Why are there so many different themes attached to the four Advent Candles (purple and pink). A survey of websites and books on Advent surface a number of options. Does anyone know why there are so many different traditions? Is there a source that has researched this phenomenon? Here’s just are some examples: Promise, Light, Love, Hope Hope, Peace, Joy, Love Prophecy, Bethlehem, Shepherd, Angel Hope, Preparation, Joy, Love Prophecy, Way, Joy, Peace Expectation,  John the Baptist, Mary, Magi Waiting... Read more

A couple of weeks ago, Thanksgiving Eve to be exact, Karla and I marked an anniversary of sorts; we celebrated the 20th anniversary of our engagement. Let me just say, I did it right. I asked her to marry me at the top of the Hancock Building in downtown Chicago. It was Nov 23rd, 1992. From that moment until July 31st, 1993 we were in waiting for the wedding. At first it wasn’t that big a deal to wait. I... Read more

In the latest issue of RBL there are two noteworthy reviews: 1. The volume Paul and the Gospels edited by Michael Bird and Joel Willitts is reviewed by Thomas P. Nelligan 2. Gordon Fee’s Revelation commentary in the NCCS series, which Michael Bird and Craig Keener edits, is reviewed by Alexander Stewart.   Read more

  When folks get cranky at me for abbreviating “Christmas” as “Xmas,” I just ask them if they’ve ever heard of the nomina sacra. Usually the answer is “no,” so I explain the potential purposes of nomina sacra in ancient manuscripts. It kinda freaks them out! Read more

A common line in scholarship is about how stifling and intolerant the proto-orthodox churches were towards “other” Jesus literature and “other” forms of Christianity. While the proto-orthodox churches very quickly venerated the four Gospels, this never seems to have meant restricting themselves to reading only the four Gospels. First, the papyri available from the second century attests the popularity of Matthew (P64 + 67  P103 P104), then John and Luke (P52 P75),[1] in addition to an interest in other Jesus... Read more

The students at Crossway College provided me with a wonderful farewell gift. It is a t-shirt inscribed with various sayings attributed to me. Now, just like the Jesus tradition, some of the sayings are authentic, some capture the gist of what I said, and others are just flat out apocryphal. Read more

David deSilva of Ashland Theological Seminary has a new webpage detailing his various scholarly adventures in Hebrews, Revelation, and 4 Maccabees. Read more

I must confess that I’m growing weary of the mantra that the failure of the Church of England (COE) to ordain women into the episcopacy is the fault of a few geriatric conservatives among the laity who have been exercising a disproportionate degree of power. For instance, see Sarah Coakley’s piece at ABC Religion and Ethics where she says: “[I]t has long been noted that the House of Laity contains more than its expected share of conservative, elderly or bureaucratically-inclined church... Read more

Christopher W. Skinner & Kelly R. Iverson (eds.) Unity and Diversity in the Gospels and Paul: Essays in Honor of Frank J. Matera Atlanta: SBL, 2012. Available at Amazon.com I first came across the work of Fr. Frank Matera while in seminary where I read extensively through Matera’s Ph.D thesis on The Kingship of Jesus: Composition Theology in Mark 15 as part of my honours thesis. I’ve also benefited immensely from his Galatians commentary (Sacra Pagina series). It is quite fitting... Read more

This is a very poignant video where Ravi Zacharias tells a story of his meeting with a Hamas leader. Read more