"The Rise and Fall of the Bible"

  

See this article in Salon magazine about how "American Christians buy millions of Bibles they seldom read and don't understand." You don't have to agree with all the conclusions in the article to know that this is a real problem.

 

Nijay Gupta's Interview with Brenda Colijn

   
See Nijay Gupta's interview with Brenda Colijn concerning her book Images of Salvation in the New Testament (IVP, 2010).
  

Nine Aberrant Forms of Christian Leadership

  
See Michael Jensen's post 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:

Johanna Brankaer
Coptic: A Learning Grammar (Sahidic)
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7598
Reviewed by Hans Förster

Kevin R. Brine, Elena Ciletti, and Henrike Lähnemann, eds.
The Sword of Judith: Judith Studies across the Disciplines
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7772
Reviewed by Lawrence M. Wills

Everett Ferguson
Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7108
Reviewed by Hennie Stander

G. Walter Hansen
The Letter to the Philippians
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7397
Reviewed by Angela Standhartinger

Bengt Holmberg, ed.
Exploring Early Christian Identity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7771
Reviewed by Cornelis Bennema

Heidi J. Hornik and Mikeal C. Parsons
Illuminating Luke: Volume 3: The Passion and Resurrection Narratives in Italian Renaissance and Baroque Painting
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7476
Reviewed by John F. A. Sawyer

Leroy A. Huizinga
The New Isaac: Tradition and Intertextuality in the Gospel of Matthew
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7389
Reviewed by Russell C. D. Arnold

Luke Timothy Johnson
The Writings of the New Testament: An Interpretation
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7524
Reviewed by Ken Olson

Matthijs J. de Jong
Isaiah among the Ancient Near Eastern Prophets: A Comparative Study of the Earliest Stages of the Isaiah Tradition and the Neo-Assyrian Prophecies
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7646
Reviewed by Hallvard Hagelia

R. Steven Notley, Marc Turnage, and Brian Becker, eds.
Jesus' Last Week: Jerusalem Studies in the Synoptic Gospels-Volume One
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7424
Reviewed by Daniel M. Gurtner

Why Study Biblical Languages?

  
Nicholas Frankovish has an article in First Things entitled, "Why Study Biblical Languages?" In the article Frankovich argues for the importance for studying biblical languages. He is preaching to the choir here. Unfortunately and ironically, the author's example from John 21 is probably an instance of misunderstanding the Greek.
 

Varner on Genesis 6:1-3

  
See William Varner's post on Genesis 6:1-3.
 

Blomberg on the Implications of Textual Criticism on Pastoral Ministry

"The average reader of Scripture is not at any great peril if he or she does not understand the text-critical  process; however, the pastor or teacher who wants to instruct with the greatest amount of accuracy and precision but who bypasses this step in exegesis risks relying on an inferior text at some point without even knowing it. Ignorance of textual criticism will become a more serious obstacle for pastors or teachers when they are unable to answer parishioners' questions about how the text has come to us in the forms in which we have it, or about why different modern-language translations opt for different textual variants. They will be unable to respond to the charges of the ‘far right’ that contemporary translations have corrupted the supposedly pure, inerrant King James Version, and of the ‘far left’ that careless copying or theologically motivated distortions prove so pervasive that we cannot be confident that anything remaining resembles the original documents."

Craig L. Blomberg with Jennifer Foutz Markley, A Handbook of New Testament Exegesis (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2010), 26.
 

Commentaries on James

  
See Shane Lems' nice annotated discussion of commentaries that he found helpful as he preached and taught through James. 
  

Videos on Greek Accents on Youtube

   
I know that this has been noted here and there, but just in case you missed it John Schwandt of the Institute of Biblical Greek has three videos on Youtube explaining Greek accenting. You can view the first videos here. Double click the video and it will take you to the Youtube site where you can access all three videos.
  

Placher on Mark 1:1

  

"The implicit reference: Mark's first audience was familiar with a book that started with archē (beginning)—Genesis, the first chapter of the Torah, in its Greek translation. Starting another book that way suggests a comparison between this story of a recently crucified teacher and the story of God's creation of the whole universe, the beginning of God’s sacred Work. History, creation itself, is beginning again. Can what follows possibly be that important?

William C. Placher, Mark: Belief, a Theological Commentary on the Bible, ed. Amy Plantinga Pauw and William C. Placher (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2010),13.
  

Intertextuality and Stephen's Martyrdom

  
William Varner has a interesting post on intertextuality and Stephen's martyrdom in Acts 7 with intertextual discussions of Daniel 7 and Matthew 26. Read it here.
 

