Albeit late, I recently found out that the Southeastern Theological Review included a book review of Saving God’s Face in their Winter 2014 issue. To read their review of my book, click here. The reviewer, Wesley Handy, does a good job summarizing key aspects of the book. He is very generous in his assessment. I am very grateful for his thoughtful critique. I would like to throw in a just brief comment or two in response. I need to correct... Read more
I have a dilemma (one I wish more people faced along with me). Perhaps you can help. Over the past 30 years, theologians and pastors have engaged in a heated debate. By and large, the controversy concerns this question: Is justification a doctrine about salvation or the church? Protestants traditionally stress the former: justification concerns how people are saved from sin. The key contrast is between works and faith. The “new perspective of Paul” (NPP) tends to emphasize the latter,... Read more
A few weeks back, I told you that I would present papers at the annual conference for the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS). Today, I’m sharing them with you. Because these are presentation papers,… 1) the papers had to be brief and concise in order to satisfy time restraints. I expect to expand on these papers in the future. 2) I might not have footnoted everything as thoroughly as some would like. However, there is enough there for those who are... Read more
Honor and shame permeate the story of Israel. Although God chose this particular people to bless the world, they forsook that honor and became shameful themselves. See Part I and Part II. In this post, we consider how God promises Israel that He would restore honor and remove shame. The hope of the glory of Israel Amid the laments of many prophets, God gives hope. He will restore Israel’s honor. Yet, we should carefully note why God takes away the... Read more
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In the last post, I began retelling Israel’s story from the perspective of honor and shame. (Click here: Part 1). The emphasis falls more on how God honored Israel. Today, we see the shift to shame. From Grace to Disgrace Even from their time in the wilderness, the people of Israel brought disgrace upon themselves. Psalm 106:19–21 is especially vivid, They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image... Read more
What does Israel have to do with honor and shame? Ironically, they do have at least this in common: when it comes to interpreting the Bible, many people have no idea what to do with either subject. Consequently, we often see two quite opposite responses. First, people simply ignore or minimize the importance of both Israel and honor-shame (H/S). Second, interpreters make too much of a topic. This is usually more common when talking about Israel, but I have found people... Read more
It appears that the Chinese government will begin a new age of persecution. According to an article from the ACLU (and others), Chinese citizens in effect will be given a score that measures their honor or shame. Others have given good reasons to question whether the report is entirely accurate. I suspect that something like this may be in the works, even if it’s not as extreme as some reports suggest. For now, I think the report serves as a helpful warning and thought experiment.... Read more
Nearly 500 hundred years after the Protestant Reformation, we still need an evangelical reformation. Previously, I mentioned two reasons for making that suggestion. They concerned how we use the Bible and our appeal to tradition. Today, I will offer two more areas that evangelicals need reformation. 3. Repentance Luther seared a guilty conscience into the evangelical mind. A “guilty conscience” and an awareness of sin are not necessarily the same thing. What do I mean? In evangelical circles, it is customary... Read more
We’ve all heard the same tired truism that those who do forget history are doomed to repeat it. That may be correct, but it doesn’t tell us the whole story about those who do remember history. Many Christians will soon celebrate Reformation Day. Although evangelicals remember the Reformation with fondness, many people still do not see that they might be repeating similar mistakes that the Reformers sought to rectify. I’m not exaggerating. I said “similar”, not “same.” And simply because... Read more
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