The blogosphere is buzzing with discussion about the use of the Old Testament in the New. Justin Taylor is blogging about this important topic. Jim Hamilton has been writing and publishing in this area and has some good things to say today on his blog. Check out Jim’s blog and the articles that he links there. “The Old Testament in the New” – by Jim Hamilton
-
-
Blue Like Blue States
Don Miller’s blockbuster book Blue Like Jazz has influenced a significant number of a whole generation of young Christians across this country. I can say that the book has definitely made an impact on many of the students at the college where I teach. Mark Coppenger delivered an address at Southern Seminary recently in which he reviewed Don Miller’s book. The audio of the review is witty and insightful and worth the time to listen to. But if you don’t have the time for the audio, you can now read it. The Baptist Press has run a print version of the review titled “Blue Like Jazz & Berri Blue Jell-O.”…
-
Bart Ehrman on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”
Bart Ehrman has been making the media rounds with the publication of his new book Misquoting Jesus. Recently, he promoted his book on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” (click here and scroll down to “Bart Ehrman” to stream the video). (HT: Daniel Streett) I reviewed Misquoting Jesus on this blog a couple of months ago. In that review I made the observation that Ehrman often mixes in higher critical conjectures that do not have anything to do with the manuscript tradition per se. This serves his polemical purpose of undermining the reliability of the Bible, but it does not help the lay reader who is being introduced to the…
-
Semper Reformanda
As a Southern Baptist, I really appreciate the sentiments expressed in Douglas Baker’s Baptist Press essay, “Semper Reformanda: more than a phrase.” His basic contention is that the Southern Baptist conservative resurgence will have been for naught if a continuing reformation does not ensue. He writes: The affluence and leisure of modern church life make it all the more difficult to evangelize and disciple people who find Broadway more exciting than the Bible. The logic proceeds that if people are still attending Broadway shows and movies, then the church had better mimic such venues or else the sanctuary of today will be the museum of tomorrow. To assuage this fear,…
-
Scratching My Head at Derek Webb
I love Derek Webb. I first started listening to his music in 1994 when I was in college and when he was in Caedmon’s Call. I will never forget the first time I saw Derek perform live with Caedmon’s (circa 1995). It was at Tulane University in New Orleans, and I and the other hundred or so people were mesmerized for the entire concert. When I heard Derek sing and play “Bus Driver” that night, he became my favorite of the group. It was one of the best shows I’d ever been to. Caedmon’s Call was supposed to be playing Christian music, but it didn’t sound like any of the…
-
“Blue Like Sad”: Robbie Sagers on Don Miller’s New Book
My friend and fellow traveler Robbie Sagers has written an excellent review of Don Miller’s new book To Own a Dragon. Sagers writes the review for the Journal of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (JBMW), but you can read it now on the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood’s website. Miller’s widely acclaimed book Blue Like Jazz left me wondering about the effects of Miller’s dysfunctional relationship with his father. According to Sagers, this book delves deeply into that subject. I haven’t read the book yet, but Sager’s essay has definitely piqued my interest. When Sagers isn’t out late at night getting folks lost in Harlem, he proves to be an…
-
Could Carl Henry Be Wrong?
I was struck by something that I read today in Carl F. H. Henry’s watershed work The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism (1947). Fundamentalism is agreed on the main doctrines of God, of creation, of anthropology, of soteriology, and of eschatology in its main peaks (p. 61). What impressed me about Henry’s observation here is that, sadly, it is no longer true. The consensus that used to characterize American evangelicalism no longer exists. One can no longer claim unity among evangelicals on central issues. Current debates among evangelicals about open theism and the adequacy of the penal substitution model of the atonement demonstrate that the old, broad consensus on the…
-
‘Misquoting Jesus’ in the Washington Post
Neely Tucker reviews Bart Ehrman’s Misquoting Jesus in last Sunday’s Washington Post (click here). Unfortunately, the review takes up some of the tendentious claims that Ehrman puts forth in the book. One such claim is Ehrman’s contention that the variations in the manuscript copies of the New Testament undermine the Christian faith. The Post review writes: Most of these are inconsequential errors in grammar or metaphor. But others are profound. . . [One] critical passage is in 1 John, which explicitly sets out the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). It is a cornerstone of Christian theology, and this is the only place where it is…
-
The Gospel according to Hollywood
Christians aren’t the only ones who preach. Hollywood does it too, and with great effect. This was no where more clearly seen than in two men who won Oscars at the Academy Awards March 5. George Clooney and Ang Lee both made a point of saying that movies can and should advocate for causes that the rest of the country may not support. In the acceptance speech after winning the Oscar for best actor, Clooney celebrated the disconnect between his own liberal views and the views of mainstream America. We are a little bit out of touch in Hollywood every once in a while. I think it’s probably a good…
-
Witherington’s Non-Patriarchal Reading of 1 Timothy 2:12
1 Timothy 2:8-15 has a been a battleground in the recent history of interpretation as scholars have been offering varying interpretations of a passage that at first blush cuts against modern egalitarian sensibilities. Verse 12 has proven to be particularly problematic for modern interpreters who support the ordination of women as pastors. A literal translation of verse 1 Timothy 2:12 reads: “I do not allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority over/domineer a man.” At the heart of the exegetical dispute is the problem of translating the phrase “to teach or to exercise authority over.” Dr. Ben Witherington, who will soon be adding to his impressive list of…
