Interpreting the Parables is a book by Craig L. Blomberg. IVP graciously sent me a copy to review. Blomberg begins the book by discussing the previous scholarly consensus in interpreting the parables along with the sizeable minority report, newest developments, methods and controversies in interpretation, form criticism, redaction criticism, new literary and hermeneutical methods. You know, all the arcane stuff that scholars like to talk about with one another when they’re not writing, reading, or watching television. He then launches... Read more

As many of you know, I’m currently revising and expanding my 2005 book The Untold Story of the New Testament Church. During my research, I was talking to one of my favorite New Testament scholars — Robert Banks, author of Paul’s Idea of Community — about some issues related to first-century family life and the size of houses in that day. Banks referred me to Early Christian Families in Context by David L. Balch and Carolyn Osiek, which the publisher... Read more

Discovering Luke by Joel B. Green has just released. Instead of a verse-by-verse exposition of every verse, this volume does something different. Green looks at how the Gospel of Luke was interpreted through the ages. From the Middle Ages, to the Reformation, to the present. He then discusses how Luke’s book maps to geography, spatial metaphors, and the world in which he lived. Green dissects the anatomy of Luke’s narrative and pays special attention to Mary’s Song in Luke 1.... Read more

In 2019, I read — and reread — one particular book. The book is entitled You Are My Friends by Frank Labauch. It’s all about cultivating an intimate friendship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The book was originally published in 1942 in hardback then in 1969 in softcover, and it’s been out of print for many years. I found my copy on Amazon. The original 1942 hardcover edition. And I was blessed to have only paid $5.29 for it. However,... Read more

Many of you are aware that I’m revising and expanding my book, The Untold Story of the New Testament Church. The revision will be extensive, so if you don’t have the original edition (published in 2005), hold off until the new version releases. In my research for the book, I came across From Pentecost to Patmos, 2nd Edition: An Introduction to Acts through Revelation by Craig L. Blomberg and Darlene M. Seal. The publisher kindly sent me a review copy... Read more

After I gave my life to Jesus Christ at the age of 16, I spent time with some of the folks in their 30s in my church. I recall one of them had a Bible that fascinated me. It was the Thompson Chain Reference Bible. So a several years later, I asked for my own copy as a birthday present. It was in April 1983 that I received my first Thompson Chain. It was a black genuine leather KJV edition.... Read more

Incredible Opportunity: By a request I’ve received from a Christian parent, I’m looking for a specific person to write an article for this blog and my other blog (which has garnered over 2 million readers over the years – frankviola.org.) There can be several people who will write the article, actually, and it will be a joint post. Criteria (all non-negotiable) a SERIOUS follower of Jesus Christ ability to write clearly female age – 20s used to hit the clubs... Read more

In a past blog post, I wrote about the book The New Testament in its World by N.T. Wright and Michael Bird. The publisher kindly let me have access to the video lecture series on vimeo that goes along with the book, which you can check out here. Let me explain what the video lecture series is and isn’t. What is it The quality of the videos is top notch. They were obviously professionally recorded. The content for each video... Read more

Robert Banks is a friend who I met online many years ago, well before I wrote Reimagining Church. A first-rate New Testament scholar, Banks wrote one of the most powerful books making the case that the first-century churches — and first-century church planting — was drastically different than it is today. His seminal book Paul’s Idea of Community confirmed a great deal of what the Holy Spirit was teaching me and the brothers and sisters in whom I gathering with... Read more

Mark L. Strauss has a book called Four Portraits, One Jesus: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels (2nd edition) that I think is fantastic. I read through the book in a few days and found it packed with helpful information on the Gospels. The formatting is appealing and easy to read, and the content is great. This isn’t a book that gets too deep in the weeds. Rather, it’s a book that will help all readers of the Bible,... Read more