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Got Excellence?

Posted by on Mar 23, 2012 in Blog | 1 comment

[NOTE: This devotional was originally given at the 2012 Southeast ETS regional meeting.] My topic for our devotional today is excellence: excellence in general and scholarly excellence in particular. Some of you may have seen my recent book on the subject, Excellence: The Character of God and the Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue, so I’ve recently had the chance to reflect extensively on the subject and would like to share some of the insights I gained from my study with you. My hope is that by looking at what Scripture has to do say about our need to pursue excellence we will be challenged and... Read More

Ehrman-Wallace Debate Wrap-Up

Posted by on Feb 2, 2012 in Blog | 46 comments

Thanks to those of you who were following my tweets from the debate. As promised, here are some further reflections on last night’s debate between Bart Ehrman and Dan Wallace. First of all, both men did a good job presenting their case and responding to each other’s questions. Bart Ehrman is a skilled debater and a very gifted communicator. He took charge of the debate from the very beginning, communicating clearly and directly. He also effectively anticipated many of Wallace’s arguments, especially regarding the number of Greek NT manuscripts. When it was Wallace’s turn, he showed... Read More

Best of 2011

Posted by on Dec 22, 2011 in Blog | 2 comments

Amazing it’s already the end of 2011. Where did this year go? In any case, it’s time to ponder the best biblical and theological books of the year. As usual, this list is unapologetically subjective. Also, while I contributed to the flood of publications myself (Excellence, Invitation to Biblical Interpretation), I did not include any of my own books. So, then, here are my picks: 1. G. K. Beale, A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New (Baker): In my blurb, I say, “Beale’s volume is far reaching, written at a high scholarly level, and... Read More

Paul Maier: Date of Jesus’ Birth

Posted by on Dec 23, 2010 in Blog | 1 comment

In an earlier blog post, I wrote about the question of whether or not Jesus was born on December 25. To continue the conversation, here is what I continue to be the best article on the subject, by Paul Maier, Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History at the University of Michigan. The piece appeared originally in Chronos, Karis, Christos: Nativity and Chronological Studies presented to Jack Fingan (ed. J. Vardaman; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1989), and appears here with permission of the author. Read More

When Was Jesus Born, and When Did He Die?

Posted by on Dec 23, 2010 in Blog | 3 comments

Christians celebrate Christmas and Easter every year, but few know when Jesus was actually born and when he died. Not that any great doctrine rests on the calculations below, but it sure is nice that we can have reasonable confidence that the dates of Jesus’ birth and death are secure and can be gleaned from a combination of biblical and extrabiblical historical data. I may not be willing to stake my life on the accuracy of the data below, but I am confident enough of these calculations that the license plate of my van reads as follows: 5BC–AD33. Read More

Best of 2010

Posted by on Dec 3, 2010 in Blog | 0 comments

Publishers and authors have been at it again, and 2010 was a rich year for serious academic publishing in biblical and theological studies. As a matter of fact, I have made a tiny contribution to the deluge of materials myself by releasing The Heresy of Orthodoxy (Crossway, co-authored with Michael Kruger), the second edition of God, Marriage & Family (Crossway, with David Jones), and Entrusted with the Gospel (B&H Academic, co-edited with Terry Wilder), along with several smaller essays. That said, here is my list of “The Best of 2010.” Disclaimer: I haven’t read all these... Read More

Surrejoinder to Voddie Baucham

Posted by on Aug 25, 2010 in Blog | 3 comments

Voddie: Thank you for these additional points of follow-up. First of all, thank you for articulating your strong commitment to regenerate church membership, with implication for observance of the Lord’s Supper. I accept your assurance that this is not an FIC issue even though Presbyterians will differ from Baptists on these matters. Perhaps a bit more dialogue is needed on this to crystallize the issue even more clearly. I’m not sure what was unclear about my response regarding the Mohler blog. As I tried to indicate, Dr. Mohler had planned to post a blog but did not end up doing so, and... Read More

Rejoinder to Voddie Baucham

Posted by on Aug 24, 2010 in Blog | 9 comments

Voddie: Thank you for taking the time to read the chapter on God, Marriage, Family, and the Church in the second edition of God, Marriage & Family and for your blog post in response to it. You are a man of God, and I am deeply grateful for your ministry. In fact, I endorsed your most recent book! I think it’s great that you and I seem to agree on the bottom line—you quote at length my positive and constructive prescription on how to move forward in encouraging family-friendly and family-oriented churches (though you prefer the term “family-integrated”). We also agree on the... Read More

