John Goldingay Psalms for Everyone, Part I: Psalms 1-72  London: SPCK, 2013 Available at Amazon.com By Jill Firth (Adjunct Lecturer in Old Testament at Ridley Melbourne) The book of Psalms includes ‘about 135 things you can say to God’ according to Goldingay, with four main ways of speaking to God. We can say, ‘You are great’ (Ps 8), ‘Help!’ (Ps 3), ‘I trust you’ (Ps 23), and ‘Thank you’ (Ps 30). The series claims it is suitable ‘for everyone’ and... Read more

Over at The Atlantic, Jonathan Rauch, has a piece on The Great Secession about the apparent exodus of religious conservatives from mainstream culture and even every day life. Its a good piece to read and gives good pause for thought in the culture wars going on the west between the gay and god-fearing. Rauch declares his main point: I am someone who believes that religious liberty is the country’s founding freedom, the idea that made America possible. I am also a homosexual... Read more

Tom Wright  Finding God in the Psalms: Sing, Pray, Live London: SPCK, 2014. Available at Amazon.com  By Jill Firth (Adjunct Lecturer in Old Testament at Ridley College) Reading Tom Wright’s new book on the Psalms is like taking a helicopter flight with David Attenborough. A panoramic view of the spiritual landscape of the Psalter is delivered with charm and erudition. Brief close-ups give us insight and a sense of having visited the country for ourselves. We have a sense of delight,... Read more

Larry Hurtado has a good post on A Vision for International Biblical Scholarship where he calls for more support for biblical scholars in the developing world: What we need, and desperately, are financial resources to allow talented scholars such as this one to be sprung free periodically from regular duties to pursue some major research and writing project, which is typically how research leaves are spent.  There are a few trusts and foundations that wonderfully finance PhD studies of “third world”... Read more

Someone should start a Christian rock band called “Condemnation No More” as a deliberate pun on the 90s rock band “Faith No More.”  The phrase “condemnation no more” comes form Rom 8:1 and its a great summary of the Pauline gospel. In fact, Paul’s whole sentence in 8:1-4 forms a perfect summary as any as to what the whole of Romans 5–8 has been getting at: The Spirit gives the life that the law promised but could not deliver. [1] Note that... Read more

SBL’s Bible Odyssey website has been launched. Its a great on-line encyclopedia for all things biblical. See my article on Bethlehem. Read more

Jeremy Treat’s essay in Christology Ancient and Modern about “Exaltation in and Through Humiliation: Rethinking the States of Christ,” is great, and includes this gem quote: While Many Christians either champion the kingdom or cling to the cross, Scripture presents a mutually enriching  relationship between the two that draws significantly from the story  of Israel and culminates in the crucifixion of Christ the King. In short, the kingdom and the cross are held together by the Christ – Israels’ Messiah – who... Read more

Over at Mere Orthodoxy is a great podcast called Mere Fidelity: Surprised by N.T. Wright which features three bright chaps discussing N.T. Wright with a mix of huge accolades and critical reflections. Its quite a good discussion about why Wright is so popular, so controversial, what he does well, and what people find him less convincing on. Read more

My good friend Nijay Gupta has posted on-line his article “Beholding the Word of Christ: A Theological Reading of Colossians,” Canadian Theological Review 2.1 (2013): 21-43. Its a good piece dealing with intra-canonical interpretation and theological exegesis, Nijay engages interpreters like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Thomas Torrance, and John Webster, as well as expounding themes like Israel, Incarnation, and Icon. I should also mention Nijay’s Colossians commentary in the Smyth and Helwys Bible Commentary series which is a ripper!   Read more

In the latest issue of ExpT there is an exchange over justification between Richard K. Moore and N.T. Wright. Richard K. Moore (Vose Seminary, Western Australia) N. T. Wright’s treatment of ‘Justification’ in The New Testament for Everyone Expository Times July 2014 125: 483-486. N. T. Wright is a widely published author with a large following among those interested in his field of New Testament. In 2011 he published a translation of the New Testament: The New Testament for Everyone. Over some decades Wright has also published... Read more