Now in the Zondervan warehouse and coming to a store new you! My Romans commentary and Tremper Longman on Genesis. HT: Katya Covrett for the photo. Read more

In this fourth installment of the series of posts engaging with Josh Jipp’s recent book Christ Is King: Paul’s Royal Ideology, we consider Josh’s fourth chapter “King and Kingdom: Sharing in the Rule of Christ the King” where he relates ancient kingship ideology to the perennially difficult and elusive topic of participation in Christ. In writing up this post, it became too long, so I’ve broken it up into two parts. The first is a summation of the argument of... Read more

I just heard the news of the passing of Helmut Koester (1926-2015). He was a towering figure in NT studies with volumes on the Jesus tradition, Gospels, trajectories in early Christianity, a very technical NT Intro, and the city of Ephesus. There is an obituary over at Harvard’s University Lutheran Church. I think Koester may have been the last of Rudolf Bultmann’s doctoral students (correct me if I’m wrong). HT: Jim West Photo: HDS Read more

Over at Syndicate Theology, there is a smack down taking place over John Millbank’s Beyond Secular Order with a critique by Eugene McCarraher and response by John Millbank. Wow, this is how academics do trash talk! I should add that Zondervan has just released a book on Church and Politics edited by Amy Black (Wheaton College). It includes: Anabaptist (Separationist)—Thomas Heilke Lutheran (Two Kingdom)—Robert Benne Catholic (In Tension)—J. Brian Benestad Reformed (Integrationist)—James K. A. Smith Black Church (Prophetic)—Bruce Fields Read more

David Seemuth of the Wisconsin Center for Christian Study has developed N.T. Wright Online where folks can, relatively inexpensively, do a number of on-line not-for-credit courses with N.T. Wright on topics like Galatians, Simply Good News, Worldviews and the Bible, and Philippians, with Romans and Paul and the Faithfulness of God set to come in the future. The courses are hosted by Udemy and so far have gotten very good enrollments. For readers of Euangelion, there is a special deal,... Read more

John Goldingay Do We Need the New Testament? Letting the Old Speak for Itself. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2015. Available at Amazon.com This book, mostly a collection of lectures by John Goldingay, allows Goldingay to play the part of provocateur by pushing back on doctrines of scripture that are too NT-centric and schemes of hermeneutics that overly christianize the OT. To begin with, Goldingay hates the descriptor “Old Testament” because “old” implies obsolescence and “old” is only used to describe the... Read more

As a lecturer in a theological college, I’m constantly worried about my students, and always wondering how I can provide meaningful pastoral care for them during their studies. I frequently have students coming to my office feeling anxious, afraid, angry, or aggrieved. In any given week, I will have a 19 year old young man come to my office, and pour out his heart or his beef with me. Usually on a number of repeated topics: The college’s draconian policy... Read more

I just spent the day enthralled in an excellent new book about Herod the Great. Its called The Many Faces of Herod the Great. Herod the Great mesmerizes me. I have a fascination with his life and career. I’m impressed with this political acumen and his architectural prowess. He’s know as the patron saint of archaeology in Israel because he singlehandedly changed the face of the land of Israel during his over 30-year reign (37 BCE-4 BCE). Adam Kolman Marshak... Read more

Josh responses to my engagement with his chapter three in Christ Is King: Paul’s Royal Ideology. – I’m glad to hear that reading the book is providing further confidence in your own approach to Pauline Christology! I’m looking forward to seeing the reception of chapter 3 given the dominance of understanding Paul’s Christ-hymns (esp. Col. 1) in light of Hellenistic Jewish speculation on Wisdom and Middle Platonic notions of the Logos. You jump in on the exchange between Crispin and... Read more

Crispin Fletcher-Louis was gracious to take up the conversation about Josh Jipp’s third chapter over at his Jesus Monotheism in response to my post. In particular he discusses my reference and interpretation of Psalms of Solomon 17:30-31. I was unaware of his discussion of this in his own work and his dependence on Bauckham. Crispin writes, If Joel is right about this passage, then, to my mind, the Psalms of Solomon would be an exception to the rule that divine glory... Read more