After Paul Left Philippi

Paul's ministry in Philippi in Acts 16 is one of the highlights of his second missionary journey. Similarly, Paul's epistle to the Christians in Philippi is a favorite among Bible readers. But this biblical material might give the impression of a thriving and influential Christian community in Philippi. But extrabiblical evidence seems to challenge this impression. As Fatih Cimok notes,  

"Following the enthusiasm with which some Philippians embraced Paul's message one would expect Christianity to have flourished in the region in a short time. The scarcity of Christian tomb reliefs and their late date (post-Constantinian), in contrast to the popular continuity of pagan ones, the reliefs of various deities, especially the reliefs of Artemis/ Diana  and the elaborate shrines dedicated to the Roman god of nature  Sylvanus, on the rocks of the acropolis in the period following Paul's visit do not confirm this. Some scholars speculate that the absence of any reference to a bishop in Polycarp's letter written in the 150s to Philippi may also point in the same direction, the relatively late development of Christianity in the region. The fact that the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Acts of Andrew the Philippians are converted through a series of miracles may also point to a strong pagan trend, requiring miracles. The events in Acts, the city's location on the Via Egnatia would make Philippi a very important pilgrimage site only after the time of Constantine the Great."

Fatih Cimok, Journeys of Paul: From Tarsus to the Ends of the Earth (Istanbul: A Turizm Yayinlari, 2004), 134.

Crossway eBooks

Westminster Bookstore has partnered with Crossway to make eBooks available. For the next 48 hours they are offering 300 titles for only $1.99. You can see all titles here. Here is a list of some of the sale titles.

James Hamilton, God's Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology (ebook)

James Hoffmeier, ed., Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?: A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture (ebook)

R. Kent Hughes, John: That You May Believe (Preaching the Word) (ebook)

Bruce Ware, Man Christ Jesus: Theological Reflections on the Humanity of Christ (ebook)

Gordon Wenham, The Psalter Reclaimed: Praying and Praising with the Psalms (ebook)

N. T. Wright and Taking Out the Garbage

Randall Hardman has a nice post on N. T. Wright that includes a pretty funny fictional argument between N. T. and his wife over taking out the garbage. You can check it out here.

HT: Shaun Tabatt

Eisenbrauns' Sale on Jesus Studies

Eisenbrauns is offering a 60%-off, 10-day sale, on select Jesus studies. Among the volumes on sale are the first two volumes of John Meier's Marginal Jew series. You can check out the sale here.

“Altar to the Unknown Sermon Method”

See David Allen's post entitled “Altar to the Unknown Sermon Method” here. This post is a slightly revised version of Allen's introduction in Text-Driven Preaching: God’s Word at the Heart of Every Sermon. This is an excellent book. You can read an interview with Allen on the book here.

Bible Odyssey

I meant to mention this the other day, but the Society of Biblical Literature's initiative "Bible Odyssey" is up and running here. Looks interesting.

Six Counterproductive Bible Study Approaches

This infographic was produced by Crossway. See this post on their blog.

2014 Advanced Expository Preaching Workshop

This year's Advanced Expository Preaching Workshop is scheduled for Monday, October 6, 2014 in The Riley Center on the campus of Southwestern Seminary. The focus of this workshop will be the book of Jonah. Registration, including lunch, is only $25. For more information go here or call 1.877.474.4769. You can also email at RileyCenterCalendar@swbts.edu.