This is not a new resource, but I just discovered it this week – a great lecture by Gospels expert Donald Senior on the death of Jesus in Matthew. Enjoy! Read more

When I was a young believer, I had many questions about the Bible. I remember the deep appreciation I had for a book called Hard Sayings of the Bible. It offered complex, but well-researched explanations of the confusing and challenging texts in Scripture. It was refreshing to have a book that engaged with the messy things in the Bible. Fast forward to 2011, and David Lamb published a book with IVP called God Behaving Badly – a short text that delved into the... Read more

Over at Catalyst Resources, Dr. Joel Green (Fuller) offers his advice on best commentaries on Gospels and Acts. Matthew: RT France (NICNT), Nolland (NIGTC); Keener (Eerdmans) Mark: France (NIGTC), Strauss (ZECNT), Donahue/Harrington (SP) Luke: Carroll (NTL), Green (NICNT), Bovon (Hermeneia) John: Thompson (NTL, soon-coming!), Ramsey-Michaels (NICNT), Lincoln (BNTC), O’Day (NIB) Acts: Gaventa (Abingdon), Wall (NIB), Spencer (Journeying through Acts), Peterson (Pillar), Schnabel (ZECNT) Green is a recognized Gospels expert, so his recommendations are very worthwhile. I echo his choices, esp the works of RT... Read more

This semester I am teaching a seminary course on biblical hermeneutics. There are several case studies we will discuss, but none that is more controversial and sensitive than homosexuality and the church. The topic has especially heated up in evangelical circles in recent years due to leaders like Tony Campolo and scholars like David Gushee becoming public supporters of same-sex Christian marriages and full inclusion of homosexuals in the church. Perhaps some of you know that Fuller Seminary professor Daniel... Read more

SBL 2015 is coming up! Here are some sessions that caught my eye – esp excited about the review session for John Barclay’s Paul and the Gift. Saturday S21-118 Early Jewish Christian Relations; Paul Within Judaism Joint Session With: Early Jewish Christian Relations, Paul Within Judaism 11/21/2015 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM Room: Baker (Atlanta Conference Level) – Hyatt Theme: Review of Paul within Judaism: Restoring the First-Century Context to the Apostle, Fortress 2015, ed. by Mark Nanos and Magnus Zetterholm Pamela Eisenbaum, Iliff... Read more

Yes, I was shocked to see this, but huge sale on NT Wright books, including his new Paul and His Recent Interpreters. Check it out here. Read more

Looks to be a very interesting issue of CBR published this month (Oct, 2015). Especially interested in the articles by Samuel Emadi (intertexuality), Mark Boda (Hebrew poetry and ethics), Darian Lockett (Catholic Epistles), Steve Walton (Gospels genre), and Sara Ronis (Intermediary beings in Judaism)!  Samuel Emadi, “Intertextuality in New Testament Scholarship: Significance, Criteria, and the Art of Intertextual Reading” David G, Garber, Jr., “Trauma Theory and Biblical Studies” Mark J. Boda, “Poethics? The Use of Biblical Hebrew Poetry in Ethical Reflection... Read more

I had a conversation a few years back with a colleague who said that he has stopped using the language of “missional” because it is faddish. As for myself, I am seeing this language everywhere, but I still highly value what it is trying to represent at its best – a holistic vision of how the on-the-move triune God seeks to redeem all his creation and the church exists to carry out the divine redemptive mission. Dean Flemming has maintained... Read more

File this under “conferences that make me drool, but are just too far away for me to attend” – still, if you can free up your schedule and make it to St. Andrews, this looks pretty exciting! The organisers of the St Andrews Symposium for Biblical and Early Christian Studies are happy to announce the theme of the next installation of this series taking place at the University of St Andrews 6-8 June 2016 Son of God: Divine Sonship in... Read more

Of course this could be an exaggeration, but it does look like it is shaping up to be an epic Autumn/Winter 2015 for Pauline studies. I have probably mentioned all of these books before, but perhaps it is nice to see them all in one place at one time Paul and the Gift, John M.G. Barclay (Eerdmans, already released). This is a “tome” if ever the word was fitting, and the product of many years of the study of Paul and,... Read more