There have of course been many books written on monotheism (see e.g the book by Rodney Stark show above). Monotheism itself is a modern post-Enlightenment term, but this doesn’t much matter. The idea and belief is clearly present throughout the Bible. At the level of thought, it was the most fundamental difference between pagans on the one hand, and Jews and Christians on the other in the first century world, and it is still the most fundamental difference between those... Read more

It was with great sadness, and dismay, that I read the recent article by Bishop Sano, a retired bishop of the UMC, which can be found here, at this site—- http://www.pnwumc.org/news/biblical-obedience/. I find it sad not only because Bishop Sano is in fact calling for the very opposite of ‘Biblical Obedience’. I find it sad because he mistakenly thinks that a matter of sexual ethics and sexual behavior is somehow a ‘justice’ issue, when it absolutely is not. The very... Read more

(The following I owe to Steve Walton of Cambridge, forwarded on to me by alert reader and my T.A. Jason Myers). ——- HOW TO GET A PHD – NO SWEAT! (for my research students and my friends doing PhDs and their supervisors) Picture a small clearing in the forest. The morning sun is clearing away the remaining traces of mist. Rabbit sits in deep concentration typing on his laptop. Into the clearing lopes a fox. “Morning Rabbit!” “Hiya Fox!” “What... Read more

[The following is a response to Adam Hamilton’s recent blog post and forthcoming book on the issue of how to approach Scripture, by my colleague and friend Bill Arnold. I am entirely in agreement with Bill on the flaws in Hamiliton’s approach and argument and am happy to post this response here, now. BW3] ——- Adam Hamilton’s Buckets Don’t Hold Water By guest blogger Bill T. Arnold Things just got even more interesting for United Methodists. A bishop in New... Read more

The discussion which begins on p. 634 on how exactly Paul reformed and reaffirmed Jewish monotheism is interesting in various ways. Tom begins by discussing texts such as the cause celebre Rom.8.18-30. His translation of key phrases is interesting (on which see his earlier Romans commentary). Instead of the word predestined, he prefers ‘marked out in advance to be shaped according to the model of the image of the Son’. He also prefers the translation ‘called according to his purpose’... Read more

http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperDownload.aspx?DOI=10.4236/ojg.2014.43007″. This article appeared in the March 2014 issue of Open Geology, and one of the authors (Rosenfeld) was one of the original Israeli Geological Survey persons who validated the authenticity of the inscription in the first place. Read more

Just as the belief that there is only one God was central to early Judaism, so for Paul the reformulation of what that belief meant is central to Pauline theology, and Wright is prepared to explain why. When the major symbolic praxis of the Jewish worldview (circumcision, food laws,sabbath-keeping) had been deemed ‘adiaphora’…then theology and particularly monotheism needed to take on far more of the load in sustaining the worldview in its radically new form.” (p. 625). The key to... Read more

The following is a blog post of Jonathan Watson of the Logos company, reprinted her with permission. C. K. Barrett: The Consummate Academic in the British Tradition When I began my journey into theological territory, one name kept popping up among friends and acquaintances who take the study of Scripture seriously. I asked questions about this person and his work, and eventually purchased several volumes of his writings, including his commentary on the book of Romans—a resource which has since... Read more

The second massive volume (910 pages of text and notes, never mind voluminous bibliography) focuses on Pauline theology proper, and Paul’s Aims and Intentions. Tom stakes out his turf in the Introduction. The way he will approach the task is based on the following basic assumptions (which proves that Wright completely rejects the form critical approach to the text): 1) he assumes the Pauline letter has an inner logic and a central concern, and 2) “I take it as axiomatic... Read more

The last chapter in volume one of Paul and the Faithfulness of God, reviews for us Tom’s answers on the who, what, when, where, why etc. questions (pp. 538-69). On the ‘who’ question it will be noted that Tom is perfectly comfortable in saying that Paul could call any and all Christians ‘the Jew’ as well as ‘the seed of Abraham’ and ‘Israel’. The middle of these three terms is clear enough, the other two controversial. Tom has to concede... Read more