Dec 17, 2011
Dec 16, 2011
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 34:2
The latest issue of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament is out. Here is a list of the articles and links to abstracts.
Zeal for Paul but Not According to Knowledge: Douglas Campbell’s War on ‘Justification Theory’
R. Barry Matlock
Review Article: The Deliverance of God
Grant Macaskill
An Attempt to be Understood: A Response to the Concerns of Matlock and Macaskill with The Deliverance of God
Douglas A. Campbell
pp. 162–208http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/34/2/162
Dec 15, 2011
Tips for Using Ancient Near Eastern Material
Charles Halton has some excellent advice here for properly using ancient near Eastern material, especially in academic studies.
Almsgiving as the Commandment in 1 Timothy 6:14
Nathan Eubank makes an interesting case for understanding the commandment in 1 Timothy 6:14 as related to almsgiving. You can read his argument here.
Preaching Proverbs
Dec 14, 2011
John Walvoord Online
Some readers might not be aware of the fact that there is a website devoted to John Walvoord, former professor, president (1952-1986), and chancellor at Dallas Theological Seminary. The website contains links to Dr. Walvoord's articles, audio, and books. Some complete commentaries and other books can be viewed in their entirety online. Here are links to two commentaries available for online viewing.
Dec 13, 2011
Dec 12, 2011
Forthcoming Biography of F. F. Bruce
Readers interested in a forthcoming biography of F. F. Bruce might also be interested in this brief interview of the book's author Tim Grass.
Review of What the Bible Means to Me
I begin by confessing that I almost opted not to participate in this blog tour of What the Bible Means to Me. The title suggested to me that the book might be advocating a hermeneutic that I am uncomfortable with, namely a reader-response kind of approach. But there is great clarification in the subtitle: Testimonies of How God’s Word Impacts Lives. Or in Hirschian terms, this book is really less about meaning and more about significance.
That being said, I was glad that that I did not follow my initial negative reflex. What the Bible Means to Me contains forty-four testimonies about the personal, powerful, and practical ways that the Bible has impacted lives of people all across the socio-economic spectrum. Contributors include a politician and preachers, authors and artists, a bus driver and barista, missionaries and a midwife, a translator and television producer, a chairman of the board and a chaplain, a principle and a professor, a nurse, a student, and others. Some of the names I recognized (e.g. J. I. Packer) but most I did not. Nonetheless, each person has their own story, and yet each story is connected to the others by a shared love and appreciation for the Scriptures.
As might be expected in a diverse work like this, some of the stories resonated with me more than others. But the cumulative effect was uplifting. As one who has committed his life to the proclamation of the Scriptures, my heart was encouraged by the fact that the Bible appears to play such a profound role in the lives of so great a cloud of witnesses.
Thanks to Christian Focus Publications for the review copy and inviting me to participate in this blog tour.
Dec 11, 2011
God in Esther
"There is one other character in the book of Esther who keeps an even lower profile than the eunuchs, but who is even more important for the happy resolution of both Esther’s story and our own. That character is God."
. . . .
"All of this is to say that God is very much a character in this book, though one who evidently prefers to remain anonymous. This should be of considerable comfort to those of us who are struggling to remain faithful in the midst of an unfaithful culture. Like the Jews, the women, and the eunuchs in the book of Esther, we must make difficult decisions about whether to adopt, reject, or adapt to our situation. Yet God is with us in the midst of that struggle. We may wish at times that God’s presence and power were a little more obvious. But as the incarnation itself illustrates, even God sometimes chooses to steer from the front.”
Carol Bechtel, Esther, Interpretation (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002), 13–14.
Dec 10, 2011
Dec 9, 2011
Dec 8, 2011
Exodus as History?
Many people that I talk to are surprised to learn that a number of Jews are skeptical about the historicity of the Exodus. Unfortunately this is a sad fact. But see this editorial by Barnett Kamen. Kamen, teaches at Barrack Hebrew Academy, summarizes the issue quite well in stating:
"When I teach biblical history to my students, I tell them that there are two issues that must be examined. First, did the event happen and were the characters real? And second, if they are, is the account of them historically accurate? Saying yes to both gives us an historical account. Saying yes to the first and no to the second gives us historical fiction, and saying no to the first gives us fiction. Minimalists, biblical scholars who deny the historicity of the biblical account, say we are dealing with fiction."
Dec 7, 2011
Hamilton on the Book of Exodus
In his brand new commentary, Victor Hamilton makes the following astute observation.
