I was pleased to see another volume in the New Covenant Commentary Series (Wipf & Stock) has been published; this time on 1 Timothy by Aida Spencer (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary). She knows her way around Paul’s letters quite well, and she happens to be a leading scholar on Paul and women, so this should be worth reading. I am currently writing the volume on 1-2 Thessalonians and I am proud to be in this series, one that has a strong focus on... Read more

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the relationship between canon and creed – not least because I am lecturing on the subject a week from today. I was delighted to come across this choice reflection from John Webster Confession is the act of astonished, fearful, and grateful acknowledgement that the gospel is the one word by which to live and die; in making its confession, the church lifts up its voice to do what it must do–speak with... Read more

Back in June, Dr. Richard B. Hays (Duke) gave a lecture at Trinity School for Ministry’s “Ancient Evangelical Future Conference.” His particular lecture was called “The Creed as Hermeneutical Lens for Reading Scripture – and Vice-Versa.” I was delighted to find that the video is available here. Be prepared for Hays voicing his disagreement with N.T. Wright over this kind of hermeneutical approach. I tend to side with Wright on the issue (watch the video to learn about what the issues... Read more

Still reading N.T Wright’s essay, “Justification: Yesterday, Today, and For Ever” (JETS, 2011). Wright is known for a functional anthropology whereby God wants to reclaim broken humanity as “kings and priests to God.” Basically, God wants to redeem humans so they can live and be and work in the ways God had always intended. He saved them to put them to proper use. Some of his disputants have remarked that this understanding of humanity comes across as unkind and unloving –... Read more

Currently I am reading through Pauline Perspectives – the newly released collection of NT Wright’s published essays on Paul over the past 25 years. I have made it to p. 426 of the book, “2010” in the chronology of his essay writing. This essay is called “Justification: Yesterday, Today, and For Ever” (JETS, published 2011, but lecture given at ETS in 2010). I was not in attendance of this event, so I am glad to be catching up on this essay.... Read more

We are continuing in our set of reviews of the book Four Views on the Historical Adam (Zondervan, 2013). Last time we reflected on the first view (no historical Adam), by Denis Lamoureux. Now, we move on to views #2 and #3 by John Walton and C. John Collins. I am grouping them together here because, in the end, their positions on Adam is quite similar, though they disagree on some key issues regarding how to interpret Genesis, understand the origins... Read more

Back in November I started my varia series on NT Wright’s new book Paul and the Faithfulness of God. This is not a systematic, organized review, but merely random comments as I journey through the 1600 pages of this tome. In the first post, I covered about 220 pages. Here, I make it to about p. 400. A word on the structure of the book: The first two parts of the book are focused on “Paul and His World” (first 350 pp.)... Read more

A while back I mentioned that Houston Baptist University is sponsoring a “Paul and Judaism” conference March 19-20 with impressive plenary speakers: N.T. Wright, Beverly Gaventa, and Ross Wagner. There is also a call for papers that is coming up on its deadline of Jan 15, 2014. I imagine that this will be a very exciting event with stimulating discussions and paper. If you are interesting in proposing a paper, check out the conference website where you will find the... Read more

One of my students brought to my attention this Washington Post article on “The Year’s Ten Most Intriguing Religion Books” (2013). Books by Reza Aslan and Gary Anderson made the list. The unique Coffee with Jesus collection. And Flannery O’Connor’s “A Prayer Journal” (newly discovered by a biographer). But also N.T. Wright’s titanic Paul and the Faithfulness of God – here is the description: In this magnum opus, one of the most prolific Christian theologians of our time lays out his case... Read more

My buddy Todd Still has co-authored an introduction to Paul along with Bruce Longenecker called Thinking through Paul. The book should appear before SBL 2014. I hope I don’t need to tell you that these are two of the best minds in Pauline studies. I am sure we will get a chance to review this in Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters. Here is the summary: The study of Paul and his letters can be exciting, challenging, and life-changing,... Read more