2011 Expository Preaching Workshop

Early registration for the 2011 Expository Preaching Workshop at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is going on now and runs through February 14. Early registration for the workshop is only $25 for students and $50 for non-students. After February 14, registration fees increase to $50 for students and $75 for non-students. 

The workshop will take place on February 28-March 1 at the Riley Center at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Scheduled speakers include Jerry Vines Stephen Rummage Adam Dooley Paige Patterson, David Allen, Calvin Pearson, Steven Smith Matthew McKellar.

See this link for further information. 
  

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:

Douglas S. Earl
Reading Joshua as Christian Scripture
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7589
Reviewed by Ernst Axel Knauf
 
S. Tamar Kamionkowski and Wonil Kim, eds.
Bodies, Embodiment, and Theology of the Hebrew Bible
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7620
Reviewed by Johan H. Coetzee
 
Daniel R. Langton
The Apostle Paul in the Jewish Imagination: A Study in Modern Jewish-Christian Relations
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7469
Reviewed by Judith M. Lieu
Reviewed by Adele Reinhartz
 
Philip B. Payne
Man and Woman, One in Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Paul's Letters
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7420
Reviewed by Teresa Okure
 
Richard I. Pervo
The Making of Paul: Constructions of the Apostle in Early Christianity
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7537
Reviewed by James W. Aageson
Reviewed by Carolyn Osiek
 
Colleen Shantz
Paul in Ecstasy: The Neurobiology of the Apostle's Life and Thought
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7217
Reviewed by Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte
 
Sarah Shectman
Women in the Pentateuch: A Feminist and Source-Critical Analysis
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7501
Reviewed by Suzanne Boorer
 
Patricia Elyse Terrell
Paul's Parallels: An Echoes Synopsis
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7439
Reviewed by James D. G. Dunn

    

The Gospel of Mark

"The Gospel according to Mark tells the story of Jesus of Nazareth, a first-century Jew— who he is, what it means that he is the Son of God, and what it means to follow him. It lays claim to be the most important of all stories. What military victory or intellectual breakthrough could be as important as the news that the Creator of the whole universe came to live among us? What guide to health or wealth or happiness could matter as much as the way to eternal salvation."

William C. Placher, Mark, Belief, a Theological Commentary on the Bible, ed. Amy Plantinga Pauw and William C. Placher (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2010), 1.

Free Audio Download of Adopted for Life

  
Christianaudio.com is offering a free audio download of Russell Moore's book Adopted for Life. For more details and instructions go here.
  

A Caution for Expository Preaching

  
Most readers of this blog know that I am a proponent of expository preaching, but I think that this word of caution is worth reading.
 

Fee on 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13

  

Recently while teaching through 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13, I read this insightful comment from Gordon D. Fee in his commentary The First and Second Letters to the Thessalonians (p. 208).

"The earliest notion in the New Testament regarding church leadership is tantalizing for its brevity, and can likewise be frustrating because it assumes so much about which later believers would like more information. But perhaps even that can be a means of instruction. Paul's way of speaking about them by way of participles, rather than nouns, puts all the emphasis on their activities, not positions. Thus we learn a bit about what they do, but almost nothing about who they are or the ‘positions’ they hold. This is especially trying for those who live in a culture that loves titles as a way of distinguishing people who are ‘important’! By turning such verbs into nouns one begins to focus more on position than person or function. Paul's concern is consistently on character and activity, not on ‘role.’ But since we can scarcely turn the clock back in the contemporary church, all of those who are in church leadership might use this passage as a valid ‘checklist’ for personal inventory with regard to how one cares for those one is given the privilege to lead."

   

Timothy George on Five Principles of Providence

  
See this post.
 

Exciting and Troubling Trends in Bible Software Development

  
See this recent article in the latest issue of Christian Computing Magazine on exciting and troubling trends in Bible software development.
  

New Bible Study Website

  
Readers might be interested in checking out Biblestudyforyou.com.
  
 

The Ten Most Influential Books for Reformed Evangelicals

  

Some might be interested in Kevin DeYoung's post on The Most Influential Books for Reformed Evangelicals.

  

Economic Challenges for Some Churches

  
See this Wallstreet Journal story on the challenges faced by some churches who are struggling to pay their mortgages.
 

Faulty GPS

  
"Faulty GPS leads elderly couple into a church." Surely there must be an illustration here.
 

Witherington on a Biblical Theology of Work

  
See this post with Ben Witherington on a biblical theology of work.
  

Jerusalem 101

  
I am not sure how long this website has been around, but there are a number of helpful diagrams and explanations related to Jerusalem here.