I really enjoying reading the brief, but informative, articles in the Methodist periodical Catalyst. The March 2012 issue features a piece by Dale Allison on “The Study of the Historical Jesus and Human Memory” – a nice summary of where Allison stands on Jesus research. The April 2012 issue has a contribution by Roger Olsen on “An Arminian Account of Free Will.” As always, an excellent collection of essays! Read more

I just came across the advertisement for a FS for Jerome Murphy-O’Connor called Celebrating Paul (CBQMS; ed. P. Spitaler, 2011). After scouring the internet I finally found the table of content with the list of contributors and it is really impressive – a testament to the legacy of JMOC’s scholarship (esp on 1-2 Corinthians). I have set in bold the essays I am seriously interesting in reading. The significance of the Pauline writings / Joseph A. Fitzmeyer — Divisions are necessary (1... Read more

I just finished reading (nearly cover-to-cover) Todd D. Still’s (Truett Seminary) commentary on Philippians and Philemon (Smyth & Helwys, 2011). Because it aims at walking readers (especially students) through the text without getting into each and every exegetical question, I didn’t feel the need to write a full-blown “review.” Let me just say that after each chapter I read, my initial inclinations about Still’s advice were confirmed and the two words that repeatedly came to my mind were: “eminently sensible.”... Read more

Oxford University Press recently published The Jewish Annotated New Testament edited by A-J Levine (Vanderbilt) and Marc Zvi Brettler (Brandeis). As you might suspect, the purpose of this volume is the provide scholarship on the Jewish contexts in which the NT and the community of Jesus followers arose. The book is made up of two parts: the first part is the text of the New Testament (NRSV) with introductory and study notes by Jewish scholars. The second part of the book... Read more

I am working on a small bibliography project and I am curious: what is your favorite Romans commentary and why? After some comments have been made, I might venture some of my own thoughts on recent Romans commentaries, but mostly I am interested in your thoughts. Read more

Commentators on Philippians have long debated whether we should (and can) read Adam typology into the Christ Hymn of Philippians (2:5-11). Is Christ an anti-Adam in this story? Many scholars err on the side of caution – there is no clear verbal parallel between Phil 2 and Genesis 1-3. It would be typological and thematic, but it is not a perfect comparison/contrast because Adam was (only) human, Jesus was more than human. In that sense, we wouldn’t be looking at... Read more

In 1648, according to the diary of English Jesuit Thomas Gage, the women of Chiapas Real arranged for the murder of a certain bishop who forbade them to drink chocolate during mass. In an ironic twist, the pontiff was ultimately found murdered after someone had added poison to his daily cup of chocolate. Makes you pause before ever saying “Death by Chocolate…” Read more

JTS – April 2011. Some good articles on Qumran, and also the long ending of Mark. Some very interesting reviews as well. Read more

My time at Seattle Pacific University has come to an end. I will be teaching in the fall at Eastern University (PA) as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies (New Testament). The folks at Eastern have been exceptionally warm and welcoming throughout the hiring process. I very rarely refer to something as “providential,” but this seems to me to be that kind of thing! A special “thank you” goes out to Steve Boyer (Theology), Eric Flett (Theology), and Dr.... Read more

It has recently come to my attention that Craig Evans has published a substantial commentary on the Gospel of Matthew in the “New Cambridge Bible Commentary Series,” edited by Ben Witherington. There are only a handful of volumes on the NT available so far (e.g., Keener on 1-2 Corinthians, Witherington on Revelation). The commentary by Evans is 500+ pages and I expect it to be a substantial contribution to scholarship on Matthew. Evans is one of the best NT historians... Read more