For a while now, we have been seeing some (very good) books by Tom Wright. In October (2011), “N.T. Wright” (the “academic?”) will be publishing his new book Simply Jesus: Who He Was, What He Did, Why It Matters (HarperOne). It is 256 pages. Even though he uses his scholar-name “N.T” here, it still seems to be a popular-level book, I presume based on the publisher, length, and the one endorsement (listed on Amazon) by Rowan Williams. Still, I am excited... Read more

This weekend, my family took a trip to Portland for a short holiday. We enjoyed the International Rose Test Garden, breakfast at the Cadillac Cafe, late lunch at P.F. Chang’s, and walking around a bit downtown. We spent a few hours exploring Powell’s “City of Books” – a massive bookstore with lots of good-priced used books. I picked up A Testament to Freedom (collection of works by Bonhoeffer) for a great price (about 1/2 price of retail). Its a pretty cool... Read more

The only basis of the disciples’ truthfulness is that Jesus, while we follow him, reveals our sinfulness to us on the cross. The cross as God’s truth over us is the only thing that makes us truthful. Whoever knows the cross no longer shies away from any other truth. — Discipleship Read more

When I was visiting family a couple of weeks ago, I had a chance to go to Grand Rapids and shop a bit at the Baker Book House bookstore. It is basically like any other Christian bookstore, but then you go to the back and there is this massive library of used books for sale, Baker books and all other publishers. I did not find much there of interest to me and found most used books overpriced (compared to Amazon... Read more

The new JSNT issue features articles from my friends from Durham (now both back in the US) Dave Briones and Ben Dunson. Boys – I am so proud of you! Also, some articles from Dale Allison and Andrew Das. Looks like an excellent issue! Dale C. Allison, Jr A Liturgical Tradition behind the Ending of James Journal for the Study of the New Testament September 2011 34: 3-18,doi:10.1177/0142064X11415317 Abstract Full Text (PDF) References Request Permissions Select this article Ben C. Dunson Faith in... Read more

I was as giddy as a little schoolboy to open my brand new version 9 edition of Bibleworks. Honesty, I was skeptical about upgrading because my primary interest is usually in new modules such as new texts (e.g., OT Pseudepigrapha or DSS). For this upgrade, there are no huge additions, but a lot of smaller changes and I will confess that I have already found them quite useful even after just a few hours of use. In a series of... Read more

I felt butterflies in my stomach as I happened accidentally upon what I think is the first published review of my monograph, Worship That Makes Sense to Paul (de Gruyter, 2010) by Jane Heath (Aberdeen) in Expository Times. Typically, ExT reviews are quite short, but Dr. Heath did invest quite  a bit of time and space in this review, and for that I am thankful. She offers praise and criticism, but overall I felt she found the work disappointing. I thought I... Read more

I was excited to see my blog passing the 300,000 hits mark just a day ago. Again, thank you to those that read and comment. I have been blogging since January 2007, I believe. It is has been a very good experience. I have made some mistakes – things I regret. I have stirred the pot sometimes. I have learned much from the online community of students and bloggers. I have made many friends. I have gotten a few freebies... Read more

Recently I ran into the launch issue of a new Christian social and eco-justice magazine called Reject Apathy, published by the same company that produces Relevant magazine. It is well written and designed and looks to be a welcome periodical. It is not sold, but comes free (6x a year) with the purchase of a subscription to Relevant. It is well worth checking out HERE. Read more

http://www.bookreviews.org/BookDetail.asp?TitleId=7691 Read more