In systematic theology there has always been the issue of how one explains the development of doctrine. If we think of theology as cognitive assent to timeless propositions excavated from Scripture, how do we explain the fact that the church’s theology seems to have developed, crystalized, changed, and even been corrected over time? The doctrine of the Trinity was gradually formulated through torrid debates climaxing in the councils of Nicea (325 AD) and Constantinople (381 AD), but even since then... Read more

Brandon Smith and Everett Berry have written a charming and useful little book on Jesus and the Old Testament. Gosh, I get depressed when I ask student precisely how the gospel is “according to the Scripture,” it is the sound of crickets, deer in headlights, or Trump at a spelling bee. Just blank faces. Lots of Christians have no idea how the OT and the NT fit together (which is why I drill into them Pss 110, 2, 118, and 16, like,... Read more

I got news that Beeson Divinity School is hosting a conference on Anglicanism in September this year. Here’s the info: The Institute of Anglican Studies at Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School will host its first Anglican Theology Conference, Sept. 25-26. This year’s conference, “What is Anglicanism?,” will bring together top scholars and church leaders to probe what it means to be Anglican. With a membership of approximately 85 million worldwide, the Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion in... Read more

I have finally completed my slow reading of Francis  Watson, Gospel Writing: A Canonical Perspective (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2013), which came out too late for me to use in my Gospel of the Lord, and explains why I’m only now giving it a close read. Otherwise, I was nodding my head with this quote from Watson about the relationship between the christology of the Gospel of John and the Nicene christology: In the context of the fourfold canonical gospel and its reception,... Read more

Brisbane School of Theology invites expressions of interest for the position of a full-time lecturer in the Chinese Department (founded 1997), teaching Biblical Studies, to begin Semester 2, 2018. BST is a gospel-centred, evangelical and interdenominational Bible college, which has been training men and women for ministry and mission for the past 74 years. It is committed to providing a formational experience in preparation for a lifetime of Christian service, congregational leadership and cross-cultural mission. Accredited by the Australian College... Read more

Prof. Jorg Frey of Zurich (see his Academia.edu) has delivered the Yale Divinty School Schaffer Lectures for 2018 on John’s Gospel. He covers the topics of: Christology as Theology: The Johannine Approach as a Challenge Then and Now The Quest for the Jesus of History and Historical Tradition in the Fourth Gospel     Read more

Over at RBL is my review of  James J. O’Donnell, Pagans: The End of Traditional Religion and the Rise of Christianity (New York: HarperCollins, 2015). In this book classicist James J. O’Donnell looks at precisely how Christianity superseded paganism in the late Roman Empire. His big idea is that Christianity did not win a gradual and inevitable confrontation with paganism until it eventually became ascendant. That narrative is a product of Christian revisionism; the reality was more complex. O’Donnell’s book is interesting because of... Read more

Less than a month until the release of Peter Leithart’s two-volume commentary on Revelation as the inaugural volume of the International Theological Commentary series edited by Scott Swain and Michael Allen. Here’s the blurb: he Book of Revelation is the last book in the canon of the New Testament, and its only apocalyptic document, though there are short apocalyptic passages in various places in the gospels and the epistles. This first of two volumes on Revelation offers systematic and thorough... Read more

Over at RBL, there is a solid review of Brian Rosner, Andrew Malone, and Trevor Burke (eds), Paul as Pastor, by Scot McKnight. I co-wrote the chapter on Pau’s pastoral strategy in Galatians with John Anthony Dunne. McKnight takes issue with a few things, but concludes, “[T]here is precious little interaction between the chapters, leaving one at times with the impression that we have eleven different pastors or pastoral strategies at work in the volume. But Paul as Pastor is designed... Read more

If you are involved in ministry or know anyone in your church with autism, drop what you are doing, and take the time to watch this terrific video by Prof Grant Macaskill (Aberdeen Uni) on “The Bible and Autism.” You’ll learn about how autism, how the Bible speaks to it (via 1-2 Corinthians), and some ways we can be sensitive to autistic people and minister to people and families with autism. My favourite quote: “We can’t judge people, we can’t... Read more