“Why the Lord brings his people out of Egypt is as important, if not more important, than how he delivers Israel from Egypt. If the book of Exodus is about the exodus event, then the book should be concluded by the end of chap. 14, or by 15:21 if one wants to include Miriam's and Moses’s lyrical response. But what is one to do with 15:22–40:38, all of which are postexodus events in the Exodus book?”
Victor P. Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2011), xxi.
Dec 6, 2011
Dec 5, 2011
Star Trek, Narratives, and Application
Trekkies out there might really appreciate this editorial in the Huffington Post: “Seven Lessons You Can Learn from Star Trek” by David Borgenicht. This post is interesting from a biblical studies and interpretation standpoint because it illustrates how we intuitively draw applications from narratives, even fictional ones. Having said that, properly applying narratives can be a bit tricky, but the issue is not whether we do it, but whether we do it well.
Biblical Preaching on Facebook
Readers of this blog know that I often link to Peter Mead's posts on preaching. Peter has now started a Facebook page for Biblical Preaching that some of you might be interested in. If so, go here.
Dec 4, 2011
The Better Way to Read the Bible
“There are differences of opinion among scholars about whether being aloof and detached is a better way to read ancient texts without bias, or whether being profoundly interested and passionate about getting at the truth about a text better propels one toward the goal of understanding the Bible. In my view, as long as you can take into account your own predilections, the latter orientation is more likely to produce an accurate result, not least because the person actually cares about the outcome and is willing to go the extra mile to get to the bottom of things. I like the dictum of Johannes Bengel that John Wesley was prone to cite: ‘Apply the whole of yourself to the text; apply the whole of the text to yourself.’ This latter phrase brings us to my next crucial point.”
How to Half Preach the Text
Peter Mead has four excellent posts entitled "10 Ways to Half Preach the Text" here, here, here and here.Make sure to read Peter's entire posts, but here are the ten.
1. Say just enough about the text to introduce what you want to say.
2. Preach from the details, but don’t figure out how they work together to give the main idea.
3. Preach a generic message or idea from what could be any text.
4. Use the content, but ignore the context.
5. Use the context, but ignore the content.
6. Impose a sermon structure instead of letting the text’s structure influence your message.
7. Preach a preferred cross-reference.
8. Preach a plethora of cross-references.
9. Explain it, but don’t apply it.
10. Commentary it, but don’t proclaim it.
Dec 3, 2011
The Challenge of Interpreting Ecclesiastes
I haven't had the chance to dip to deeply into Peter Enns' new commentary on Ecclesaistes, but he does sum up nicely some of the interpretive challenges that I have sensed in studying this book. Enns writes,
"There is . . . a vicious circle in interpreting Ecclesiastes. How one understands the overarching message of Ecclesiastes as a whole will affect how one handles the details of the book itself, yet the book's overall message cannot be determined apart from the book's details. Of course, on one level, this circle is operative with any biblical book, but the problems are augmented in the case of Ecclesiastes: it is not only the introductory questions that prove elusive, but the very details of the book, the data by which a plausible model of the whole must be constructed, likewise suffer from difficulties and ambiguities, and thus challenge any attempt to harness its overall message. It is a common experience when reading Ecclesiastes that, just when it seems the book's train of thought has been apprehended and some firm conclusion is forthcoming, a verse or two later the author says something that turns it all on its head. One begins to suspect that this is precisely what he has in mind . . . ."
Peter Enns, Ecclesiastes, Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011), 1.
Dec 2, 2011
Two Free Audio Downloads for December
Christianaudio.com is offering two free audio books in December through December 31.
The first free audio book is From Pearl Harbor to Calvary by Mitsuo Fuchida. According to the website,
"After World War II ended, Fuchida became an evangelist, Christian preacher and frequently traveled to the United States to minister to the Japanese expatriate community. He became a United States citizen in 1966. His autobiography was originally released in 1953, and this edition will be published to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 2011."
The second free audio book really needs no introduction. It is Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
Dec 1, 2011
The Reality Check of the Word
"In our world of virtual reality it is the Word of the Lord that brings realism. This is the 'reality check' that dispels illusions with the sunlight of truth. In our lives and in our ministries we must hear him, Jesus Christ, the living Word."
Nov 30, 2011
On Translating from Some Translators
Andy Naselli has some links here to a a symposium held at Liberty University involving Doug Moo, Wayne Grudem, and Ray Clendenen discussing the NIV, ESV, and the HCSB respectively.
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