BibleX: 2011-10-09

Oct 15, 2011

David Allen on Preaching

See David Allen's three part series on preaching here.

Oct 14, 2011

Tradition and Mark 7:1-23

I enjoyed reading this application comment concerning Mark 7:1-23 by David Garland in his NIVAC commentary (p. 277).

"Jesus recognized that we need wineskins—forms and traditions—to hold the wine; otherwise, we will be standing in a puddle of juice. He warned only about wineskins that become old and brittle and no longer serve their intended purpose. Traditions become evil when they run counter to God's purposes expressed in the ethical commands of how to relate to others. Traditions become dangerous when persons are blind to how they undermine God’s commands. Traditions become corrupt when people become more devoted to upholding them than obeying God's direct commands."

Oct 13, 2011

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews can be accessed by clicking the links below.

Roger S. Bagnall
Early Christian Books in Egypt
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7755
Reviewed by Allen Kerkeslager

Katharine Dell, ed.
Ethical and Unethical in the Old Testament: God and Humans in Dialogue
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7839
Reviewed by Walter C. Kaiser Jr.

Mark Dubis
1 Peter: A Handbook on the Greek Text
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7936
Reviewed by John H. Elliott

Bo Isaksson, ed.
Circumstantial Qualifiers in Semitic: The Case of Arabic and Hebrew
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7599
Reviewed by John Kaltner

Robin A. Parry
Lamentations
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7768
Reviewed by Timothy J. Stone

Daniel Patte, ed.
The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7779
Reviewed by James D. G. Dunn

Stanley E. Porter, Jeffrey T. Reed, and Matthew Brook O'Donnell
Fundamentals of New Testament Greek (+ Workbook)
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7893
Reviewed by Panayotis Coutsoumpos
Reviewed by Laurence M. Vance

James P. Ware
Synopsis of the Pauline Letters in Greek and English
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7780
Reviewed by Akio Ito

Géza G. Xeravits and József Zsengellér, eds.
Studies in the Book of Wisdom
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7786
Reviewed by Erik Eynikel

Oct 12, 2011

The Importance of Studying Church History

Mark Rogers provides "Eight Reasons to Study Church History" here.

New as a Return to the Old

I found this comment by James Thompson interesting. To be honest, I have never thought about the new is actually a return to the old.

"Consistent with the view that the old is better, the NT provides examples of the appeal to the primordial as a norm for the community, arguing that the new is, in fact, a return to the beginning. In the Synoptic tradition, Jesus argues in a way that is the opposite of the argument in Hebrews. Placing the creation story alongside the divorce law of Deut 24:1–4, he argues that the primordial has precedence over the Torah (Mark 10:2–9). Similarly, he answers questions about the Sabbath by giving precedence to the creation story over the Sabbath law (cf. Mark 2:23–28). Paul also argues that "the new creation" (2 Cor 5: 17) has come, maintaining that this event is the restoration of the primordial. Only in the images of the new wine in old wineskins and the new cloth on the old garment does the Synoptic Jesus suggest that the new is better (Mark 2:19–22 par.)."

James W. Thompson, "The New is Better: A Neglected Aspect of the Hermeneutics of Hebrews," Catholic Bible Quarterly 72 (2011), 549.

Oct 11, 2011

Upcoming Expository Preaching Conference

The Criswell College of Dallas, Texas will be hosting an expository preaching conference on Thursday, November 3, 2011.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Jim Shaddix. Dr. Shaddix is pastor of Riverside Baptist Church in Denver, Colorado. He has taught preaching at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, authored The Passion-Driven Sermon and co-authored Power in the Pulpit with Dr. Jerry Vines.

The conference schedule is as follows

10:00 AM: Dr. Jim Shaddix
11:00 AM: “How I prepare a sermon” - Dr. Shaddix
12:00 PM: “Explaining and Interpreting the Text” - Dr. Leroy Metts
1:00 PM: “Illustrating the Text” - Dr. Barry Creamer
2:00 PM: “Applying the Text and Inviting Response” - Dr. Alan Streett

The Conference will be held in Horner Hall at Criswell College, 4010 Gaston Avenue, Dallas, Texas, 75246. The cost is $20 and includes chapel, session attendance, lunch and a conference workbook. Attendees must register by October 12 to reserve lunch, but registration will still be possible at the door on November 3. RSVP to Evie Cozart at ecozart@criswell.edu or 214-818-1353.

Oct 10, 2011

Advice for Pastors Who are Getting Married

Here is some good advice for pastors who are getting married. It is also good advice for pastors who are already married.

A Great Disconnect

I am always astonished to discover that there are some biblical academics who will admit that they have never actually read all of the Bible. Yet, it is often these very same academicians who harp on the absolute necessity of knowing the original languages. Don’t get me wrong. I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to learn Hebrew and Greek. But for me and my house, if I had to choose between knowing the biblical languages or reading the whole counsel of Scripture in translation, the latter would be my choice hands down. Similarly, I am perplexed that there are some within the academy who have failed to read the entirety of the Scriptures and yet trumpet the importance of primary sources when it comes to biblical studies. Do they not realize that the Scriptures are the ultimate primary source? Can one really rightly claim to be a biblical scholar who has read all of the Gilgamesh Epic, Philo, or the Apostolic Fathers and yet have pages in their Bibles which have never passed in front of their eyes? I am stunned by those who can claim to keep up with their disciplines (e.g., NT, OT, the Prophets, Paul, etc.) because they read the most influential journals and the seminal monographs and yet cannot recall the last time that they have read some of the books of Scripture.

Ad fontes—back to the Bible.