Proposition 8

Posted by on Aug 12, 2010 in Blog | 1 comment

Christianity Today has an article on the recent Proposition 8 ruling that includes many different evangelical voices. Here is my response: The ruling shows that as Christians, we should not look for a political solution to the crisis surrounding marriage and the family in our culture. The only true and lasting solution is found in a return to our spiritual foundations. The Bible makes clear that marriage is God’s idea rather than a social contract that we are free to renegotiate based on changing social trends. But we can’t expect the unbelieving world or any government or... Read More

The Heresy of Orthodoxy

Posted by on Jul 24, 2010 in Blog | 1 comment

The Bauer-Ehrman thesis contends that “orthodoxy” is not a first-century phenomenon but only a later concept that allowed the Roman church to squelch alternate versions of Christianity. We have seen that Bauer virtually ignores the New Testament evidence while believing to find evidence for early heresy and late orthodoxy in various urban centers of the second century. Ehrman, likewise, makes much of second-century diversity and assigns the notion of orthodoxy to later church councils. The precursors of the orthodox, Ehrman calls “proto-orthodox,” even though it must,... Read More

What Is the Gospel? 5 Observations

Posted by on Feb 3, 2010 in Blog | 0 comments

A while back, I contributed a chapter entitled “The Gospel for All Nations” to a book called Faith Comes by Hearing: A Response to Inclusivism (edited by Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson (InterVarsity). Here are my five concluding observations: 1. Divine, not human: The gospel is God’s saving message to a world living in darkness and a humanity lost in its sin. The gospel is not a human message, nor was its conception a function of human initiative, but its origin and its impetus derive solely from God. For this reason our role with regard to the gospel is not that of... Read More

Best of 2009

Posted by on Dec 9, 2009 in Blog | 1 comment

The year 2009 has once again seen the publication of plenty of significant works in the area of biblical and theological studies. Here is my list of the “Best of 2009.” Disclaimer: “best” means significant and potentially influential; I do not necessarily endorse the views represented in these books, not have I as of yet read all of their contents. 1. Bruce Ware, Big Truths for Young Hearts (Crossway): a theological treasure for training the next generation. 2. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Old Testament (ed. John Walton; Zondervan): the equivalent to the New... Read More

The Bible Among the Myths

Posted by on Aug 14, 2009 in Blog | 2 comments

In a Zondervan publication, John Oswalt, long-time Old Testament scholar and author of the two-volume commentary on Isaiah in the NICOT series, discusses The Bible among the Myths. In light of controversial books by writers such as Peter Enns or Kenton Sparks, Oswalt tackles an important question: How is the Bible (actually, the Old Testament) similar or different from other ancient (Near Eastern) literature? Is it, to quote the subtitle, “Unique Revelation or Just Ancient Literature”? In essence, Oswalt argues that while there are doubtless numerous surface similarities between the Old... Read More

Christians and the Economy

Posted by on Apr 27, 2009 in Blog | 1 comment

A generation ago, Francis Schaeffer prophetically lamented that the West had lost its spiritual moorings in its pursuit of prosperity, personal peace, and affluence. Now, as Arthur Laffer, Stephen Moore, and Peter Tanous suggest in their book The End of Prosperity, it appears that this prosperity is fast slipping away, too (though, as will become clear later on, while I agree with their diagnosis, I believe their solution does not nearly go deep enough). In fact, the current economic crisis is global in scope, and the depth of the recession increasingly approaches the magnitude of the Great... Read More

Best of 2008

Posted by on Dec 3, 2008 in Blog | 4 comments

The end (of the year) is near, and once again it’s time to list the best books in biblical and theological studies that appeared in 2008. This year seems to have been an especially fruitful year for publications in these areas. Here is my list: 1. The ESV Study Bible (Crossway): While people may debate the merits of the ESV as a translation, the qualities of the ESV Study Bible are indisputable. An exquisitely produced, high-quality product that sets a new standard for study Bibles. 2. Eckhard Schnabel, Paul the Missionary (InterVarsity Press): A worthy sequel to Schnabel’s landmark... Read More