The Liturgy of Creation

Honestly, it’s hard to think of a theological topic that gets evangelical Christians more fired up than the doctrine of creation. Now I know the doctrine of creation is wide ranging—we could talk about providence, God’s end in creation, the contingency of creation, the orderliness of creation, etc—but the aspect of creation that really makesContinue reading “The Liturgy of Creation”

Constructing Landscapes of Interiority in Second Temple Judaism

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending day two of the 2019 Payton Lectures at Fuller Seminary. The speaker was Carol Newsom, from Emory. Her topic for the lecture series was senses of the self in ancient Judaism. Below are my notes from yesterday’s lecture. Q:How strange and different were the ancient Israelites? Questions aboutContinue reading “Constructing Landscapes of Interiority in Second Temple Judaism”

The Philosophy of the Hebrew Bible

I no longer find myself sitting in the bright, sunny, and (awfully) hot Mediterranean climate of Pasadena, rather I find myself sitting in the bright, sunny, and (awfully) hot Mediterranean climate of Jerusalem. So why am I here? To engage with a similar sort of project that the AT project is engaged with at FullerContinue reading “The Philosophy of the Hebrew Bible”

Logos Free Book of the Month – OT Commentaries

Every month Logos Bible Software offers a free book and an additional book for just 99 cents. This month’s pair is an awesome pair of OT commentaries – one on Isaiah and the other on Jeremiah – written by excellent OT scholars. The Old Testament Library Series: Isaiah by Brevard S. Childs (Price: Free!) InContinue reading “Logos Free Book of the Month – OT Commentaries”

Jonah & The Vine

I have spent the last few weeks studying the book of Jonah for our series at Soma, Chasing Rebels… The first week we kicked things off with the notion that God pursues rebels like you and me. Today I want to jump forward to the end of the book – after Jonah has complained aboutContinue reading “Jonah & The Vine”

Book Review – A Commentary on Exodus by Duane Garrett

I have worked my way through several of the Kregel Exegetical Library Commentaries in the past few months – this time I turn my attention to Duane Garrett’s commentary on Exodus. Garrett is a pretty well known scholar who teaches at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He specializes in OT interpretation and has written quiteContinue reading “Book Review – A Commentary on Exodus by Duane Garrett”

Mystery & Atonement

The concept of “mystery” plays an important role in T.F. Torrance’s atonement theology. In chapter one of Atonement he outlines his approach to the doctrine of atonement. He begins by describing the liturgy of the day of atonement in the Old Testament. As he describes what happens, he says that the most important part of theContinue reading “Mystery & Atonement”

Snodgrass on Reading Backwards

In light of Richard Hays fantastic new book, Reading Backwards, I’m sticking to the this weeks’s theme of “The NT use of the OT.” Here is what Klyne Snodgrass (Prof. at North Park) has to say about Understanding the Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament. [Here is]  A concluding list of suggestionsContinue reading “Snodgrass on Reading Backwards”

On Figural Interpretation

This week, I’m focusing a bit on the New Testament use of the Old Testament. I’ve been sort of inspired by Richard Hays fantastic new book, Reading Backwards.  In it he argues that we need to learn to recover a figural reading of the Old Testament, specifically we need to learn to do this withContinue reading “On Figural Interpretation”

Reading the Old Testament with Martin Luther

Why should we read the Old Testament? It seems pretty obvious to us today, but  in 16th century Germany there was a tendency to look down upon the value of the Old Testament. (No doubt Luther’s Law/Grace dichotomy had something to do with this…) Nevertheless Luther advocates for a figural sort of reading of theContinue reading “Reading the Old Testament with Martin Luther”