Regarding Peter Enns’ Suspension

So, Nick did a little appendix to his round up on Peter Enns since he did not want to go back and dig it up (I found it in 2 seconds with the search widget). He cites a few blogs who did some follow up round-ups.  A concluding statement Mike Bird made on his post over at the Euangelion blog is the following: 

Let me state my interest in this matter. I’m not trying to accuse or exonerate any one. I’m concerned exclusively with what this entire debate means for evangelicals working in the field of biblical studies.

So that is my queston: what exactly does this debate mean for evangelicals working in the field of biblical studies?  

Pontificate on the matter if you will.  

New RBL Reviews to consider

Here are a couple of the more noteworthy additions to the Review of Biblical Literature Website:

Eldon Jay Epp. Junia: The First Woman Apostle Reviewed by Nancy Calvert-Koyzis.

Wasserman, Tommy. The Epistle of Jude: Its Text and Transmission. Reviewed by Stephen D. Patton. Tommy Blogs over at the Evangelical Textual Criticism site. According to the ETC site, there are accent errors in the review. Also, the Reviewer notes an erratalist available at the ETC site but it does not work but is available upon request if interested.

On writing a commentary

If you haven’t seen it yet,Matthew Montonini posted an interview with David L. Turner on his Matthew Commentary in the BECNT Series on his blog.  I found it to be quite interesting.  Here are his thoughts on writing a commentary: 

It has been a very long road. Originally I was with another publisher which had projected an exegetical commentary series on the whole Bible. This publisher got cold feet before much had been accomplished, and Baker stepped in and retained some of the New Testament authors to do the BECNT series. That was over twenty years ago. The commentary would not have happened apart from providence—my wife Beverly’s constant encouragement, the patience of Baker Academic, and the support of Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. I learned that writing an exegetical commentary is more difficult than I could have imagined, and that work on such a project can be very lonely at times.

I guess if one is going to write a commentary – there has to be a lot of personal investment in the process otherwise I cannot imagine it being worth it.  

Read it and let me know what you think.  

HT: Rod Decker

Lessons learned earning a PhD

Rod Decker, over at his NT Resources blog shares about one of his students’ dissertation defense and the lessons he student learned in the process.  Here is an excerpt: 

Lessons Learned from Writing a Dissertation

• You will never feel dumber than while trying to earn a Ph.D.

• Writing a Ph.D. dissertation is a lot like remodeling a kitchen in a 100 year old house: It will take you where you did not want to go, keep you there longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you were willing to pay.

• Keep a family picture near by so you can remember what they look like.

• Your advisor is not Attila the Hun; it just seems that way.

• When you think you are done; you’re not even close.

• Don’t type when you’re tired.

I felt this way sometimes in my MDiv program, I suppose it only gets worse.  I would add that as a principle it seems that the more you learn, the less you know.  The learning process in the MDiv was like trying to drink water out of a fire hydrant – you just cannot get it all. 

how they get here

one person came across my blog looking for: 

review keener three crucial questions holy spirit

Well, this is quite good!  Craig S. Keener is awesome and indeed one should read this book as it will give a good overview about what the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is all about!  

Obama or Clinton?

Screamin’ Howie Dean, Chairman of the Democratic Party, is saying that by June 3 at the latest, either Obama or Clinton needs to drop out of the race in order to give the party time to unify around the nominee and attempt to defeat John McCain.   So who should it be and why?  Both have really strong desires to get the nomination – at this point I just cannot see Hilarious Clinton dropping out.  Winning Penn State propelled her back to the top and convinced her she must win.  What say you? 

Surprise!

Welp, I guess I’ll be over here now.  Let me know what you all think!  

-Brian 

Life in the Spirit Study Bible

Debbie and I were formally installed as the pastors of the church by the district superintendent and as part of the process he gave each of us a new Bible. We each got a copy of the NIV Life in the Spirit Study Bible. So far, I like it. The notes were written by former missionary to Brazil Donald Stamps, M.A., MDiv. Soon after he completed the notes he passed away after a year long battle with cancer on November 7, 1991. While he did write the notes, he never saw the study Bible in its published form. Obviously it’s greatest weakness is that the notes were done by one person instead of by a committee but this could be a strength too. It seems that many of the notes come from his pastor/missionary heart. At the same time, after his passing a team of AG scholars came behind him and edited the notes and articles to tighten them up a bit. His motive for writing the notes is as follows:

The vision, call and urgency from God for this study Bible came to me while serving as a missionary in Brazil. I realized how much Christian workers needed a Bible that would give them direction in their thinking and preaching. Thus ten years ago I began writing the notes and articles for this work. Later, when I came back to the United States for a short period of time, I discovered a similar desire among both pastors and lay people for a study Bible with notes that have a Pentecostal emphasis….In summary, the major purpose of this Bible is to lead you, the reader, to an abiding faith in holy Scripture, and especially a deeper faith in the NT’s apostolic message that will lead you to a deeper expectancy for a NT experience made possible by the fulness of Christ living in the Church (Eph 4:13) and the fulness of the Holy Spirit living in the believer (Ac 2:4; 4:31).

