Great Quote from Timothy George
Timothy George in his Galatians commentary in the NAC: The fact that this word [Abba] is given here [in Gal 4:6], and also in Rom 8:15, in both Aramaic and Greek indicates the bilingual character of early Christian worship. Throughout the history of the church various Christian groups have attempted to canonize one particular language as the authorized sacred tongue of religious discourse. Some Orthodox Christians have done that with Greek, traditional Roman Catholics with Latin, and certain...
Answer a Fool According to His Folly, or Answer Not?
I want to talk through a super common issue on the internet. I invite your wisdom and input; I also invite your prayer. Because I want and need—desperately need—divine wisdom for whether and how to answer all kinds of internet comments from all kinds of strangers with all kinds of perspectives. I think I’m called to help the church calm down about Bible translations, to help the sheep see the value in the use of multiple good evangelical English Bible translations. And this means lots of...
A Jot of My Thoughts on My Dissertation, a Decade On
I basically finished my dissertation a decade ago. Paul’s Positive Religious Affections. It’s available on Kindle and print-on-demand just in case anyone wants it. In it I basically argued that Paul is meant to be a model in his affections and not just in his theology or his actions. The Spirit inspired Paul to tell us to mimic him, to follow him as he followed Christ. And what he loved and rejoiced in and hoped for and gave thanks for are, in general, things we should love and rejoice in and...
Did Evangelical Snowflakes Censor the Bible?
Salon.com recently published an interview with sociologist Samuel L. Perry titled, “When Evangelical Snowflakes Censor the Bible: The English Standard Version Goes PC.” And I got a reply to all this: Nuh-uh! Let me elaborate that answer, however, because “nuh-uh” probably won’t persuade anyone. And also because there’s a bit of truth in the charge, and Christian students of the Bible need to know that truth. Perry raises very important questions about Bible interpretation, and about the proper...
Review: The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing by Jonathan Pennington
The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing: A Theological Commentary, by Jonathan Pennington (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018).I've been using this book as my main helper while preaching very slowly (because very occasionally) through the Sermon on the Mount. When my pastor needs me to fill in, I just pick up the next passage. Pennington has quickly commended himself as the most helpful guide to this marvelous portion of Scripture, one of my most important life companions (along with...