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C. Tilling, Paul’s Divine Christology, (Eerdmans, 2015, 336 pages). There are not many doctoral dissertations that move the needle dramatically in a new positive direction in the huge field of Pauline studies. But Chris Tilling’s Paul’s Divine Christology (which originally appeared in print in the WUNT series of J.C.B. Mohr in 2012) is the exception to all such evaluations of the work of budding NT scholars. While it is true that one of the main criteria for evaluating a doctoral... Read more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkIDPU3O3hk It is hard to believe that while every other Western industrial nation including the U.K., Australia, Germany, and New Zealand etc. has had a woman President or Prime Minster or Queen!! Not America. I like Sheryl Crow’s new song and its message as well. Men have managed to mess up and start every major war in human history. It’s time America gives a woman chance at least at Vice President. Read more

BEN: I especially enjoyed the last chapter of your book and simply Amen the call to irenic discussions even of things that deeply divide us as Evangelicals. There are some recent revelations about Whitefield that are disturbing about his refusal to free his slaves even on his deathbed, and indeed his whole approach to that matter in contrast to Wesley’s views on abolition. But Whitefield even disassociated himself from some of the strident Whitefieldian Welsh Methodists who spent too much... Read more

BEN: As a student of church history it seems clear to me that ‘denominationalism’ is a product of Protestantism, of the Reformation. Before then, the Catholics were sure they were the one true church, and then when the schism happened with the eastern orthodox, the latter said they were the one true church. Clearly enough, denominationalism is not in the Bible. So, I am wary about claims that this or that denomination is the one true church, since they are... Read more

BEN: One of the things I have learned over the years is that with most devout Christians their experience of the faith is more profound than their ability to articulate the faith cogently. For example, my Granny certainly believed in the Trinity, but with an eight grade education she could no more articulate this doctrine than she could explain the internal combustion engine, even though she drove a car to the piano store in Wilmington all the time. She trusted... Read more

BEN: Let’s talk about Ephes. 2.8-9 which you cite as a first-tier doctrine (p. 221). If one compares all the Pauline statements on salvation, it is certainly clear that he thinks that initial salvation (i.e. justification and the new birth) is indeed by faith alone. But Paul uses the salvation language to also refer to sanctification which involves our working out what God is working in us to will and to do, and then too there is glorification by which... Read more

BEN: One comment about p. 202—Actually, if you are dealing with the case of demonic possession, there is plenty of involuntary activity including speech and actions. So there are circumstances where the powers of darkness can make a person do things. But if you mean that for anyone who has Christ as Lord in his or her life, the Devil or demons cannot determine our behavior, then— o.k. They can pressure, persecute, manipulate, but not control our behavior. Comments? RHYNE:... Read more

BEN: I especially appreciated your chapter on epistemology, but one thing I noticed missing was the issue of basic intelligence. Not all human beings have the same wattage when it comes to brain power. This is just a fact. I’ve run into far too many smart alecks who are not that smart who are overcome with the exuberance of their own verbosity, and have a far too high opinion of their native intelligence. It’s a sad sight in the Evangelical... Read more

BEN: You, quite rightly, take a strong stance on Sola Scriptura in this book, but it becomes quite clear that Scripture doesn’t answer all our questions, especially when it comes to praxis. For example, the NT does not tell us directly whether it’s right to baptize infants and small children or not. One reason this is so is because Christianity, as a missionary movement begins with a posture that all need to embrace the Gospel, the Gospel is for Jews... Read more