Posted by Andreas Köstenberger on Mar 27, 2006 in Blog | 1 comment
From time to time scholars suggest the divinity of Jesus is a later invention of the Church. Jesus, they claim, did not believe himself to be God, nor did he claim to be. His first followers, and the early church, likewise did not believe he was God but rather thought of him as a good teacher and moral example. The Da Vinci Code echoes such sentiments by declaring that “Jesus was viewed by His followers as a mortal prophet . . . a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal.” He was not considered to be God until the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325.
The problem with this...
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Posted by Andreas Köstenberger on Mar 17, 2006 in Blog | 12 comments
In 1995, Tom Schreiner, H. S. Baldwin, and I edited the book Women in the Church: A Fresh Analysis of 1 Timothy 2:9–15 (now out in a 2d edition [2005]). The focus of the book is a thorough exegesis of 1 Timothy 2:12, where Paul says he does not permit women to teach or have authority over a man in the Church. Subsequent to the release of the book, when I participated in forums on the “women’s issue,” the question invariably came up what I thought 1 Timothy 2:15 meant. At that time, my honest answer was, “I don’t know,” because I hadn’t studied the passage in depth...
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Posted by Andreas Köstenberger on Mar 10, 2006 in Blog | 4 comments
Who wrote John’s Gospel? James Charlesworth says, “The apostle Thomas.” Ben Witherington believes it was Lazarus. And Esther de Boer contends the author of John’s Gospel was Mary Magdalene! Many others believe the author was in fact a committee of unknown authors, editors, and redactors—the Johannine community. The traditional view of the Church has been that this is the “Gospel according to John,” John the apostle, that is, as in John the son of Zebedee. How can reputable scholars dealing with the same evidence come to such drastically different conclusions? And where does the...
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Posted by Andreas Köstenberger on Mar 3, 2006 in Blog | 1 comment
The book of Genesis speaks of the man leaving his father and mother and being united to his wife, and they will become one flesh (Gen. 2:24). When asked about divorce (Matt. 19:3), Jesus cited this passage and commented, “So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate” (Matt. 19:6).
The sad reality, however, is that sexual immorality does occur, and Jesus acknowledged that adultery comes between the marriage partners (the so-called “exception clause,” Matt. 19:9; cf. 5:32). Not as a command, but as a concession, Jesus permitted divorce,...
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