While there are many reasons why Evangelical Christians of all stripes might disagree with Mormon theology, perhaps the most important of these is Christology and the related matter of soteriology. I would encourage you to read carefully through the statement at the link below by a practicing Mormon scholar, presented at Harvard Divinity School a few years ago. Here is the link—http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/what-mormons-believe-about-jesus-christ (in order to actually find this page you will need to do a Google Search of ‘What Mormons... Read more

In the no brainer department, Centre College’s Arts at Norton Center staff chose Alison Krauss and Union Station to open their 2012-2013 concert seres. This is rather like bringing Mitt Romney to Salt Lake hoping for a good reception, or coals to Newcastle for that matter. They don’t call Kentucky the Bluegrass State just because of the grass. I’m just saying. And what a perfect choice it was for a wonderful evening of fun and music in Danville with our... Read more

The discussion of 1 Cor. 14.33b-36 is unfortunately all too brief. Bailey wants to translate the key verb as ‘chat’ the word simply means ‘speak’ (laleo ) and it is the same word used elsewhere in this same chapter. It is used in contrast with the word silence. The speech is further defined as questions, which are to be asked at home. Bailey thinks the nouns in question refer to husbands and wives, but it is possible they are used... Read more

The treatment of 1 Cor. 12 is somewhat more helpful. I like Bailey’s coining of the term ‘energizings’ for the translation of 12.6 (p. 326). Bailey is right that in 2.6-16 and here in 1 Cor. 12 we have implicit references to the Trinity— the Spirit gives the gifts, the Lord assigns the tasks, and the Father energizes the activity (p. 334). On p. 335 we have an odd discussion about the Holy Spirit. Bailey argues that while the term... Read more

At several junctures in the book, Bailey assumes that the temple of Aphrodite had numerous sacred prostitutes in Paul’s day (see e.g. p. 276). The problem is, this temple was apparently destroyed in the second century B.C. and all textual references to the hierodulae of that temple are referring to the situation prior to 146 B.C. There may have been such a temple in Paul’s day, but we would need some concrete evidence that it was a ‘business as usual’... Read more

The discussion of food offered to idols comprises one of the longer continuous discussions of Bailey (pp. 229-92), and it begins with his usual assertion that Paul starts out by citing a church tradition. This is not quite correct for it is not until 8.5-6 that we hear Paul recite the so-called Christian Shema where the term God is predicated of the Father and Lord of Jesus Christ, whereas in the OT Shema (Dt. 6.4) both the terms God and... Read more

Finally… you may be saying. A game show for Bible nerds. It’s an idea whose time has come, and tomorrow August 23rd it will debut on the Game Show Network (obviously a channel all thinking Christians will need to now request from their cable networks). And Jeff Foxworthy is the host! I can see the opening monologue now— ‘you might be a redneck Christian if…..’ Here’s a trailer to check out http://gsntv.com/shows/the-american-bible-challenge/ Read more

One of the implications of Bailey’s insisting on two audiences for this discourse is that he thinks that when Paul is referring to the mature, Paul is not talking about anyone in Corinth, but when he is talking about the immature he is. By the same token he thinks that the Corinthians have not received various spiritual gifts given by God to other Christians (p. 121). This, it has to be said, does not make sense of 1 Cor. 11-14... Read more

On pp. 79-80, Bailey addresses one of the more controversial phrases in all of 1 Corinthians— 1 Cor. 1.30. He translates it “Christ Jesus who became wisdom for us from God (that is, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption), therefore it is written…..” While it is certainly true that the Greek phrase te kai can mean ‘that is’, providing an explanation for what has come before, it is also used in other ways. The sentence actually predicates wisdom of one subject (Jesus),... Read more

One of the keys to understanding 1 Corinthians is recognizing the very nature of ancient texts like 1 Corinthians. They were written in scriptum continuum, a continuous flow of letters and lines. The problem with ring or chiastic structure is it needs to be seen to be recognized. But when you have scriptum continuum, even the person who is literate and has eyes to see would have a very difficult time finding chiasms that stretch over whole chapters and more.... Read more