BEN: I like the way in your discussion of Ephes. 5.21ff. you point out how Paul is busily renovating the traditional patriarchal orientation of the extended family in his day, not merely baptizing that structure and calling it good. The exposition of ‘submit to one another out of reverence for Christ’ is helpful, and it shows the direction Paul is pointing the family in. I have a doctoral student who has done a detailed study of Paul’s use of isotes... Read more

BEN: Gal. 5.6 is a remarkable claim— the only thing that counts is faith working through love. Why should we not see this as typical hyperbole by Paul in a letter full of hyperbole (like ‘you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me!!!’)???? PATRICK: Yes, it’s remarkable and I liked it so much that I made it the strapline of the book. The danger of making it hyperbole is that it becomes too easy to downplay... Read more

BEN: It seems to me that 1 Cor. 13 is perhaps the most abused text in the Bible when it comes to love. The passage is not about marriage or marital love, but rather about the manner in which all Christians should use their grace gifts. It does not say that love is a gift, rather elsewhere in Gal. 5 it is called part of the fruit of the internal working of the Spirit. It’s clearly not a discussion of... Read more

There have been a recent spate of English classic ‘period’ films, including a Bronte movie, and of course Downtown Abbey. This movie is yet another. It is beautifully filmed at Firle Place in Sussex among other locations. The film is about the trials and tribulations of women in Georgian England, both women of station and working class women as well. The costumes are gorgeous, the hairdos impressive, and the etiquette and customs, including dancing the gavotte fascinating to watch. So... Read more

The DVD is now out, not only with a detailed dramatic presentation of the book’s main theses, but also with an extensive Q+A between Mike Heiser and myself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoYzg–7bhQ Read more

Among the gifts the Waltons (as in Walmart) have given to their region of Arkansas, near Bentonville, is an art museum named Crystal Springs, for reasons which will soon become apparent. The building is quite modern, made of glass and concrete, and meant to be open to nature in various ways, having been set in the woods on Walton land, donated by several family members. One drives down into a ravine, and parks next to a silver tree.. and then... Read more

(please click on the image to see it upright) Randolph Rogers was a sculptor in the mid to late 19th century, and like many of his period he modeled ancient figures, including Biblical figures on the basis of having seen Greco-Roman statues. It is safe to say that the Biblical Ruth did not much look like this, nor for that matter would she have been half naked while gleaning in that ANE honor and shame culture. Nevertheless, the statue is... Read more

There is a flower mosaic next to the exit at Crystal Springs Museum, near a garden of actual flowers (in due season). The artistry is really quite equisite. Have a look…. Read more

Happy Easter everyone! Christos aneste!!! Read more

Most children, even today, are familiar with one or more of the famous tales by Robert Louis Stevenson, for instance Treasure Island, or Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde but what did the man look like?Here below from the Crystal Springs Museum collection is a painting done by the American artist John Singer Sargent. And it is indeed a good likeness, as you shall see. Stevenson’s reaction to the painting of himself and his wife Fanny in 1885 was as follows—... Read more