While all orthodox Christians believe in the trustworthiness and reliability of Scripture, there is much confusion and disagreement about what it means to call the Word of God “true.” Whether it is Ken Hamm on Genesis, science, and world-origins, or archaeologists on camel bones, everybody seems to want to prove or discredit the Bible on the subject of its historical accuracy. Situations at places like Bryan College are not helping (Google it if you don’t know about it). So, can... Read more

Sometimes I will hear a student say about a particular professor – “Wow, she is so smart.” It used to make me jealous because students never say that about me. It doesn’t really bother me anymore because I think that often what they mean is that the professor uses big words, is hard to understand, and tries to deconstruct everything in sight! (Not always, but often enough.) I try to communicate clearly and focus on a very good foundation in... Read more

I am doing a book-recommendations series for Logos Academic Blog, and I am up to part 4. Check it out by clicking here!  Read more

When I was in seminary and had the opportunity to do a bit of teaching, Dr. Stuart (OT prof) gave me this advice that has stuck with me: classroom preparation involves 10% work on producing a lecture and 90% readiness for answering questions. By that he meant that anyone can hit the library and develop a lecture with bulletin points and examples. The way you detect an expert from a novice is in the “thinking on your feet” moments. It... Read more

Edward Pillar has published a monograph with Fortress Press’s new “Emerging Scholars” series, and his work is entitled Resurrection as Anti-Imperial Gospel: 1 Thessalonians 9b-10 in Context. Here is the description (looks intriguing, but can he pull it off! We shall see!) Presuming that the heart of Paul’s gospel announcement was the news that God had raised Jesus from the dead (as indicated in 1 Thessalonians 1:9b-10), Pillar explores the evidence in Paul’s letter and in aspects of the Roman imperial culture... Read more

Last year (2013) I was honored to be a part of the inaugural online conference called “Ecclesia-and-Ethics.” I gave a paper and there was lots of great interaction afterwards. Now, in 2014, the conference is happening again – you can “attend” from the comfort of your couch, office, or bed! Great speakers and for registration you pay $10 towards one of the charities the conference supports (like World Vision) or towards a charity of your choosing. The dates in 2014... Read more

I am doing a kind of random series on Tom Wright’s “big book on Paul,” Paul and the Faithfulness of God. Now we are into some meatier sections of the book, so instead of “varia” I will focus on one important chapter: “The Plot, The Plan, and the Storied Worldview” (chapter seven). His argument and flow of thought in this chapter are, I think, quite clear. First, Paul seems to have had a worldview (since everybody does). Second, a worldview, so the... Read more

When I was at Durham I was in the disorienting position of having Tom Wright preach, lecture, and write about how Paul was threatening and challenging the authority of the emperor in my left ear, and John Barclay saying “Paul was not interested in Caesar at all; he is just a bit player on the stage of Paul’s battle against much larger and more important ‘archic’ powers,” in my right ear. I think Wright has admitted that earlier study of... Read more

As I was looking up some of Abraham Malherbe’s work, I stumbled across a nice little essay called “On the Writing of Commentaries.” Malherbe (who passed away a couple of years ago) was a seasoned commentator and biblical scholar, perhaps most well-known for his work on 1-2 Thessalonians and Paul in the Greco-Roman world. In his essay he talks about how different people do biblical research. Some, he notes, compile a bibliography and trudge through the secondary sources as of... Read more

Asbury Seminary has recently launched a new journal (free!): Check it out. This looks really interesting for those who appreciate the inductive Bible study approach (Traina-style), but I have one misgiving – the editorial board consists of eight males (i.e., no females), which is a bit surprising for Asbury. Still, a journal on which to keep an eye. Read more