The Ten Commandments: A Guide to the Perfect Law of Liberty by Peter Leithart (Lexham, 2020) The Old Testament in Seven Sentences: A Small Introduction to a Vast Topic by Christopher J. H. Wright (IVP, 2019) Reviewed by Andrew Judd The Old Testament is an intimidating place to visit for most Christians, and so here are two great travel guides to help the average Christian or inquiring sceptic plan their next visit. Chris Wright’s The Old Testament in Seven Sentences... Read more
The epistle of Jude is a letter of exhortation to Christian assemblies somewhere in the Hellenistic east, written principally to warn against certain intruders who are characterized by debauchery, the interpretation of dreams, a denial of Jesus Christ, and denunciation of angelic authorities (Jude 4-16).[1] Whereas much of the polemic against the intruders trades in stereo-typical tropes to describe their mode of godlessness, nonetheless, the allegation of rejecting lords and blaspheming glorious ones in vv. 8, 10 has a degree... Read more
George Hunsinger Philippians (BTCB) Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos, 2020. Available at Baker Academic Hunsinger’s Phippians commentary offers a mixture of poignant insights from Protestant dogmatics, Barthian exegesis, and resourcement of ancient tradition. Concerning the Christ hymn, Hunsinger believes we should break down the division between soteriology and ethics, bringing together both imitatio Christi and conformatio Christ. He understands morphe theou to be about the nature of God – quoting Aquinas: “To be in the form of God is to be in the nature of God.”... Read more
Glenn R. Kreider & Michael J. Svigel A Practical Primer on Theological Method: Table Manners for Discussing God, His Works, and His Ways Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2019. Available at Zondervan and Koorong By Laura Thierry It would be nothing remarkable to describe a book on theological method with adjectives such as “solid”, “orthodox”, and “sound”. However, to be able to describe a book not only as such, but also as “energetic”, “creative”, and just plain “sensible” is perhaps a... Read more
N.T. Wright has just published his Galatians commentary in Eerdman’s new Commentaries for Christian Formation series (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2021). Here’s some questions I asked him about what is in it. MFB: You say that the purpose of Galatians is not so much to argue about how to be saved – legitimate as that question is in its place – but more properly, “who should be ‘reckoned’ as part of the single family of God.” What is the most compelling reason for understanding Galatians that... Read more
It has been a while since anyone has seriously ventured into some historical Jesus research, it seems to have lost its buzz since the 90’s and 00’s. That said, I do have a long term project on this bubbling away behind the scenes. So I was naturally delighted to see Jens Schröter touch upon historical Jesus studies in a recent article in Early Christianity where he offered a sensible summary of the relationship between the historical Jesus and Christian dogma: [R]esearch... Read more
Here is a 30 minute talk on the Epistle to Diognetus from the apostolic fathers. Read more
Many have suggested that the earliest christology was perhaps an angel Christology with Jesus viewed as (a) An angel who has become human; (b) a human who became an angel; or (c) or a mutation of a principal angel who becomes the subject of worship. In support one has to acknowledge that viewing Jesus as an angel was known among apologists like Justin, proto-orthodox authors like Epistula Apostolorum and Roman Shepherd, among the Ebionites, Sethians, Valentinians, and Arians. This happened... Read more
Is the Old Testament Christian Scripture? By Chris Kugler There has been a widespread response—coming mostly via email and direct message—to a particular hermeneutical dynamic in my recent book, The Next Christian Faith: A Brief Sketch—(kindly endorsed by Mike Bird, among others)—that has somewhat surprised me. Throughout, I presuppose but also directly argue for a particular hermeneutic of the Old Testament that I take to be among the few that are genuinely Christian. To illustrate the point, I sometimes ask... Read more
Okay, my new book, Seven Things About the Bible I Wish All Christians Knew, is gonna drop on 8 June 2021. I’d like to invite anyone and everyone to join the launch team for the book! As a launch team member, you will receive: + a digital advanced copy of Seven Things I Wish Christians Knew About the Bible + access to an exclusive FB group for discussion and collaboration + book discussion and Q&A opportunities with Michael Bird In... Read more
Euangelion
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