For some interesting reviews of recent Paul books, see below. Over at Reformation21, Simon Gathercle reviews N.T. Wright’s Paul and the Faithfulness of God. I enjoyed this book enormously. I won’t say that at times it didn’t feel like hard work, but I did enjoy it. At risk of sounding patronizing about a scholar far more eminent than myself, I think that it is Wright’s most compelling academic book. Not only does it give the clearest exposition yet of Wright’s take... Read more

In Pauline studies, apocalyptic vs. salvation-history is a big debate among scholars (we had a whole issue on JSPL dedicated to it). I have my own essay coming out on the topic one day … one day. But the day before SBL in San Diego, there is a mega session on the subject. Get to it if you can!!! Paul and the Apocalyptic Imagination (S21-201) 11/21/2014 (FRIDAY) 12:30 PM to 5:30 PM Room: 300 A (Level 3 (Aqua)) – Hilton Bayfront... Read more

I recently pondered this moral irony. In the ancient world, the Romans reviled Christians for rumors that they engaged in orgies and killed their young. In the modern world, western Secularists revile Christians for refusing to hold orgies and for refusing to kill their young. In every age, Christians have been denounced as an “immoral minority,” we should get used to it!   Read more

From koinonia, here is my promo video of an international view of inerrancy. I should mention that over at the TGC, Andrew Wilson also has a piece on Why I Don’t Hate the Word ‘Inerrancy’ from a UK perspective. He argues that it is hard to contend for an errant Bible based on the teachings of an inerrant Jesus, but he writes as well: My limited experience in transatlantic dialogue suggests that the word “inerrancy” is divisive in America, up... Read more

Last semester Brian Rosner preached three sermons in chapel on 1 Corinthians 7 about sex, marriage, and singleness. They are probably the best sermons I’ve heard on these passages and they are definitely worth checking out. You can listen to them here. Read more

Addison Hodges Hart Strangers and Pilgrims Once More: Being Disciples of Jesus in a Post-Christendom World Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2013. Available at Amazon.com Pilgrims, but what do we leave behind? A review of Strangers and Pilgrims Once More, Addison Hodges Hart, Eerdmans, by Kara Martin Addison Hodges Hart is an American living in Norway, and he uses his own experience of feeling like a stranger and pilgrim as a metaphor for what the church is becoming in this world. Christianity... Read more

Trinity Theological College in Perth is looking for an Academic Dean with administrative and lecturing responsibilities. See the college website here and job details here. Read more

The video below is a dramatic animation about the history of violence in Palestine by Nina Paley (see her description of the project). It is arguably a secular lament for the history of war in the region. The video is also an implicit critique of religion – or at least religion with nationalistic/territorialist tenets – and its role in fermenting war. In the final scene, the land belongs to death, and death is maybe even the “god” whom the soldiers... Read more

Candida Moss has a candid and critical review of the movie persecuted. Now I have to confess that I’m certainly one to whinge about secular elites regarding Christians with disdain (some Aussie secularists are pretty scary). However, Christians tend to be mocked in the media and marginalized by policy makers rather than persecuted in any significant sense in the west. So over-playing your hand on the issue of persecution especially in light of world events is not altogether helpful. Thus,... Read more

Thought for the day on the nature of gospel hope: Hope is not optimism, rather, hope is the audacity of faith under adversity. Hope is the cheering in triumph for what others deem a lost cause. Hope expiates the misery of life. Hope is currency in the land of melancholy. Hope is the dancing when the music has long ceased. Hope is bread for the soul that is starved. Hope is the voice that whispers to us that “all things... Read more