I had a wonderful time at ETS/IBR/SBL in Baltimore. Many highlights for me, but I thought I’d reflect on the conference theme of ETS. The panel discussion on the book Five Views of Biblical Inerrancy was an absolute hoot! Sadly, Kevin Vanhoozer couldn’t be there, but he gave a pre-recorded video presentation. It was left to Al Mohler, Peter Enns, John Franke, and myself  to strike up a conversation. Mohler argued for a robust and specifically defined view of inerrancy as... Read more

For the third year now our family will be celebrating Advent. A couple of years ago we decided to make this a family tradition. Beginning Sunday we will gather around the Advent wreath every night for four weeks leading up to Christmas. We’ve not done very well at establishing a consistent family devotion throughout the year, but Advent is a foundation stone for our family’s spiritual life. The experience is something we look to through the whole year. The daily... Read more

A while back Zondervan interviewed me and asked me to offer advice to someone considering a Ph.D. and a life in the academy. Here’s what I said: You can also read a summary here at the Koinoniablog. Read more

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The late David Flusser, a Jewish-Czech biblical scholar and a world renown expert on ancient Judaism, once wrote: From ancient Jewish writings we could easily construct a whole gospel without using a single word that originated with Jesus . . . The same is true with the Sermon on the Mount. (The Sage from Galilee: Rediscovering Jesus’ Genius, 62) Read more

I want to put a spotlight on my my friend Andrew Schmutzer’s recent edited book titled The Long Journey Home: Understanding and Ministering to the Sexually Abused.  Sexual abuse is a huge problem and it gets so little direct attention pastorally. Conservative statistics tell us that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men have been sexually abused. Those numbers make certain that many of our friends, colleagues and parishioners have a story of abuse. The Long Journey Home is an... Read more

When I sketched the original post announcing the release of the 2nd edition of the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, I thought I would begin the comparison with Matthew. However, I found my interest drew me first to the article on the “Quest of the Historical Jesus”. I’ve used the article to good effect in my own study as well as in classes. So it is one I knew fairly well. This article is an interesting case study in... Read more

I missed last years ETS, IBR, and SBL due to the fact that my doctors told me to take a year off international travel. I came close to a nervous breakdown after ETS/SBL 2011 in San Francisco due to a nasty sleeping disorder (FYI, don’t try to get over jet lag with wine or sleeping pills, working late, and getting assaulted at night by toddlers, bad mojo follows).  So I’m exciting to be returning to the big tents this year... Read more

I love reading books. I love reading books by John Walton. The new book by John Walton and co-written by D. Brent Sandy The Lost World of Scripture: Ancient Literary Culture and Biblical Authority is sure to be a useful resource for an evangelical student, pastor, and serious Christian. Its primary argument is that the Bible must be treated and read as an ancient book. They affirm the American evangelical doctrine of Inerrancy (this will make some more progressively minded... Read more

As we approach ETS next week, with its focus this year on the doctrine of biblical inerrancy, I thought I’d post a blast from the past with a quotation from Bob Gundry on inerrancy: The Bible is inspired; that is, the Spirit of God so supervised its human authors that what they wrote there is God’s authoritative Word to us. The Bible is verbally inspired; that is, the Holy Spirit inspired the very words of Scripture, not just the concepts... Read more