On p. 957, Tom says this: “the declaration ‘dikaios’ ‘in the right’ is therefore bestowed on those who are both ‘in the Messiah’ and indwelt by the Messiah’s spirit, by the Messiah himself.” Here, this seems to suggest regeneration precedes the declaration. There are two problems with this analysis: 1) it contradicts what Paul specifically says in 1 Cor. 12— there he says ‘by one Spirit we have all been baptized into the one body, and given the one Spirit… Read more

Between pp. 944 and 966 we get as clear a short exposition of Tom’s views on ‘justification’ as one is likely to find, certainly more focused and succinct than in his book on Justification, and it merits a couple of blog posts of discussion. He will make seven points about his ‘seventh’ point in the sequence of Pauline thought that leads to Paul’s treatment of justification. Firstly, it is Tom’s view that present justification is a declarative thing, God declaring… Read more

Here is an excellent post by my friend Timothy George on my favorite metaphysical poet, John Donne (proving that Stanley Fish has no clue what he is talking about when it comes to Donne or his poetry). See what you think. John Donne in Lent April 7, 2014 by Timothy George http://images.firstthings.com/uploads/article_533f0cfa4060e.jpg John Donne, it is clear, is not everyone’s cup of tea. In a notable essay in 1990, Stanley Fish wrote this: “Donne is sick and his poetry is… Read more

Here are three good posts by my friend and colleague Larry Hurtado on all the hoopla about the Jesus’ wife fragments… see what you think… BW3 ——- Breaking News: Published Reports on “Jesus’ Wife” Fragment by larryhurtado I’ve just learned that the long-awaited reports on further analysis and scientific testing of the sensationalized “Jesus’ Wife” fragment (Coptic) have been published in the latest issue of Harvard Theological Review. The link is here, which will take you to the Harvard Divinity… Read more

Here is a fine post by my friend Philip Jenkins on the original ending of Mark’s Gospel. I mostly agree with him, though I think in fact we can find the original ending of Mark in Mt. 28.9-10, and then the report of the appearance in Galilee at the end of Mt. 28. We don’t need to go as far afield as the Gospel of Peter, a later 2nd century document, to figure this out…. (see my Mark commentary). But… Read more

It seems that the movie makers have decided, perhaps in view of climate change, that we need to back summer up to April. And so it is that now the summer movies already start showing up in late April. The first real blockbuster however is Spiderman 2, which I saw in 3D on the first day it opened. In this case, it was worth the extra cash to be able to soar through NYC with good ole Spidie. Of all… Read more

Here is a recent post by colleague Jerry Pattengale….. How the ‘Jesus’ Wife’ Hoax Fell Apart By Jerry Pattengale May 1, 2014 7:17 p.m. ET In September 2012, Harvard Divinity School professor Karen King announced the discovery of a Coptic (ancient Egyptian) gospel text on a papyrus fragment that contained the phrase “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife . . .’ ” The world took notice. The possibility that Jesus was married would prompt a radical reconsideration of the New… Read more