Along with Jim West, I whole heartedly endorse watching or purchasing the documentary With God on our Side, now only $3.99 (USD). It is an evangelical critique of Christian Zionism. All the more pertinent given Barack Obama’s recent visit to Israel. It is about treating Israel and the Palestinians according to a proper biblical theology rather than according to a skewed dispensationaism. Read more

The School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh has announced a post-doc research fellowship in biblical/theological studies. Go here for the details. Sounds like a great place to do some extra research and writing after your doctorate!   Read more

The new archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has been enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral. God bless him, he’ll need it. He has an impossible task of trying to keep the Anglican communion together!   Read more

In the latest issue of ExpT there is a very good article by Gerald Hiestand on A Taxonomy of the Pastor-Theologian: Why PhD Students Should Consider the Pastorate as the Context for Their Theological Scholarship. The blurb reads: The bifurcation of theological scholarship from pastoral ministry has led to a twofold problem in contemporary church/academy relations: the theological anemia of the church, and the ecclesial anemia of theology. This essay explores these twin problems and suggests that the way forward... Read more

The Australian Catholic University has two positions in biblical studies going in its Sydney and Melbourne campuses. Here’s the description of the posts: Australian Catholic University is a public university open to all, with six campuses located in Brisbane, Sydney (2), Canberra, Melbourne and Ballarat. As the Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies, you will join the University-wide community of theologians and philosophers and contribute to the School of Theology which is growing in strength, output and profile. You will teach undergraduate... Read more

On his blog, Dan Wallace gives a fairly scathing critique of the New New Testament. In short, the New New Testament is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The council that put these books forth is a farce. It has nothing to do with the councils of old, yet implicitly seeks to claim authority on the basis of concocted semblance. The books were selected by those who, though certainly having a right to scholarly examination of the Christian faith, are not at all... Read more

Michael Jensen’s Sydney Anglicans: An Apology has prompted some more reviews by insiders and outsiders. Arthur Davis, a missionary in Tanzania, reviews it over at Jesus Creed. Sydney Anglicanism’s shrillest detractors don’t seem to be conversant with real live Sydney Anglicans. For the non-Sydney, non-Anglican reader, the great value of An Apology is in hearing a Sydney Anglican respond to criticisms in his own terms. There are of course questions to be asked of Sydney Anglicans, but if these are to be of... Read more

In the NYT, Ross Douthat writes on What the Church Needs Now about what the RCC really needs from Francis I. I particularly liked these words: Religion without renunciation has obvious appeal. But its cultural consequences are not all self-evidently positive. Absent ideals of chastity, people are less likely to form families. Absent ideals of solidarity, more people live and age and die alone. The social landscape that we take for granted is one that many earlier generations would have... Read more

Stephen R. Holmes The Quest for the Trinity: The Doctrine of God in Scripture, History, and Modernity Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2012. Available at Amazon.com This semester I’m teaching “Doctrine of God and Work of Christ.”  I do two lectures on the Trinity. I enjoy teaching on the topic, esp. because so many students are, in practice, either “Jesus monists” or “unitarians.” The challenge is to cultivate a trinitarian theology and a trinitarian spirituality in our churches. In this context,... Read more

My good friend Dr. Michael Barber (John Paul the Great Catholic Uni) has a Catholic response to my earlier post about an evangelical conception of priesthood. In fact, he has a six part response in mind! The introduction and his first post on the priesthood of all believers can be read on his blog. Also, I learned that he has a JBL piece on Matt 16:17-19 forthcoming, which will be fun to read! Read more