We are continuing a short series on David Gowler’s The Parables After Jesus (Baker; PART 1) Here we will look briefly at chapters 3 and 4, respectively on the interpretation and use of the parables in the 16th-17th centuries, and on the 18th-19th centuries. Chapter 3: “The Afterlives of Jesus’ Parables in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries” Here Gowler examines ten case studies, we will just mention a few of these. The first is Martin Luther. Luther rejected allegorical interpretation, calling it... Read more

  About two years ago, Matt Bates was traveling in Oregon and we had a chance to meet up for the first time. He heard that I was working on a book on Paul’s faith language, and I knew he was writing his Salvation by Allegiance Alone (SBAA; Baker, 2017). It is nice now to see the end product, though sadly my own project is not going to see the bookshelf for a while longer since I am not quite... Read more

I love studying and teaching about Jesus’ parables in the Gospels – that is one of my favorite class sessions in the NT intro course I teach. I am also fascinated by the history of interpretation of the parables. So, I was overjoyed to see David B. Gowler’s new book The Parables after Jesus: Their Imaginative Receptions across Two Millennia (Baker, 2017). Because this book covers more than fifty case studies in reception – most of them deeply engaging and insightful... Read more

Congrats to Helen Bond on Jesus: A Very Brief History. SPCK contacted me a few months back to endorse the book. I was very happy to do it, but sad they used the blog title only (Crux Sola) and not my name! Still, Bond is an excellent Jesus scholar and gifted writer and teacher. SPCK should also be credited for a beautiful book and cover design. For less than $7 this is a steal!   Read more

I found a nice little interview with Richard Hays in Books & Culture (from Nov/Dec 2016) about his career and what motivated some of his writings. I love getting a bit of context about how he was trailblazing and what he set out to accomplish and why. Enjoy! Read more

I was doing a bit of research on 1-2 Thess and came across an essay by J.C. Hurd called “Thoughts Preliminary to Writing a Commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians” (in The Earlier Letters of Paul – and Other Studies [Peter Lang, 1998]). I did not recall a commentary by Hurd, so this was a bit intriguing. The essay itself is from 1977. In the essay he mentions his ongoing work on the Anchor Bible commentary on 1-2 Thess. But in a... Read more

Feminist biblical interpretation is not a brand new discipline or method, it has been around for several decades at least. But I am impressed with its growth in the last few years. In 2012 we saw the publication of the Handbook of Women Biblical Interpreters (Baker). Just the other day I received in my mailbox a book called Women in the Story of Jesus: The Gospels through the Eyes of Nineteenth-Century Female Biblical Interpreters (ed. M. Ann Taylor and H.E. Weird; Eerdmans, 2016). I... Read more

I would like to share with you my conversion experience – digital conversion that is! This year I have made a huge change to how I do research storage and writing. I am in the process of ending my use of Microsoft Word and fully adopting Google Docs. Secondly, I am transferring all of my storage from Dropbox to Google Drive. The storage issue really is for two reasons. First, George Fox has purchased for faculty endless storage in Google Drive,... Read more

I have long admired Michael Goheen’s work and my students have raved about his book A Light to the Nations (which I used as a textbook a handful of years ago). Recently I spent part of my spring break teaching at Goheen’s institute called The Missional Training Center. It is an impressive educational context that focuses on forming pastors and Christian leaders in a mentorship setting. I shared with his students some of my reflections on bringing the theology of the Gospel... Read more

I had the privilege and pleasure of preaching at West Hills Covenant Church on March 5, 2017. The sermon is now available on audio if you are interested. Read more