A Massive HOLE!

If the coming into existence of the Nazarenes, a phenomenon undeniably attested by the New Testament, rips a great hole in history, a hole the size and shape of the Resurrection, what does the secular historian purpose to stop it up with?... the birth and rapid rise of the Christian Church... remain an unsolved enigma for any historian who refuses to take seriously the only explanation offered by the Church itself.

-C.F.D. Moule, The Phenomenon of the New Testament, Studies in Biblical Theology 2/1 (London: SCM, 1967), pp. 3,13.

a relentless tyrant

DEATH is the ultimate weapon of the tyrant; resurrection does not make a covenant with death, it overthrows it. The Resurrection, in the full Jewish and early Christian sense, is the ultimate affirmation that creation matters, that embodied human beings matter.

N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God

Simply Wonderful

Tom Wright's new book Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense is a breath of fresh air to my soul. It will become a classic. It will enrich you and give you a sense of the glory of God. It will inspire you to action... It will... Because...

When we begin to glimpse the reality of God, the natural reaction is to worship him. Not to have that reaction is a fairly sure sign that we haven’t yet really understood who he is or what he’s done…

Tom Wright – Simply Christian

Virgin Birth?

Chris Tilling discusses the Virgin Birth and poses a difficult question. I have discussed the Infancy narratives and the issues of history. But the theological question is quite hard. I must confess that I follow Wright wholeheartedly on this one. His essay, God's Way of Acting is the best treatment of it that I have read.

No one can prove, historically, that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was conceived. No one can prove, historically, that she wasn't. Science studies the repeatable; history bumps its nose against the unrepeatable. If the first two chapters of Matthew and the first two of Luke had never existed, I do not suppose that my own Christian faith, or that of the church to which I belong, would have been very different. But since they do, and since for quite other reasons I have come to believe that the God of Israel, the world's creator, was personally and fully revealed in and as Jesus of Nazareth, I hold open my historical judgment and say: If that's what God deemed appropriate, who am I to object?

Thus, I find it hard to really object to it...

Gospel? Genre?

Chris Weimer said... "As a genre, a gospel is a theological treatise in the form of a biography. I think the Gospel of Judas fits that description."

Now, I'm not as interested in this with regards to the gospel of Judas, but I am very interested in this with regards to the general definition of gospel, with regards to genre. Especially given the work of Richard A. Burridge in What Are the Gospels?: A Comparison with Greco-Roman Biography.

• What do you think? [Especially my nemesis who has my copy of this brilliant work!]
• How would you define "gospel" with regards to genre?
• How would you define the gospel genre of the usual suspects? [Matt, Marko, Lukas and Johno]
• Would theological treatise include historical narratives that account for actual events?
• Would Luke's genre and John's genre be different, significantly different?

These thoughts capture my imagination as I head off to Stellenbosch university library to read debates about the resurrection of Jesus between, Habermas and Flew; Craig and Ludemann and more recently, Crossan and Wright.

Since this will be the topic of my Easter announcement.

It's Coming... !

It is COMING... And it looks to be a BEAUTY!

The Gospel of Matthew was placed first in the New Testament canon, and not without reason. By the time the canonizing process began in earnest in the fourth century, Matthew was the most popular and widely-used Gospel for a whole host of reasons. In the Western Church, certainly one of these reasons was because the book gave especial prominence and a special role to Peter in relationship to the community of Christ. This Gospel was also popular because it begins with a genealogy of Jesus’ lineage, it offers a church order of sorts, and it is the only Gospel to mention the ekklesia. It also had a fuller Easter story than we find in the earlier Gospel, Mark. Indeed, it was a much fuller Gospel in most respects.

In this highly-anticipated volume of the Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary series, Ben Witherington III, renowned author of more than thirty books on the New Testament, considers the fullness that the Gospel of Matthew offers for those who both study and attempt to live out the words of Jesus today. As with each volume in this series, Witherington’s groundbreaking new commentary connects the insights of biblical scholarship to the larger world of faith.

Read the Table of Contents for Matthew

Read Endorsements for Matthew

Read the Introduction and first chapter for Matthew

YES!

Autobiography as Paradigm

J. B. Hood notes a quote from Michael Gorman's "Theological Introduction to the Letters of Paul." I went to look up this quote, and found the whole section rather helpful, so here it is:

When Paul writes autobiographically, he writes paradigmatically. On the surface 1 Cor 9 sounds like a self-defence of apostolic rights, which in part it is. But the whole purpose of Paul’s assertions or fights is to show that he, like the Corinthian elite, had legitimate rights that could be deliberately suppressed as an act of cruciform love and, ultimately, of true freedom. In this chapter Paul establishes his apostolic rights (9:1-12a, 13-14); narrates his renunciation of them as a fundamental part of his apostolic identity and modus operandi (9:12b, 15-18); and explains his tow motives for doing so – to ‘win others’ through Christ-like freedom and love (9:19-23), and to insure his own participation in the eschatological victory (9:24-27).

Michael Gorman, Apostle of the Crucified Lord (Eerdmans, 2004) pg. 258

If this is valid, that when Paul writes autobiographically, he writes paradigmatically; then this allows a great deal of Pauline material to become useful and not just informative. It allows a for an interesting hermeneutical key that may unlock Paul's arguments and set the stage for a better or more comprehensive understanding of the letter in which the personal narrative is shared. One immediately thinks of Galatians 1-2 and Philippians 3. For my purposes, I want to think if this could, and if so - how, relate to Colossians 1:24-2:5. But for now, that's another blog...

Inerrancy?

Michael Pahl has excellent Thoughts on Inerrancy. This is a great response to Chris Tilling's recent series on Inerrancy. Be sure to check it out...

Faith Based Scholarship

Alan Bandy's Café Apocalypsis has an profound series on "Faith-Based Scholarship"

There are several helpful interviews with good scholars, which include: Michael Bird, Craig Blomberg, Darrell Bock, Craig Evans, Andreas Kostenberger, Scot McKnight, and Mark Goodacre. I must confess, Mark Goodacre and Craig Evans were the most helpful and inspiring, but the others, including a few secular respondents were also very helpful. Take time to savour the wisdom these scholars share...

CTR & Stuff...

Slowly the Criswell Theological Review is posting some fine articles on a number of issues.

The New Perspective on Paul: Don Garlington

Interview with Tom Wright on the NPP.

There are also other articles on The Emerging Movement, and many more are to be added, so keep a close eye on what's happening there...

I've just got back from a conference with my NewFrontiers family, which was good. New forms of leadership emerging, the task of theological education in Southern Africa, what the Spirit is saying to the church's, all these were discussed and prayed about which was excellent.