Over at Themelios, Matthew Harmon has a review of Four Views of the Apostle Paul. He concludes: For the reader looking for some of the key interpretive approaches to the Apostle Paul, this book will be a valuable, albeit slightly incomplete, resource. Those most likely to benefit from it are seminary students being introduced to the academic study of Paul, as well as pastors who feel the need to understand some of the more recent trends in Pauline studies. Read more

Alister McGrath Faith and the Creeds Christian Belief for Everyone London: SPCK, 2013 Available at Amazon.com Alister McGrath’s series on “Christian Belief for Everyone” has a good starter in Faith and the Creeds which is a prolegomena to a study of the creeds. This volume predominantly talks about the meaning of faith and how the creeds relate to faith. It reads very easily and is filled with illustrations, stories, and examples drawn from McGrath’s life experience, literature, and movies (and lots... Read more

The Ridley Certificate is an inexpensive multi-media course in theological studies for lay people. Great for getting a taste of theological education in on-line mode without having to leave home. There are modules on Bible Overview with Michael Raiter, Understanding Your Bible with Andrew Reid, 1 Corinthians with Brian Rosner, and now The Psalms with Jill Firth. The latest module on the Psalms has the following trailer:   Read more

Here’s a quote from PFG about what N.T. Wright says about justification in relation to eschatology and transformation: [E]ven though Romans 3.21–31 is part of the same flow of argument as Romans 5—8, and Galatians 2.15–21 is part of the same flow of argument as Galatians 4—6, and even though these two larger arguments do develop a view of the spirit’s work in the transformation of character which can properly be seen both as virtue and as theōsis, this does... Read more

Here is a cool intro the Story of God Bible Commentary Series: Scot McKnight’s commentary on the Sermon on the Mount includes this fine statement: The Sermon presents Jesus’ moral vision and summons us to follow him, and the Sermons is designed to prompt one to make a decision about Jesus. Thus, we are led to think immediately of an “Ethic from Above.” John Stott finishes off his splendid and influential commentary on the Sermon with these words: “So Jesus confronts... Read more

Anthony Le Donne The Wife of Jesus: Ancient Texts and Modern Scandals New York: Oneworld, 2013. Available at Amazon.com By Benjamin Sutton, Ph.D candidate at Ridley Melbourne Anthony Le Donne has provided interested readers with a double blessing. In The Wife of Jesus, the initial intrigue of Jesus’ marital status gives way to a crash course in responsible historical inquiry. Le Donne’s expressed goal is two-fold: to provide arguments for and against the possibility of a married Jesus (p. 7),... Read more

Thanks to Zondervan, here is another video about why I, a humble biblical scholar, wrote Evangelical Theology. Read more

In the British Daily Mail, my good friend Dr. James Crossley gives the mythicist theories of Joseph Atwill a hiding to nothing when interviewed about Atwill’s claim that the Jesus-story was invented by Roman aristocrats. James is not exactly a hero of religious conservativism, but he is in good form with his responses about the merits of Atwill’s thesis: But bible academic Professor James Crossley, from the University of Sheffield, compared Mr Atwill’s theory to a Dan Brown fiction book.... Read more

My Californian bro Preston Sprinkle has his book Fight: A Christian Case for Non-violence featured over at CT in an article called The Manly Christian Pacifist. David Gushee comments: Sprinkle takes the Sermon on the Mount seriously. The reader comes away unable to escape the urgency of living, even right now, in the radical kingdom way that Jesus teaches and practices. The Cross receives considerable attention, not just as the means of atonement for sin but as the model for... Read more

C.L. Seow Job 1-21 Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2013. Available at Amazon.com In the inaugural volume of Eerdmans’ Illuminations series, C. L. Seow offers an impressive introduction to Job and a commentary on its first half (chapters 1–21). Reading through sections of Job 1–21: Interpretation and Commentary reminded me of why Seow’s commentary on Ecclesiastes (Anchor Bible) is at the top of my list for that book. He has the unique ability to concisely discuss and evaluate complex topics and... Read more