Books on Sale: Baptism and the Book of Hosea

   

The Westminster Bookstore has two volumes in the clearance section which might be of some interest.

Baptism: Three Views (Paperback) by David F.Wright, Bruce A, Ware, Sinclair B. Ferguson, and Anthony N. S. Lane. The bookstore has the $16.00 book at 69% off or $4.97. Go here.

The Book of Hosea, New International Commentary on the Old Testament by Andrew J. Dearman.. The bookstore has the $45.00 book at 50% off or $22.50. Go here. 
  

A Review of Keep Your Greek

 

Many Bible students, particularly seminarians, have invested significant time, sweat, and tears in learning Greek vocabulary, paradigms, and grammatical rules. Learning a language is not like riding a bike—you can actually forget how to read through disuse. Furthermore, if we are not careful, we can lose most of what we invested in the hectic pace and busyness of ministry. I am convinced that losing a facility for the languages correlates directly to the preference for topical rather than expository preaching.

So it was with no small delight and anticipation that I dived into a copy of Constantine Campbell’s Keep Your Greek: Strategies for Busy People. I was not disappointed. In general, Constantine argues for a strategy which involves some memorization and and habitual reading of the text. Constantine’s strategy is simple but not easy, it will require diligence to practice the advice set forth in the book. That being said, the book is more encouragement than admonition. This is a better course to take since many language students already wrestle with a bit of self-loathing and guilt for not being more conscientious in keeping up their Greek. Another positive feature of the book is its brevity. Readers will not spend so much time in the book that they have no time for the Greek text. I also liked the fact that the book addresses the numerous resources available to today’s reader. Constantine acknowledges the value of these resources on the one hand, and yet cautions against an over-reliance on another. One final advantage is the price, at $9.99 the book is easily within reach of most readers.

Thanks to the folks at Zondervan for the review copy. 

Thinking through James

  
There have been multiplied opinions on the central them (if any) and structure (if any) of the book. See this post for Matthew Malcom's attempt. Like other attempts to tame the book, it probably is a stretch at certain at certain points. But check it our here.
  

Blomberg on Exegesis and Systematic Theology

   

Craig Blomberg has noted four ways that systematic theology can trump biblical exegesis rather than having exegesis as the basis for our systematic theology.

• If the immediate, literary context of the verses is not examined
• When textual and contextual features are ignored
• When interpreters fail to observe differences between one biblical writer's or corpus's use of key words or concepts and another's
• If parallel accounts of the same teaching or event are inappropriately harmonized so as to lose sight of the distinctive message of each

Craig L. Blomberg with Jennifer Foutz Markley, A Handbook of New Testament Exegesis (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2010), 321. 
 

Schreiner on Preaching the Law

"What role does the law have in preaching? We must consider where a command is in the story line of the Bible and in terms of the redemptive-historical scheme we see in Scripture. The moral norms of the Bible cannot be preached apart from canonical context and apart from the whole counsel of God. In addition, when we preach God's commands, we must always preach them in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. God saves us by mercy, and then he gives us commands by which we respond to his grace. It is incredibly easy to turn things around so that law precedes grace, and thereby the moral norms of the law become for us a ladder by which we try to be right with God or to impress him with our works. Obeying God is always a response to his grace; it is never a means bu which we become right with God."

Thomas R. Screiner. 40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2010), 229.

 

Circumcision and Acts 15

See this post by Philip Long on circumcision and Acts 15.
 

Hell in History

   
There has been a lot of discussion of Hell and eternal punishment lately. C. Michael Patton has a summary of Hell across the spectrum of history by providing various quotations. See here.
  

Interview With William Varner

   
See this nice interview with William Varner concerning his brand new commentary on James.
 

Jesus' Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-10)

  

I suggest that there are at least five ways that the Transfiguration was significant.

 

1. The Transfiguration unveiled for a moment the true glory and majesty of Jesus
2. The appearance of Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration ties the life ministry of Jesus to the Old Testament (the Law and the Prophets) and echoes the the manifestation of God at Mt. Sinai
3. The Transfiguration provides a context for the Father’s affirmation of the Son (v. 7; cf 1:11)
4. The Transfiguration is a call to obedience: "Listen to him" (v. 7b)
5. The Transfigurationties the life and ministry of Jesus to His passion (vv. 9-10)

Paul’s Speech in Athens (Acts 17:22-31)

   

Paul’s Athens speech has been widely studied and debated. Much of the debate has concerned whether it owes its origin to the Old Testament or to Greek philosophy. But it is possible that too much effort has been expended in trying to identify a clear-cut source to Paul’s thought since either source could be used to support Paul’s approach. The fact that the debate exists at all is probably a testimony to Paul’s ability to contextualize his message. In any case, the speech is rhetorically constructed [1] and literarily sophisticated. [2]

[1] Ben Witherington III, Acts, 518, suggests that, “The speech can be divided up as follows: (1) exordium, including captatio benevolentiae, vv. 22-23; (2) propositio, v. 23b; (3) probatio, vv. 24-29; (4) peroratio, vv. 30-31” (Ben Witherington, III, The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998], 518).

[2] “The speech is very carefully crafted with considerable alliteration, assonance, and paronomasia” (Witherington, Acts, 520). Krodel suggests that, “The whole speech is carefully balanced and its parts interrelated; e.g., ‘the times of ignorance’ (v. 30) relate to the introduction; ‘the man appointed judge’ (v. 31) is the counterpart to the ‘one’ (v. 26). There are two infinitives in the second as well as in the fourth part, and a total of three negative statements expressing divine objection in parts 1 and 3” (Gerhard A. Krodel, Acts, Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament [Minneapolis: Augsburg , 1986], 329). Talbert suggest that the structure is chiastic (Charles H. Talbert, Reading Acts: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles [New York: Crossroad, 1997], 162).
  

The Link Between Good Theology and Good Writing

   
See this thoughtful post on the link between good theology and good writing.
  

Soldiers in the Gospels

   
Gary Manning Jr. has an interesting post on soldiers in the Gospels here.
  

Varner on the Triads in Jude

    
Students of the Book of Jude have long recognized that one of the distinguishing features of the book is its the authors use of triads.William Varner has a nice list here. One might quibble here and there, but this list gives you a pretty good idea of the number and the discussions discusses the possible meaning of the triads. Read the post here.
  

Judges 17-21

I taught from Judges 18 not too long ago. This chapter falls into a section which is often called an appendix to the book. Whether it should be viewed as an appendix or not can be debated. In any case, I think five observations can be made concerning these chapters.

1. This section is illustrative and exemplifies the utter moral depravity and spiritual bankruptcy of Israel. The holy nation bears greater resemblance to the pagan Canaanites than a covenant people related to YHWH.

2. The key text in this section (and perhaps the book) is Judges 17:6: “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes” (cf. 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). 

3. There is a logical and causal connection between a lack of leadership and a lack of morality.

4. This section is dischronologized. The events in chps 17–21 apparently occur early in the Judges period (note the references to the grandsons of both Moses (18:30) and Aaron (20:28) and the reference to the ark located at Bethel (20:27–28).

5. While this section is clearly divided into two parts: (1) 17:1–18:31, (2) 19:1–21:25, there are common links between the two sections.

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.

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.
 

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

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. 
  

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.

 

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. 

  

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.