Many of you by now have heard the sad news that Prof. I. Howard Marshall has passed away (1934-2015). Several eulogies have appeared now online, and I would like to add my own appreciation. I did not know Prof. Marshall very well personally, but I have admired his work from afar for a long time. In fact, when I was originally thinking of doing a Ph.D., I had four professors in mind, though they had all retired (or stopped taking... Read more

Most scholars today would not really entertain the notion that Saul of Tarsus met the earthly Jesus before the Resurrection. But Stan Porter has a new  book coming out reconsidering this possibility. It looks like a good read, but unfortunately at Cambridge prices – ask your library to get it! Sidenote: I love these kinds of books and arguments, because they challenge assumptions that often carry on from one generation of scholarship to the next. Each generation has to re-grapple... Read more

On Nov 9, 2015, Archives Bookshop and Fuller Seminary hosted a celebratory evening with Dr. Marianne Meye Thompson honoring the publication of her new commentary, John: A Commentary (WJK, 2015). Today I saw that the audio has been posted for the talk by Dr. Thompson. I loved hearing about the history of this work, and her thoughts on the art and exegesis of commentary-writing, as well as select insights on what makes John tick. Just to give you a taste, she... Read more

I am now getting settled back into to “real life” after the SBL alternate reality, so I am ready to resume some blogging! Today’s book of interest is Christoph Heilig’s WUNT 2 volume Empire Criticism? As you might guess, and as my blog post title explains, the book engages with the “Paul and Empire” debate, especially the sparring between N.T. Wright and John M.G. Barclay. Heilig’s goals in this volume are somewhat modest -he desires a sharper method for detecting anti-imperial criticism... Read more

Happy December everyone – Logos is giving away (*FREE*) Stephen Fowl’s excellent NTL commentary on Ephesians. It is a nice treatment. Also, you can add on Luke Timothy Johnson’s Hebrews volume (same series) for just $1.99. This is a great deal and a great way to build your commentary library.   Read more

This SBL was a very special one for me – my co-editor (Kristian Bendoraitis) and I presented a surprise Festschrift to my doktorvater Dr. Stephen C. Barton (University of Durham). The FS offers essays jointly in honor of Dr. Barton and Dr. William R. Telford (also retired Durham faculty). On Saturday night, Kristian and I planned a dinner at SBL with Dr. Barton – it was Dr. Barton’s very first SBL! We were very grateful to be able to present the... Read more

If you missed the great SBL review session on John Barclay’s Paul and the Gift (or even if you were there), and if you haven’t read his new book, here is a nice, short summary of some key thoughts on grace in Paul’s thought.   Read more

At 10:30PM last night I arrived home from the annual AAR/SBL. When I think about SBL, these ten words come to mind -Engaging papers -latest books -good eats -Great friendships -SLEEP DEPRIVATION! I think I averaged about 3-4 hours of sleep a night! (Though, I very much enjoyed rooming with my George Fox colleague Paul Anderson – known worldwide for both his Johannine scholarship, and rocking a great mustache)   Here is my review of SBL 2015 IBR – I... Read more

In the next several months, I am going to roll out some series for Crux Sola that will help me blog a bit more intentionally and regularly. The first series (that will go on indefinitely) is the Friday Book Corner where I will do book notes, short book reviews, and longer multi-post reviews of major books. Today’s offerings are all related to Matthew or Mark. Ian Boxall, Discovering Matthew: Content, Interpretation, Reception (Eerdmans, 2015). The subtitle really says it all –... Read more

Just in time for my birthday (November 3), Logos is offering for free Ulrich Luz’s Matthew Commentary (Hermeneia).[The first volume is free, you can buy the second volume for $2] ENJOY! Read more