To all my American friends, my new novel, The Divinity School, is now available in the USA! The Divinity School follows the lives of four of faculty members at an interfaith studies centre at the fictitious Hamilton University. A widower now Catholic priest tries to reconcile with his gay daughter. A Jewish rabbi confronts domestic violence and is tempted to return to a life he left behind. A Muslim woman tries to help a former student stop her sister from travelling to Syria to... Read more

When it comes to the Church’s place in the surrounding culture, many have advocated an approach called “The Benedict Option.” This view is largely associated with conservative journalist Rod Dreher, who, taking his cue from moral philosopher Alasdair McIntyr, argues that we are approaching a new dark age which requires new forms of local community to sustain its moral and intellectual life. We should pursue a community life modelled upon that of St. Benedict who established monasteries as beacons of... Read more

Michael W. Goheen (ed.) Reading the Bible Missionally  Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016. Available at Amazon.com By Mark Simon The book is structured in five section, the first concerned with definitional issues presented from a diverse range of perspectives. The second and third sections contain chapters on missional readings of the Old and New Testaments respectively, while the fourth and fifth sections shift the focus to the practical domains of preaching and theological education. For those new to the field of... Read more

Faithlife (i.e. Logos) has done a great job in bringing together Wayne Grudem, Bruce Ware, Millard Erickson, Kevin Giles, Fred Sanders plus a cameo by myself and Scott Harrower, to discuss the Father-Son relationship within the triune Godhead. In this course, the participants discuss: eternal functional subordination, eternal generation, divine essences, Nicene Creed, etc. See some promo videos here!   Read more

Over at the new Houston Graduate School of Theology blog, I have a guest post on Justification by Faith: A Resource for Confronting Racism. To practice any form of ethnic or racial exclusion means that one either does not understand or does not believe in justification by faith. Let me be clear. The denial of ethic privilege and racial superiority is not merely an implication of justification by faith; rather, it is a core element of the doctrine. They are... Read more

Robert Gundry’s 1993 Mark commentary remains one of my favourites. In particular, I think he nails the purpose of Mark’s Gospel: An apologetic purpose with regard to the Cross provides a comprehensive explanation of all elements and, more especially, of the ways in which those elements are presented. Fitting together to form an apology for the Cross are not only the authority and radicalism of Jesus’ teaching but also the fulfilment of his predictions, not only his power-packed miracles and exorcisms... Read more

See below a video by myself and Craig Keener about the New Covenant Commentary Series published by Cascade (Wipf & Stock). Read more

Nice words from the old Marburger against Jesus mythicism: Of course the doubt as to whether Jesus really existed in unfounded and not worth refutation. No sane person can doubt that Jesus stands as founder behind the historical movement whose first distinct stage is represented by the oldest Palestinian community. But how far that community preserved an objectively true picture of him and his message is another question. Bultmann, Jesus and the Word, pp. 17-18. Read more

I’m again reading through Gisela Kreglinger’s book The Spirituality of Wine, and it is a terrific read. The chapter begins with the words, “Wine is a great mystery and a profound gift.” And while one might think that the Bible would speak against the desire and temptations of wine, it speaks far more of its enjoyment. She write: “Many learned women and men have marveled at this lavish gift of God and have put their delight and gratitude into poetry, song, and... Read more

Here is a Hamiton spin-off I shot with Eerdmans’s Rachel Bomberger about my book An Anomalous Jew. See here. Good fun! Read more