2014-02-13T10:42:09-08:00

Last updated on: February 13, 2014 at 10:42 am   By

Why did Paul have to be so insistent when teaching Gentiles that they had to maintain purity in marriage relationship? Wouldn’t it have been assumed that sleeping around was sinful and that singular commitment to one’s wife was a clear implication of the gospel? F.F. Bruce helps the modern reader put Paul’s context into perspective: “The general attitude is frequently illustrated by a quotation from Demosthenes’s oration Against Neaera: ‘We keep mistresses for pleasure, concubines for our day-to-day bodily needs,... Read more

2014-02-11T10:30:51-08:00

Last updated on: February 11, 2014 at 10:30 am   By

I am doing a series for Logos Academic Blog on 50 books in NT studies everyone should read – my latest post (part 3) is about NT backgrounds. Check it out. Read more

2014-02-09T08:57:45-08:00

Last updated on: February 9, 2014 at 8:57 am   By

The Feb 14 Currents in Biblical Research is now online. A few of these look very interesting, especially David Miller’s “Ethnicity, Religion and the Meaning of Ioudaios in Ancient ‘Judaism'” as well as Hughson Ong’s “Paul’s Personal Relation with Earliest Christianity: A Critical Survey” where he talks about Stephen and the Hellenists, Paul’s opponents, and Paul and James. Read more

2014-02-07T12:13:50-08:00

Last updated on: February 7, 2014 at 12:13 pm   By

I am currently reading Martin Luther’s Shorter or Small Catechism and we will be discussing it in class next week. I found it very interesting! At the end of the catechism, Luther offers a series of questions a Christian might ask – and then he answers them. The last question is this: What should you do if you are not aware of this need [of the Sacrament of the Altar = Bread and Wine] and have no hunger or thirst... Read more

2014-02-05T21:12:57-08:00

Last updated on: February 5, 2014 at 9:12 pm   By

Apparently I am a year late on this, but I just came across a Brill Festschrift honoring Martinus C. De Boer called Paul, John, and Apocalyptic Eschatology (Jan, 2013). The contributors are impressive, which is a testament to de Boer’s stature in the discipline. I don’t always agree with him, but I have deep sympathies with the “apocalyptic” approach to Paul (esp thanks to Barclay, Gaventa, Hays, and Beker) Table of Contents: Armand Puig i Tàrrech, The Use of the Story... Read more

2014-02-04T16:41:46-08:00

Last updated on: February 4, 2014 at 4:41 pm   By

On page 528 of Paul and the Faithfulness of God by N.T. Wright (of 1600 pages). At the same time I am reading Stephen Westerholm’s Justification Reconsidered (about 1/10th the size of PFG, but very well written and argued). Westerholm takes Sanders, Stendahl, Dunn, and Wright to task on their reading Galatians and justification/righteousness language. So far (not done with Westerholm), I think his concerns need to be heard and responded to, but I think Wright is least guilty of what Westerholm... Read more

2014-02-04T16:08:01-08:00

Last updated on: February 4, 2014 at 4:08 pm   By

Currently, I (Nijay) am doing series of blog posts on 50 NT books everyone should read. The first post was on Gospels/Jesus area. Today the post is on Paul. Check it out here. A nice added bonus, Logos is featuring a special sale on a great collection of Paul books – 50% off – use the code NGPAUL at checkout. See the bottom of my blog post at Logos for details. Read more

2014-02-02T15:45:02-08:00

Last updated on: February 2, 2014 at 3:45 pm   By

It was brought to my attention today that RBL published a review of my commentary on Colossians. The reviewer is Brian Small – Brian does a good job summarizing what I tried to do in my commentary. So if you might be interested in this commentary and my approach, this is a good starting point! Thanks for the review, Brian! I am sure someone out there right now is writing a more incendiary review, so it is at least nice... Read more

2014-01-28T14:00:31-08:00

Last updated on: January 28, 2014 at 2:00 pm   By

I am having a blast reading through Chrysostom’s homilies on 1 Thessalonians as I research for my commentary. He is very energetic and…well, “preachy.” I had to laugh out loud at his homiletic reflections on 1 Thess 4:3-6 where Paul tells the Thessalonians to control their passions. Chrysostom entertains the complaint of his own time, “I couldn’t help myself. I got needs.” I just love that his basic response is – quit your belly-aching! Ultimately, his advice is: “It all comes... Read more

2014-01-26T14:16:22-08:00

Last updated on: January 26, 2014 at 2:16 pm   By

Most Christians who affirm the ecumenical creeds make a clear distinction between the nature of Scripture and the nature of these theological statements. I would feel confident in saying almost no Protestant church or group would argue that the creeds are inspired (please comment if you know of Protestant groups that think differently). But I was taken back by this statement from none other than Martin Luther: I believe the words of the apostles’ creed to be the work of... Read more

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