Last week at Southern Seminary there was a very interesting panel discussion on “Revisiting Inerrancy” featuring Al Mohler, Denny Burk, Bruce Ware, Gregg Allison, and Russell Moore. Quite an enjoyable segment, many references to Peter Enns and Kenton Sparks, the panelist obviously take a conservative theological approach to the matter, and the best part is that it provides a good overview of the theological substructure in which inerrancy is said to be embedded in. Worth a listen when it comes to... Read more

There is part of me that secretly aspires to be a comedy writer for the Stephen Colbert show! This clip is hilarious, however, I think Ps Dr Jim Garlow handles himself very well, and doesn’t come off as a right wing whacko, which on Colbert’s show, is a win!   Read more

This past week I received the page proofs for my forthcoming book with David Rudolph Introduction to Messianic Judaism. Here’s a description of the book: This book is the go-to source for introductory information on Messianic Judaism. Editors David Rudolph and Joel Willitts have assembled a thorough examination of the ecclesial context and biblical foundations of the diverse Messianic Jewish movement. The work brings together a team of respected Messianic Jewish and Gentile Christian scholars, including Mark Kinzer, Richard Bauckham,... Read more

My good buddy Dr. Denny Burk posts on Paul’s Rebuke of Red Letter Christians. He points to Paul’s denunciation of the various factions in 1 Corinthians 1:11-12, esp. the “Christ faction,” who – if such a faction really existed – seemed to think that they were more followers of Christ than anyone else. Perhaps even to the point that they thought that their exclusive devotion to Christ freed them from the obligation to obey any apostolic authority such as Paul... Read more

I love cruising around the library in the midst of essay writing season and paying timely visits to my little theologians as they wade through the slough of academic despond and embark on the ordeal of assessment. The smell of old and stale books being opened, the detective-style quest to find key resources, the aura of desperation to meet deadlines, copious caffeine consumption on their breath, the soft glow of laptops in twilight, and a pathological animosity harbored against the professor... Read more

On Archaeology and the Bible, there’s a few new things to check out. First, over at Seven Minute Seminary, Sandra Richter talks about “The Role of Archaeology in Biblical Studies. Second, the ASOR Blog, has a good discussion about how the scholarly consensus on resurrection in the Dead Sea Scrolls changed over time. Read more

A new book from Mohr/Siebeck on Jesus and early Christianity is Tom Holmen (ed.), Jesus in Continuum (WUNT 289; Tubngen: Mohr/Siebeck, 2012). One of the central characteristics of the latest historical Jesus research has been the attempt to locate Jesus plausibly within first-century Judaism. Less emphasis has been placed on the question as to whether or how, if at all, the image of Jesus within the Jewish context also suits and accounts for the history of the influence and reception of... Read more

I just learned from Yale University that Prof. Abraham Malherbe passed away unexpectedly at the age of 82. His Anchor Bible commentary on 1-2 Thessalonians is great on Graeco-Roman background and social aspects of early Christianity. Malherbe along with Wayne Meeks and Leander Keck formed a great triumvirate of NT scholars at Yale in the 1970s. Read more

Over at Wince and Sing, Mark Garcia has the second part of his review of Justification: Five Views, with a focus on the issues raised by myself and Michael Horton. Read more

Over at Evangelical News is a very honest, personal, and candid interview with Vaughan Roberts on Same Sex Attraction. Vaughan Roberts is the Rector of St. Ebbe’s in Oxford, probably the best preacher I’ve heard in the UK in the last ten years, and he gives an honest talk about the temptations that pastors face, and the one that he faces as a single man with same sex attraction. Vaughan: I’ve often wondered whether more might have persevered if they... Read more