N.T. Wright contends that “Israel should have been – had been called to be – the divine answer to the world’s problem; and that, instead, Israel is itself fatally compromised with the very same problem.”[1] Wright bases this on Paul’s words that Israel as whole was “entrusted with the oracles of God” (Rom 3:2), intended to be “a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness” (Rom 2:19), and “the name of God is blasphemed among... Read more
Over at the Heterodox Academy podcast (one of my favourites) there is a terrific interview with Matthew H. Goldberg about how to communicate and persuade Christians about climate change. They largely discuss Goldberg’s recent paper A Social Identity Approach to Engaging Christians in the Issue of Climate Change, published in Science Communication. They also mention the work of Dr. Katherine Hayhoe, an evangelical Christian who does her best to alleviate Christian suspicions about the politics of climate change and give them a proper... Read more
Fleming Rutledge Advent: The Once & Future Coming of Jesus Christ Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2018. Available at Eerdmans and Koorong By Laura Thierry Perhaps one of the most delightful, if curious, ‘church trends’ over the last few decades, amongst a broad range of Christian traditions and denominations, is the turn back to the treasure trove of formational goodness that is the Church’s liturgical life. It is into this movement that Fleming Rutledge’s delectable Advent: The Once and... Read more
A word about NTiiW. Read more
Bethany McKinney Fox Disability and the Way of Jesus: Holistic Healing in the Gospels and the Church Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2019. Available at IVP and Koorong By Laura Thierry The Gospels present us with a stunning picture of a shalomic Messiah who brings healing in abundance. But trying to make sense of and imitate his “healing” within our very different cultural contexts, can, according to the lived experience of many within the Church who experience disability, be anything... Read more
John P. Burgess, Jerry Andrews, and Joseph D. Small A Pastoral Rule for Today: Reviving an Ancient Practice Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2019. Available at IVP and Koorong By Laura Thierry What might occur if the particular needs and questions of the role of the pastor in the 21st century were put in creative conversation with the wisdom of the past? What might happen if both then and now were placed in dialogue in such a way that neither... Read more
The Australian Bible Society’s magazine Eternity features a nice article by John Sandeman interviewing Ben Myers and myself, about the Apostles’ Creed, what it was like to write about it, and our favourite lines! Sandeman opens: It’s 1629 years old at least and still useful. It’s the Apostles’ Creed – a short summary of the Christian faith that many reach for when they need a less-than-one-page answer to “what do you believe?” This old statement of faith is exciting enough to be... Read more
Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter, “Aperuit illis,” establishes that “the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God”. The document was released on 30 September, the traditional feast day of the famous Bible scholar Jerome. It says: At the conclusion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, I proposed setting aside “a Sunday given over entirely to the word of God, so as to appreciate the inexhaustible riches contained in that... Read more
H. Daniel Zacharias Biblical Greek Made Simple: All the Basics in One Semester. Bellingham WA: Lexham, 2018. Available at Amazon.com By Suzanne Day I know I am not the only Greek student who has experienced ‘death by tables’ – I’m talking about that sinking feeling one gets when one turns the page in a Greek grammar to find yet another paradigm to memorise of yet another irregular ending. Can one study Biblical Greek without memorising every table? Biblical Greek Made... Read more
Over at The Atlantic Alan Jacobs interviews Thomas Kidd on Evangelical Has Lost Its Meaning: A term that once described a vital tradition within the Christian faith now means something else entirely. Jacobs comments: This transformation of evangelical from a theological position to a “racial and political” one is not just bad for serious Christians; it’s also a prime driver of the increasing hostility of liberals to religion in almost any form. Those who have insisted on yoking (a very vague notion of) God and (a very... Read more
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