewed by Gershon Galil

Terry Giles and William J. Doan
Twice Used Songs: Performance Criticism of the Songs of Ancient Israel
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6881
Reviewed by Amir Eitan

Stuart L. Love
Jesus and Marginal Women: The Gospel of Matthew in Social-Scientific Perspective
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7645
Reviewed by Warren Carter

Russell Pregeant
Encounter with the New Testament: An Interdisciplinary Approach
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7092
Reviewed by Sonya S. Cronin

Runar M. Thorsteinsson
Roman Christianity and Roman Stoicism: A Comparative Study of Ancient Morality
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7733
Reviewed by Jeffrey Murray
Reviewed by Stefan Nordgaard
 

Parallels Between Luke 23:1-25 and Acts 25–26



Introduction 
 
Luke 23:1
Acts 25:1

Hearing before Roman Procurator

Luke 23:2-5
Acts 25:2-12

 Introduction to Appearance Before Herodian Prince 

Luke 23:6-7
Acts 25:13-27

Hearing before Herodian Prince

Luke 23:8-11 (12)
Acts 27:1-23

Dialogue

Luke 23:13-23
Acts 26:24-29

Conclusion

Luke 23:24-25
Acts 26:30-32

Modified from Robert F. O’Toole, “Luke’s Notion of ‘Be Imitators of Me as I Am in Christ’ in Acts 25–26,” Biblical Theology Bulletin 8 (1978): 155-61.

Mar 11, 2011

New Blog by Carl Rasmussen

  
New blog by Carl Rasmussen, who among other things is the author of the recently revised Zondervan Atlas of the Bible. You can see Rasmussen's blog here and my review of his atlas here.

HT: Ferrell Jenkins
 

The Location of Luke 5:17-25

  
To be honest, I have never given much thought to the fact that Luke 5:17-25 occurred in a home. But I was looking through A Visual Guide to Gospel Events and read the following paragraph.

"With the miracle in Capernaum, Jesus revealed the far-reaching nature of his authority by healing the paralytic and declaring the forgiveness of sins. It is important to observe that the location for this event was not the Temple in Jerusalem or even a synagogue- both traditional Jewish strongholds of religious authority. Instead Jesus demonstrated that the authority of the Messiah to heal and to forgive sins extends into every public and private sphere on earth- even a private home. So it was that the Pharisees and the disabled man had come to this home, and so it was that Jesus used this home to make known his authority on earth."  

Jmaes C. Martin, John A. Beck, and David G. Hansen, A Visual Guide to Gospel Events (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2010), 53.
 

Mar 10, 2011

What Evangelical Leaders Believe about the End Times

   
See this poll on "What Evangelical Leaders Believe about the End Times."
   

Acts 16: A Tale of Two Women


Acts 16:11-15
Acts 16:16-24
Both women are in Philippi
Both women are linked in the narrative to a place of prayer
The woman is named (Lydia)
The woman is left unnamed
The woman is free (wealthy?)
The woman is a slave
The woman is a seller of purple
The woman is a diviner
The woman is a worshipper of God
The woman is a demon-possessed
The woman is clearly converted
The woman is possibly converted
The encounter with the woman leads to hospitality
The encounter with the woman leads to beating and imprisonment

Mar 9, 2011

Blomberg on Common Indicators of Interpretive Problems

  
Craig Blomberg has provided the following helpful list of common indicators of interpretive problems.

  • Nontrivial differences among the major translations of a given text
  • A passage of Scripture that seems to disagree with something the author has said
  • Apparent disagreement between the author and what other inspired authors of Scripture say about the same topic.
  • A single text that has spawned multiple, complex debates
  • A text whose meaning is hardly debated today but whose background indicates diverse history of interpretation
  • Places in the New Testament use a quotation from the Old testament in a way that does not seem consonant with the meaning of the verse in the original context
Craig L. Blomberg with Jennifer Foutz Markley, A Handbook of New Testament Exegesis (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2010), 170. 
  

Mar 8, 2011

Hebrews 12:3



In the midst of our own tribulation, it is natural to become fixated on our own circumstances. But in Hebrews 12:2, the Christian has been exhorted to look to Jesus. Having fixed one’s eyes on Jesus, the faith runner is to now consider how He endured hostility at the hands of sinners. This consideration is important so that the faith runner will not “grow weary and lose heart” as presumably, he experiences his own hostility at the hands of sinners. As Simon Kistemaker observes, “The writer reveals himself to be an excellent pastor. He knows the tendency to look at the Christian and not at the Christ. Introspection causes spiritual weariness and discouragement, but looking at Jesus renews the Christian’s strength and boosts his courage.”[1]

[1] Simon J. Kistemaker, Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984), 369–70.
 

Mar 7, 2011

Hebrews 12:2

  
In running the race of faith, rather than being distracted, the runner is to “look toward” (cf. Phil 2:23) Jesus who is positioned as it were at the finish line. The Jesus who stands at the finish line is both the “author” and “perfector” of our faith.” Jesus is the author of our faith in that He endured the humiliation of the Cross. The circumstantial clause translated “despising the shame” illustrates the revulsion that the Son of God had toward the humiliation of the Cross. As Philip Edgcumb Hughes remarks, “Others have suffered the pain of crucifixion, but he alone has endured the shame of human depravity in all its foulness and degradation.”[1] The reason that He is the perfector of our faith is that He “has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Note the close relationship between the suffering and exaltation of Christ (cf. 1:3; 8:1). Christ crucified is Christ glorified. Note also the order. Suffering comes before exaltation. What is true of the Lord is also true of His followers. Those who first suffer in Christ will be later glorified with Christ.



[1] Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), 525. 
  

Mar 6, 2011

Hebrews 12:1


In Hebrews 12:1, the author runs with a metaphor drawn from the athletic world, more specifically a footrace. Here spiritual perseverance is presented as a footrace. The exhortation found in the main clause is to “run with endurance the race that is set before us. Three points are worth noting at this point. First, like running, spiritual perseverance is an active exercise. Second, as in many footraces, spiritual perseverance requires endurance. Even the one who comes in last has done better that the one who does not finish. Third, as races are usually set on predetermined courses, so also our spiritual perseverance must be exercised in the course “set before us.” Our task is to run. It is God who determines the course. We may choose how we will run the race, but we usually cannot choose which race we will run. What we can do is be encouraged by the presence of a great throng of witnesses who have finished their races. This great throng, portrayed like spectators in the ancient amphitheaters, is most likely the faithful of Hebrews 11. Those who run the race of faith can also choose to remove those things which would hinder their ability to run the race, both encumbrances (probably representing distractions) and entangling sin.