TNIV and NLT vs. Pretty Much Everybody Else On Something Kind of Important
http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/? q=gen%201:26-28
Ἀγαπάω (Agapao) Is Commanded While Φιλέω (Phileo) Is Not, So the Former Is More Volitional Than the Latter
Have you ever heard someone argue that ἀγαπάω is commanded in the New Testament while φιλέω is not, so the former is more volitional than the latter? Immediately, anyone familiar with the work of linguist and biblical scholar James Barr should be suspicious. He warned that “belief in the necessary reflection of theological structures in the linguistic structures…causes the distortion of linguistic evidence.” This point of the standard view of ἀγάπη love is an excellent example of what Barr is...
Turn Neither to the Right Hand nor to the… Wait… Mom, Which One is My Left?
I saved this whole article in my BibleWorks notes. Here are the excerpts I highlighted for use as a future sermon illustration: Not long ago, a team of researchers watched a 1-year-old boy take justice into his own hands. The boy had just seen a puppet show in which one puppet played with a ball while interacting with two other puppets. The center puppet would slide the ball to the puppet on the right, who would pass it back. And the center puppet would slide the ball to the puppet on the left...
A Smattering of Notes on Free Will
Augustine in 426 wrote On Grace and Free Will. Erasumus wrote a book in 1524 called On the Freedom of the Will. Luther, an Augustinian, replied in 1525 with his book, On the Bondage of the Will. Edwards wrote a book in 1754 called Freedom of the Will, yes, but the full title was A Careful and Strict Enquiry into the Modern Prevailing Notions of that Freedom of the Will, Which Is Supposed to be Essential to Moral Agency, Vertue and Vice, Reward and Punishment, Praise and Blame. “Supposed” lets...
Biblical Theology, Practical Application, And Pendulum Swings
I found the following excerpt from Michael Lawrence’s new Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church (browse; buy) really helpful. I’ve been excited about the storyline view of Scripture, and I still believe it is primary. It is essential to know that the Bible is about what God is doing to redeem His fallen creation. But the existence of a primary purpose implies a secondary (and a tertiary?). Perhaps it’s analogous to words and discourses. You can’t have one without the other. I shy away...