This is clearly an Assemblies of God Bible and it makes sense if District leaders are giving these to their newly installed pastors. The notes are more pastoral in emphasis and less academic per se. It is also called the Fire Bible and the AG is doing all it can to get the notes translated into as many languages as possible and into the hands of as many pastors around the world as possible.

Opening up the Bible at random one note is from Isaiah 11:1:

11:1 a Branch will bear fruit. Isaiah gives a glorious picture of a future new world governed by the Branch (i.e., Jesus Christ). The Hebrew word netzer (“Branch”) is likely the root word from which the Nazareth is derived. Jesus was called a Nazarene (Mt 2:23), which can mean either “a man of Nazareth” or “a man of the Branch.” He would come up as a Branch from the root of Jesse, i.e., David’s father (se 4.2, note; cf. 4:2-6; 7:14; 9:1-7; Ro 15:12) and would become ruler of a world restored to peace, righteousness, and goodness. the initial fulfillment of this prophecy came 700 years later when Jesus Christ was born, while its completion awaits Christ’s second coming (se 9:7; note).

Here is a more Pentecostal note from Acts 4:30:

4:30 heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders. Preaching and miracles belong together (3:1; 4:8-22, 29-33; 5:12-16; 6:7-8; 8:6ff; 15:12; 20:17ff). Miracles are accompanying signs by which Christ confirms the word of witnesses (14:3; cf. Mk 16:20). (1) “Miraculous signs” generally refer to deeds performed in order to certify the existence of a divine power, to give warning or to encourage faith. (2) “Wonders” refer to unusual events that cause the observe to marvel. Note that the church is praying that healings, miraculous signs and wonders will take place. As it faces the challenge of the last days, the church today needs to pray earnestly that God will confirm the gospel with great power, miracles, and abundant grace (v.33). Only when we proclaim the gospel in the power of the NT witness will we b able to reach the lost generation for Christ.

Interspersed his has articles written regarding lots of various issues from Creation, to the call of Abraham, to Worship, Praise, The Attributes of God, Christ in the Old Testament, The Spirit in the Old Testament, Divine Healing, Miracles, The Baptism of the Holy Spirit and Speaking in Tongues, Spiritual Gifts, and so on.

Also interspersed are Hebrew and Greek word Studies (these are in the text). They are just a few lines each but seek to help readers gain a basic understanding of what is being communicated in the text.

Obviously one is not going to agree with everything Donald Stamps wrote in the notes but I think for the most part they will be helpful and this Study Bible makes a balances addition to the Pastor’s or Bible Teacher’s Desk to be included among his or her study tools. Do consider giving it a look see. Let me know what you think.

RBL additions

Here are acouple of the more interesting RBL additions for your consideration:

Joseph A. Fitzmyer
The One Who Is to Come
Reviewed by Jeffrey L. Staley
another good book on Jesus and various messianic expectations of his arrival.

Claus Wilcke
Early Ancient Near Eastern Law: A History of Its Beginnings: The Early
Dynastic and Sargonic Periods
Reviewed by Michael S. Moore
This is good for better understanding the law sections of the Pentetuch.

Hillary Rodrigues and Thomas A. Robinson
World Religions: A Guide to the Essentials
Reviewed by Joseph Matos
(might be a college level book, but it never hurts to have a decent reference book for world religions – this might be a good one).

Is Evangelical theology, Pauline theology?

Robert Menzies in his book Spirit and Power, co-authored with his father William Menzies, discusses an issue in hermeneutics – the role of narrative in forming theology. Typically, in the past narrative has been mostly viewed as historical and not theological – that instead narrative provides the historical basis for theological formulations. However, in time biblical scholars have come to see what most of the rest of us probably already knew, that narrative is often both historical and theological, history but with a purpose. Interestingly, many have been okay with this in regards to the Old Testament narratives, but when it comes to the book of Acts they break the rules and insist that it is only a historical account of the early church. They contradict themselves.

Anyways all that to highlight an interesting point he makes when interacting with a claim Gordon Fee makes in his book, How to Read the Bible for all its Worth where he states: “unless the Scriptures explicitly tell us we must do something, what is narrated or described can never function in a normative way.” (this is footnoted from pg 97 of the 1981 edition – I have no idea if this was changed in response to Menzies or not). So Menzies goes on to respond with a barrage of questions,

“Today, for many, it is difficult to imagine how such a restrictive approach came to be axiomatic for Evangelical interpretation. After all, doesn’t this principle sound very much like a canon within a canon? Doesn’t much of the theology of the Old Testament come to us in the form of narrative? Didn’t Jesus himself often teach by relating stories or parables? Doesn’t such a theory tend to reduce the Gospels and Acts (as well as other narrative portions of Scripture) to a mere appendage to didactic portions of Scripture, particularly Paul’s letters? (Perhaps this explains the overwhelmingly Pauline character of much of Evangelical theology. When all is said and done, has not Evangelical theology tended to be Pauline theology?) In any event, even the most casual reader cannot help feeling the tension with 2 Timothy 3:16. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness” (pg. 38-39).

So the question becomes, is Evangelical theology indeed, Pauline theology? What do you make of this quote?