I am reading LTJ’s Among the Gentiles and right now learning more about Greco-Roman religion in the Roman Empire. This quote is poignant The realm of the gods did not simply mirror the world of humans. The membrane separating the human and the divine world was permeable, with traffic moving in both directions” (p. 36) Doesn’t he have a way with words? So great. This is better: Some thoughtful Gentiles tended to view the Olympians much as the British do the equally... Read more

The Journal of Theological Studies issue 62.2 (Oct 2011) is online now and the articles looks really interesting. Markus Bockmuehl offers a discussion of the early Christian perspective on Jesus’ ancestry in “The Son of David and His Mother” James Ware offers “Law, Christ, and Covenant: Paul’s Theology of the Law in Romans 3:19-20” Bradly Billings looks as the use of “domestic space” in “Early Urban Christianity” in Ephesus. There are a heap of book reviews, many of them look interesting. Read more

I am tinkering around with the idea of using Wright’s new Simply Jesus in my Scripture class in the Winter, but there is one problem – I don’t know anything about it since it has not been released yet (due late October)! I went ahead and ordered it on Amazon which offers almost 40% off. Anyway, I am waiting to officially decide on whether I will use it until I get a chance to read it. Does anyone know anything about... Read more

I just read a relatively thorough and fair review of my monograph (Worship That Makes Sense to Paul) on the blog RBECS. Thanks, Samuli! Read more

I just received the news that Michael J. Gorman has been appointed to the Raymond E. Brown chair in Biblical Studies and Theology at St. Mary’s Ecumenical Institute of Theology and Seminary (effective in July, 2012). He has served as Dean there since 1995, but his appointment to this chair will afford him new opportunities to focus on his research – something I know has been piling up for him and he is excited to devote more time to! Recently,... Read more

I am working on a writing project and I want your help trying to find theologians (including Biblical scholars) who wrote while they were in prison/jail. Obviously we have Bonhoeffer and I thought of Kasemann as well. Who else? Doesn’t need to be Germans! It could be anywhere, anytime, but if you can point me to both person and the text, that would help! NB: I am already aware that Paul wrote from prison! Read more

I teach an introductory course on the Bible and it is partly a sweeping survey and partly a hermeneutics course. Since we aim to spend as much time as we can “in the text,” the choice for a secondary-lit textbook is crucial because it must be essentially informative and also short. You want something accurate, engaging, but not time-consuming. I saw Russell Pregeant’s new Reading the Bible for All The Wrong Reasons and my interest was piqued (Fortress, 2011). The chapter... Read more

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I was pleased to discover yesterday that Richard Bauckham recently published Jesus: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford) just a couple of months ago. At 150 pages (very short!) and about $10, it seems worth checking into. Anyone out there already look at it? Thoughts? Read more

I am reading Michael Goheen’s latest A Light to the Nations (Baker) and loving it! When it comes to reading the big story of Genesis and the raising up of Israel, Goheen quotes this Rabbinic interpretation: I will make Adam first and if he goes astray I will send Abraham to sort it out” (Gen. Rab. 14:6).   Read more