Let’s be honest, N.T. Wright’s name sells books.  I confess that I am a fan – in fact, my choice to study in Durham (UK) was influenced in part by the mere presence of N.T. Wright, James D.G. Dunn, C.K. Barrett, and Charles Cranfield (though the latter two are quite elderly now; both in their 90’s). Anyway, I was excited to see a new book called The Spirit in Worship–Worship in the Spirit edited by T. Berger and B.D. Spinks... Read more

The SBL Call for Papers is now officially open.  I have a few things that never made it through last year that I will give another shot.  I am also cooking up some new things that I hope will get aired at the regional SBL here in Ohio in 2010 and then on to the big show.  I have never presented two papers at SBL.  Not that it is necessarily indicative of some sort of high quality of scholarship, nevertheless,... Read more

I am reviewing Douglas Cambell’s tome The Deliverance of God (Eerdmans, 2009) for a review journal.  I have just begun reading this massive work and I am about 200 pages into it – a mere 20%! I will confess that I did not spend much time in his precursor text – The Quest for Paul’s Gospel (2005).  Nevertheless, from bits and pieces I had picked up before of Quest and other essays of his, I liked his take on Paul.... Read more

The winner of the Pistis Christou book giveaway contest is: James Gregory.  I will get the book out to you in the next few days, James!  Congrats! While many of the entries were helpful and interesting, I could only pick one winner.  Nevertheless, I have been told that, if you want a good price on the book, check out Eisenbrauns who is offering it for a mere $13.37 – the best price I have found on the web (better than... Read more

I have engaged in this question before, but now I am technically working out the legal implications of this with my thesis and my monograph publisher (Walter de Gruyter).  Is it a problem to publish parts of your thesis as journal articles, and then to try and get it published as a monograph? I cannot speak for all people and all publishers, but I have not found there to be any real drawbacks to NOT trying to get things published,... Read more

There is still one day left to enter the book giveaway contest to receive (free!) Hendrickson Publisher’s The Faith of Jesus Christ (eds. M. Bird and P. Sprinkle).  There have already been a handful of entries and I look forward to reading and interacting with them. On a personal note, I have enjoyed the debate in part because some of the major voices in the debate (N T Wright, James Dunn, Francis Watson) are Durhamites.  Also, I currently teach beginning... Read more

I find myself, accidentally, in possession of two copies of Michael F. Bird’s and Preston Sprinkle’s (eds.) very excellent The Faith of Jesus Christ: Exegetical, Biblical, and Theological Studies (Hendrickson, 2010).  I think this is a fantastic book as it covers a very significant topic, namely the pistis christou debate, and they have assembled the best NT scholars to contribute. So – I would like to share the wealth by giving away one of my copies.  However, there is a... Read more

One of the greatest losses to biblical scholarship is the death of Martin Hengel in July of this year.  A nice reminder of his academic excellence is the forthcoming book by Hengel that will be published in April/May of 2010: Saint Peter: The Underestimated Apostle (Eerdmans; trans. T.H. Trapp).  It will be rather short (less than 200 pages), but I am sure it will be an excellent, historically-detailed contribution that will be taken seriously. Read more

I was just told that the Jan 2010 issue of NTS has been posted online.  Please note the appearance of an article by Durham University student John K. Goodrich – on an important topic for studying the background of the Corinthian epistles.  Also, I have told, the first-of-year articles are free to view and download. Umkehr und Ausgleich bei Lukas: Die Gleichnisse vom verlorenen Sohn (Lk 15.11–32) und vom reichen Mann und armen Lazarus (Lk 16.19–31) als Schwestergeschichten Hanna Roose... Read more

Last year I was introduced to the wonderful book The Joy of Teaching (Peter Filene) through the recommendation of fellow blogger Pat McCullough.  It is short, often cleverly anecdotal, and full of practical advice for novices in the higher academic teaching world. Filene starts in the right place by setting out key qualities of a good higher-ed teacher -enthusiasm for the subject matter -clarity of presentation of ideas -organization skills for facilitating such clarity -stimulating the students to take a... Read more