Bethel Seminary, where I have the privilege to serve as assistant professor of New Testament, recently started a brand new podcast called Whole & Holy. The podcast is primarily intended to serve the church, especially pastors and alumni of Bethel Seminary. So far there have been a number of interesting episodes about hiring and firing, children’s ministry, disability ministry, political involvement, Christian leadership, and more. If you’re keen to subscribe, you can find it wherever...
My friend Matt Owen and I just published an article in Theologica called “The Son of God and Trinitarian Identity Statements.” I had an absolute blast co-writing this piece and if you’re interested in the doctrine of the Trinity, early Christology, and the interdisciplinary relationship between analytic and exegetical theology, you should check out our article here. Here is the abstract to the article: Classical Trinitarians claim that Jesus—the Son of God—is truly God and that...
One week ago I had the privilege of presenting Prof. N. T. Wright with a Festschrift (German for ‘celebration writing’), which is a sub-genre of scholarly books comprised of essays from former students, colleagues, and long-time friends. This kind of book celebrates the contributions of a particular scholar, typically on the occasion of a major birthday or retirement. Festschriften are usually intentionally broad, containing a hodgepodge of essays that contributors choose to submit in honor of a particular scholar...
In the Gospel of St. John, Jesus warns his disciples that those who persecute him will likewise persecute those who believe in him (Jn. 15.20). The encouragement and consolation penned to the recipients of 1 Peter deem these prophetic words true. While the details of their adversity are unclear, 1 Peter addresses the Christian communities throughout Asia Minor suffering local abuse and revilement on account of Christ. The first few chapters of letter simply gush...
My first exposure to The Greek New Testament published jointly by Cambridge University Press and Crossway was at the recent SBL conference in Boston (if you’re interested in all of its unique features, methodology, rationale, etc, you can check out a little explanation here; similarly, here is a detailed blog that addresses several issues surrounding the new edition written by the editors). I purchased my copy and went straight to my next session. As I was...
Lately, I have noticed a particular bent in conservative evangelical circles toward a special type of biblicism. This biblicism is characterized by a style of argumentation that loosely takes after the preaching of early modern preachers in their common (or plain) sense hermeneutic. The arguer cites chapter and verse as a premise in the argument (presupposing much) and begs the question by assuming their own conclusions in their premises. Such arguers take after this example:...
The Text that Started It All I received this text message from a friend: “Quick…need a translation/explanation of Luke 2:49.” I found the necessity of a hurried response to be a bit peculiar. Who would need a translation of a verse so promptly? Nevertheless, I supplied my quick, and rather ‘wooden’, translation from the Greek (καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς· τί ὅτι ἐζητεῖτέ με; οὐκ ᾔδειτε ὅτι ἐν τοῖς τοῦ πατρός μου δεῖ εἶναί με;): “And...
Question of Origins What are the origins of Christian baptism? A quick perusal of the biblical texts might leave one perplexed as to the sudden appearance of baptism in the New Testament.1 Immediately and without explanation one is confronted with the appearance of John “the Baptist” and the practice of baptizing in water (Matt 3:1ff). Everyone except the reader (i.e., the author of the text itself, the people in the accounts, and perhaps even the...
We’re on the home stretch of the next presidential election, and we’re left with three possible candidates: Bernie “Feel the Bern” Sanders, Hillary “Email Extraordinaire” Clinton, and Donald “I Have Big Hands” Trump. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I don’t fully identify with any particular candidate (though I do have my leanings, of course.) I certainly want the leader that not only represents me best in their speeches, but mostly in their...
Adam Kolman Marshak. The Many Faces of Herod the Great. Eerdmans, 2015. 400 pgs. $35 (Paperback). ISBN 978-0-8028-6605-9. In The Many Faces of Herod the Great, Adam Kolman Marshak offers a fresh and compelling historiographical account of one of the more misunderstood figures in antiquity. While he agrees that Herod does, at times, play the part of ruthless tyrant and political opportunist, Marshak contends that the monarch’s tactics of oppression and repression “cannot account for...
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