BEN: Particularly fascinating is what you say about John 1.51 compared to the Jacob at Bethel story. You point out that Jesus is saying he is the staircase to heaven, the means into an intimate relationship with the Father. But he is also somehow like the pole with the snake that Moses lifted up. I would imagine that these two concepts were very difficult for Gentiles not educated in the OT to understand. Both images seem to convey Jesus is... Read more

BEN: Let’s talk about the temple and tabernacle and how both convey the notion that God is with his people, the former in a fixed place, the latter as God on the move with his people. What do these attempts to localize the presence of God, even when his people are on the move, really tell us about God? How much of this would you see as an example of divine condescension, by which I mean God presenting himself to... Read more

As many of you will know, Nashville is where rock n’ roll went to die… and many of the rockers are studio musicians there now. Well, a group of them who love the music of Toto got together and formed a band, and were going to tour just before the pandemic hit…. so here are some samples of their incredible performances both before and during social distancing, creating great quarantunes– yep I said it. Be prepared to be blown away!... Read more

BEN: One of the more rich concepts you deal with in this book is God’s immanence or personal presence with various individuals and groups of persons. This is something different from the more nebulous notion of God’s omnipresence, not least because it is linked specifically to God’s free choices— for example, he chooses to appear to that scoundrel Jacob who is on the run, at the bottom of a heavenly staircase. What does the loaded phrase ‘I will be with... Read more

BEN: Let’s talk about the much debated Hebrew word hesed. I remember having a chat with Walt Bruegemman at Baylor about this and he was insisting the term means a very specific kind of love— love and loyalty to one’s covenant partners. I was not persuaded the term had these kinds of specific limitations. Hesed is used in the OT to describe both Rahab’s kindness to the spies and Ruth’s relationship to someone she had no covenant relationship with. Furthermore,... Read more

BEN: Recently, an OT scholar, Michael Heiser, has suggested that the reason God relates to human beings as he does, and relentlessly pursues his plan of redemption is because God wants a human family to dwell with forever. Would you see this as compatible with some of the emphases in your study? If so how so? I can’t imagine God inherently needing a human family, since in a sense, the Trinity itself is a divine family of sorts involving love... Read more

BEN: One of the repeated themes that comes up in this book is God’s freedom, freedom to reveal himself when he wants, how he wants, where he wants, to whom he wants, and perhaps most importantly the necessity for God to do so if humans or a collective group of people are to have any sort of personal relationship with the Creator of all things. Explain if you will why this particular emphasis was so important for this project? RICHARD:... Read more

Good things sometimes do come in small packages, and this book is one of them. I may only be 128 pages long, but it is packed with close reasoning and reflections that we have come to expect of a scholar of Richard Bauckham’s caliber, and on top of all that, it is readable, accessible not just for scholars but also for pastors and educated lay persons. The book involves lectures Richard gave at Acadia in Nova Scotia, as well as... Read more

The Bosco Verticale / Vertical Forest high-rise complex in Milan, Italy. The plant life, which is said to equal 3 hectares of forests (20,000 sq m), not only moderates the temperature in summer and winter but also converts as much as 30 tonnes of CO2 each year. On top of that, it filters out dust particles, protects the residents from noise pollution and creates a microhabitat for insects and birds. Read more

John Chrysostom was without cavil the greatest exegete of his age, especially when it comes to the exegesis of Paul. While he certainly does not deny the deadly effects of original sin on the whole human race (being no Pelagian), he also is quite clear about the positive effects of God’s grace before during and after conversion. He does not however think, as do Calvinists of many ages, that God’s grace is irresistible, especially not when it comes to embracing... Read more