Canon – The Two Cities

The Cursed Child Is The 8th Harry Potter Story After All! Putting the Cart before the Horcrux

Sep 11, 2017

Recently Harry Potter fans celebrated the arrival of the “nineteen years later” day from the epilogue on September 1st, 2017. Here’s an interesting write-up about this momentous occasion. In case you don’t know, this is the day that Harry and Ginny sent their son Albus Severus off to Hogwarts, which can be found in the epilogue from Deathly Hallows. For some fans, the epilogue stands as an important ending to the seven-part narrative, which provides...

The Cursed Child: A Rantastic Review

Aug 16, 2016

Okay, so I have not had nearly enough conversations about The Cursed Child. I really really need to vent about this story but I’ve just not had any opportunities. So instead of bottling it all up, I need to get a few more things off my chest about this story. A few weeks ago I gave my initial thoughts on the script (you can read that post here). Since writing that post I’ve had a...

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Review): Some Initial Thoughts

Aug 2, 2016

So yesterday I read through “the eighth story” of the Harry Potter series: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Since it has not been out for very long I will refrain from posting any considerable spoilers. Considering that this story is the script for a play that has been performed in London for several weeks already, I’m a bit surprised that it wasn’t spoiled for me already. I’m grateful for the #KeeptheSecrets movement, and in...

Esther and Her Elusive God (Reviewed)

Dec 16, 2014

Two weeks ago the newest issue of Themelios (39.3 [2014]: 517–519) contained a review of my Esther book by Dr. Ched Spellman. This is the fourth review that I’ve come across (see the other reviews by Brian C. LePort, Joel Watts, and Brant Clements) and the first one in a journal. I’m grateful for the generally positive review, including the conclusion, which states: Because the option of ignoring or downplaying the oddities and difficulties of...

Review of From Jesus to the New Testament by Jens Schröter

Aug 9, 2014

Jens Schröter. From Jesus to the New Testament: Early Christian Theology and the Origin of the New Testament Canon. Translated by Wayne Coppins. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2013. xiv + 417 pp. Hardcover. $59.95. ISBN: 9781602588226. From Jesus to the New Testament is a translation of Jens Schröter’s 2007 work Von Jesus zum Neuen Testament. The volume comprises a collection of sixteen independently-written essays united by their focus on early Christian history and the formation...

My Book, Esther and Her Elusive God, is Out!

Feb 25, 2014

I am pleased to say that my book, Esther and Her Elusive God: How A Secular Story Functions As Scripture, is finally available for purchase. The book was endorsed by N. T. Wright (St Andrews) and Chris Miller (Cedarville), and Dr. Ronald W. Pierce (Biola) wrote the Foreword. The book can be purchased from the publisher’s website, and will soon appear on Amazon. A Kindle Edition is also in the works. I wrote Esther and Her Elusive...

Star Wars, Canon, and Biblical Hermeneutics

Aug 28, 2012

If you were going to introduce the Star Wars saga to someone who has never seen the movies, how would you do it? Since there are two trilogies that were not produced in chronological order a true dilemma emerges. I just read a brilliant article by Rod Hilton addressing this topic. I highly recommend that you check this article out (click here to read it). Hilton suggests that the two most intuitive ways to watch...

VIDEO: Is the Bible Reliable? (Guest Post)

Aug 13, 2012

“You can’t really believe in the Bible, right? It’s been translated so many times! Not to mention the thousands of errors and the fact that the Council of Nicaea totally suppressed stuff they didn’t like. There’s just no way you can know what it originally said.” If you’re strangely inclined to trust the Bible, you may have heard some arguments like that before. But how to respond? Thanks to the dedicated research of a host...

Esther & Covenant?

Jan 10, 2012

[Update (2/14/2014)—My new book Esther and Her Elusive God: How A Secular Story Functions As Scripture is now available. My posts on this site represent stages in the development of my thinking about Esther. For the full argument check out the book]. Over the last two weeks I’ve discussed the enigmatic nature of the book of Esther. Initially, I focused on the fact that Esther has been handed down to us within the canon of Christian scripture...

Esther & Compromise?

Jan 3, 2012

[Update (2/14/2014)—My new book Esther and Her Elusive God: How A Secular Story Functions As Scripture is now available. My posts on this site represent stages in the development of my thinking about Esther. For the full argument check out the book]. Last week I wrote briefly about whether Esther belongs in the canon of Christian scripture. I concluded that it did, but my focus in this post is on how it fits. Perhaps the most distinctive...