Theology as Poetry  by Miriam Dale “Theology is poetry”, he tells me, and as a poet I quite like that. Theology is poetry, I think. It is the shading in a world of lines, the winch that straining, pulls words from the page and into the 3-dimensional. Despite being the study of an objective Truth, it is the thing that makes a complex faith applicable to a complex life. Theology is sacred– it is, after all, the study of the... Read more

I’m browsing through Addison Hodges Hart on Strangers and Pilgrims Once More: Being Disciples of Jesus in a Post-Christendom World and came across this quote: Mainline (“liberal”) Protestantism, meantime, continues to evaporate like an insubstantial morning mist. Left-wing in politics, “nice,” bland, ineffective, graying, vague in message, spineless in matters of sexual morality, and doctrinally vaporous, it was little spark left within it and suffers from a relentless loss of numbers from its pews. And so on. The handwriting might well... Read more

I leave tomorrow for about two weeks in Israel. It is something of the culmination of my year-long sabbatical, which I realize I’ve not spoken much about. While there, I’ll be studying Modern Hebrew for a week in Jerusalem at an Ulpan, touring the land with one of my best friends, Kelly Williams, and participating in an archaeological dig at Bethsaida in Galilee. Also, while I’m in Jerusalem, I’m looking forward to meeting with Paula Fredriksen to discuss Galatians and... Read more

In the Authentic Media Catalogue for 2014 are some cool titles including: Salim Munayer & Lisa Soden, Through My Enemies Eyes: Envisioning Reconciliation in Israel-Palestine. Stephen R. Holmes, The Holy Trinity Andrew T. B. McGowan, The Person and Work of Christ Paul Barnett, Paul in Syria Aaron O’Kelly, Did the Reformers Misread Paul: A Historical-Theological Critque of the New Perspective Justin W. Bass, The Battle for the Keys: Revelation 1:18 and Christ’s Descent to the Underworld Read more

Justin Holcomb teaches Gordon-Conwell and Reformed Theological Seminary and he has written two books on Know the Heretics and Know the Creeds and Councils (Zondervan, 2014). Here is my interview with him about the books: Justin, you’re an episcopal priest who is obviously interested in the church’s preservation of its orthodox faith. As an episcopalian, um, well, how is that working out for you? It is working great for me. The prayer book is packed with orthodox goodness: Nicene Creed, Apostles’ Creed,... Read more

Given the release of the controversial volume by Ronald E. Osborne, Death Before the Fall: Biblical Literalism and the Problem of Animal Suffering (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2014), I’ve been reading up on a bit of Genesis 1 stuff. Along the way I found this provocative quote from Jack Collins: “Each of us is, ultimately, ‘formed of dust,’ even if the dust has gone through a few intermediate (genetic) steps.” Cited from C. John Collins, “A Historical Adam: Old-Earth Creation View,” in... Read more

Later this month Dr. Mariam Kamell (Regent College) will deliver two lectures at Ridley Melbourne, including: Open Public Lecture on 22 May at 1400 on “A Biblical Theology of Social Justice.” The Leon Morris Lecture on 26 May at 1745 on “Living the Kingdom Law.” This session deals with the kingdom law as it was instituted by Jesus: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. While this phrase has come to mean many things, this talk will work through the... Read more

Last year Zondervan released three ebooks on women in ministry by Katherine Keller, Michael Bird, and John Dickson. John Dickson’s book, Hearing Her Voice, caused a bit of a storm in Sydney Anglican circles and it has prompted its own response ebook from within Sydney Anglicanism called Women, Sermons, and the Bible edited by Peter Bolt and Tony Payne. You can see the details here about how to buy it for iBooks or Kindle. Sample chapters are also available here. Read more

Dale Hanson Bourke The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Tough Questions, Direct Answers Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2013. Available at Amazon.com Okay, the Israeli-Palestinian is a sensitive issue, invoking great pathos and emotion, and a lot of theological baggage is also bound up with the discussion. I’m glad to say that this book by Dale Hanson Bourke, as part of her Skeptic’s Guide Series, offers a fair, balanced, and wholesome introduction to the debate. In many ways, it is a general fact book about... Read more

Bart Ehrman has written a response to HGBJ over at his blog CIA (thankfully available for public viewing). It is quite a cordial piece, critical but not adversarial, it sets out his side of the story, and what he thinks is lacking in our response book. Ehrman is fully aware of why his book is controversial and he notes the effective history of Jesus’ divine status within the ancient world. I have to say that I wasn’t disappointed with the... Read more