For a special colloquium at Seattle Pacific University, I was asked to speak for ten minutes about Rob Bell’s Love Wins. As I was writing my short spiel, I recognized that I was just scratching the surface. So, I decided to write something longer. Thus, I have posted on Scribd a 9-page review of Bell’s book, focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of the book. Click HERE. Read more

OK, its a cheesy title and leaves out Mike Bird’s partner in (online) crime Joel Willitts, but I wanted to inform any readers out there that their new blog address is: http://www.patheos.com/community/euangelion/. Patheos is apparently the place to be: Ben Witherington has moved: http://www.patheos.com/community/bibleandculture/ Scot McKnight: http://www.patheos.com/community/jesuscreed/ Patheos is becoming the hub for good (academic?) discussion within and between religious groups. HERE IS THE OFFICIAL PATHEOS SELF-DESCRIPTION: Founded in 2008, Patheos.com is the premier online destination to engage in the global dialogue about... Read more

I just returned (early) from the PNW SBL regional meeting held at Gonzaga in Spokane, WA. I only went for one day, but I had a delightful time catching up with old friends, making new ones, and meeting a few bloggers. PAPERS: I went to only two sessions, but heard some very interesting papers, including a portion of the winning paper by Matthew Rindge (Gonzaga) for the SBL Paul Achteimer award. I disagreed with him, but it was a very... Read more

Several years in the making, in 2010 Eerdmans published Fundamentals of New Testament Greek by Stanley Porter, Jeffrey Reed, and Matthew Brook O’Donnell. The best word to describe this textbook + workbook is “rigorous.” It is not a “primer” nor an “idoit’s guide.” It is an introduction to what you need to learn, at the first-year level, to study the Greek of the New Testament responsibly. It is a nice hardcover textbook of about 450 pages. It is broken down... Read more

Yesterday I received, from Baker, a copy of David R. Bauer and Robert A. Traina’s Inductive Bible Study: A Comprehensive Guide to the Practice of Hermeneutics (2011). This book, essentially, follows closely the highly-acclaimed and time-tested “Traina” approach in the book Methodical Bible Study which was first published in 1952. It had never seen a significant revision, and yet it trained up a whole generation of scholars. This new work, with Bauer (Asbury Seminary) as a co-author, is close to twice... Read more

I have now read Rob Bell’s Love Wins. And I have read John MacArthur’s literally damning review. I won’t take the time now to give you my full review of Love Wins -I will post something substantial in a few weeks. However, in light of MacArthur’s review, I felt the need to make a response to his response. MacArthur essentially condemns Bell for deviating from orthodox Christian doctrine as MacArthur himself sees and defines it. He also places him in the... Read more

I just received the May/June 2011 issue of Bible Study Magazine, a periodical published by Logos. The lead article in this issue involves an interview with N.T. Wright called “In Tune: Developing an Ear for the Word.” The Wright-disciple (like myself) will not find anything “new” in this article. And yet I really liked it, because he is talking to laypeople about how to read the Bible. There is good practical advice and also a good number of anecdotes and... Read more

The University of St. Andrews School of Divinity recently posted the exciting news that Scott Hafemann has been hired to teach New Testament. All I can say is that this will be great for Scott and great for St. Andrews. Imagine the conversations that will happen in their New Testament seminar. PhD-Student hopefuls: what are you waiting for? (Of course I think Durham is still the best place to study, but by sending our Bishop to St. Andrews, I am... Read more

N.T. Wright expresses what it means to having resurrection daylight for Christians who live out the “new day of God’s kingdom” in the midst of the night of the same old evil age: “[Paul] is like someone taking off just as dawn is breaking and flying rapidly westward, catching up with the end of the night and arriving in the new country in time to experience dawn all over again. His body and mind know it’s already daytime, while the... Read more

For John, true death and true life coincide on and in the cross, since for him incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection form a unity; genuine dying and real resurrection are the presupposition for genuine life and vice versa. “Cross and Resurrection” pg 149, in The Resurrection of Jesus in the Gospel of John (Mohr Siebeck) Read more