Pretty soon I will be putting most of my “research energy” into a book project on Paul’s faith (pistis) language. Surprisingly, there are few (are there any?) books in wide circulation singularly devoted to analyzing Paul’s faith language. I have done some of my ground-work for a dictionary article on “Faith” that I wrote for Logos Software’s Lexham Bible Dictionary (I think my essay is being “edited” right now, but will be available in the not-too-distant future). Well, I can be thankful... Read more

Perhaps one of the most exciting book releases of 2013 is volume 1 of Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: More Noncanonical Scriptures (ed. R. Bauckham, J.R. Davila, A. Panayotov). For those that already own or know about Charlesworth’s 2-volume Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, you might wonder: what is this? Here are ten things about this work you should know. (1) More texts. This is not an “update” of the Charlesworth volumes. By and large, these are texts that do not appear in the Charlesworth editions. It is meant... Read more

Baker Books has launched a new commentary series called “Teach the Text.” Nowadays, with the proliferation of commentary series, one may wonder what “yet another” series can offer. But, actually, their angle is useful. The focus, as you can imagine, is on how preachers and teachers can “Teach the Text.” So, everything is streamlined with a view towards helping text-teachers do their work competently. -Chapters are kept short (six pages) in order to make them manageable for preaching and teaching... Read more

Let me say, I got a lot of new books before the conference (Kanagaraj’s John commentary, Moo’s Galatians, The Apocalyptic Paul, the Unrelenting God FS for Gaventa, Gospel Writing, Paul an the Faithfulness of God, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels Reloaded…). But I am pleased with the small collection I picked up at SBL. Here are my book picks in no particular order. New Books When God Spoke Greek (T. Michael Law) – it came out in July and has... Read more

At first I just bought Wesley, but then I thought about my beloved Reformed friends Dave Briones, Mike Bird, and Dan Gurtner, and I relented and shelled out the extra cash for Calvin (who, you might notice, is considerably smaller and has no legs to stand on – thanks Abingdon for designing these men “true to life”). I have cider in my Aramaic-inscribed Zondervan mug (as far as you know), and I have tea in my Logos Bible Software “bullet-style”... Read more

In a wonderful exposition and summary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s and John Howard Yoder’s readings of the Sermon on the Mount, Stanley Hauerwas makes this statement in view of those who call these two “pacifists.” Bonhoeffer and Yoder were pacifists, but…this description is inadequate. ‘Pacifism’ suggests a position that can be abstracted from what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Bonhoeffer and Yoder understand nonresistance to be the refusal to respond to evil in kind, but to resist evil... Read more

This morning I was so delighted to see this book in my office mailbox. I am teaching exegesis of Galatians next semester and I can’t wait to dig into this commentary  – will it live up to Frank Thielman’s stunning endorsement – “Douglas Moo has written the single best commentary now available on Galatians”? Perhaps this will be said of “old-perspective-evangelical” commentaries. I am having my students read Richard Hays’ too-often neglected NIB commentary on Galatians (as well as Rosner’s... Read more

About a month ago, I started to see chatter on Facebook about John MacArthur’s new book Strange Fire which criticizes the charismatic Christian movement en toto. Even before the book was released, I began to see reviews (from those who obtained pre-published copies, I assume). What I read about MacArthur’s unrelenting condemnation of charismatics was disturbing to say the least. I went to seminary with plenty of charismatic friends, I teach many such students now, and I just spoke at an AG youth... Read more

Tonight I begin teaching an exegesis course on the Gospel of Matthew. Next week especially we will be getting serious about the Sermon on the Mount. I have spent several weeks reading and thinking about the SM. How deep and rich! But a complex arena of study, as the mountain (!) of literature on it suggests. Where to look for help!? Obviously you can turn to some of the great Bible dictionaries (including Dictionary of Jesus & the Gospels 2.0),... Read more

I had a dream one night that I had book contracts to  write both a systematic theology textbook and also a commentary on Romans (two of the most serious challenges a Christian scholar might face in his or her career). I turned and looked in the mirror and saw red hair – for I had become Michael F. Bird. No, not really. But I am delighted there are people in the world like Mike who feel comfortable in the Biblical Studies world... Read more