Text, Community & Mission

I am planning to post my review of Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament by John H. Walton this weekend.  The following is an excellent paragraph at the beginning of chapter 4 “The Gods” describing the role of religion in the society and worldview of ancient people.  In addition to the review for this volume, I will hopefully be adding another for Constantine Campbell’s Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek at the beginning of next week.  Both of these volumes were graciously provided by the publishers and I believe I am pushing the usual unwritten three month rule on reviews for books provided by publishers.  I would like to thank Caitlin Mackenzie of Baker and Jesse Hillman of Zondervan for their patience with me.  Now on to the quote:

“There is no such word as “religion” in languages of the ancient Near East.  Likewise, there is no dichotomy between sacred and secular, or even between natural and (more…)

The second chapter of PJG deals with the background for Paul’s discussion of the Law in his letters.  The main thesis of the chapter is show that Paul’s mission to and defense of the Gentiles, and his relativizing of the Law, do not find their origins in Paul’s origin call, but in the social-historical situation that Paul faced during his missionary journeys.  Each argument is set up as a pillar to build the structure of Watson’s mega-thesis, that Paul’s rejection of the Law was done to sociologically separate the Christian churches and their communities from the Jewish synagogues.  The first evidence comes from the mission to Gentiles and their relationship to the Law as seen in Acts.  Here Watson details the account of Cornelius and the beginnings of the Antiochene church, showing both of these as a distinct effort to spread the Gospel to non-Jews.   (more…)

Keesmaat, Sylvia C., and Brian J. Walsh. Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004.

In Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire (Hereafter CR), Walsh and Keesmaat seek to give a new understanding of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, one that not only looks at what Paul was telling his readers in Colossae, but also what Paul might say to churches in Western Christianity.  The basis for this comparison is Walsh and Keesmaat’s belief that the zeitgeist of Colossae, in the first century, is much like that of Western culture in the twenty-first century.  They claim both are under the dominion of a mighty empire: for Colossae, Rome, for Western culture, individualistic capitalism. This theme seems to drive CR too many of its conclusions and applications.  CR also has a number of other differences from normal Bible commentaries, even those that offer application.  Since the book is fundamentally geared towards the so-called “post-modern generation” the teachings of Paul are often compared with popular philosophers of the last fifty years.  Also, large sections of the book are presented in dialogue form, either with a fictional named character whose background is given, or an assumed reader.  Another element of the book that sets it apart from most is the use of Targums.  Here the authors follow in the footsteps of Jewish Rabbis and offer a commentary and interpretation of the text by rewriting it for a contemporary audience.  These three literary techniques make CR an inventive and relevant way to look at the text of Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae. (more…)

Longenecker, Bruce. The Lost Letters of Pergamum: A Story from the New Testament World. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2003.

Bruce Longenecker is the Senior Lecturer in New Testament at St. Mary’s College at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.  His other publications include Rhetoric at the Boundaries: The Art and Theology of New Testament Chain-Link Transitions, The Triumph of Abraham’s God: The Transformation of Identity in Galatians and Narrative Dynamics in Paul: A Critical Assessment.  In The Lost Letters of Pergamum (hereafter LPP), Longenecker immerses the reader into the world of the late first century Roman Empire.  The fictional story and character development provide the reader with an exciting narrative of correspondences between Antipas and Luke.  While readers find themselves deeply invested in the plot and outcome of the characters, the purpose of this cleverly disguised narrative is to plunge the reader into the world the early Christians lived and spread their message in.  One cannot help but think that Longenecker’s story and format would have merit on their own, yet when the hidden didactic purpose of the book is seen LPP becomes one the best and easiest books to aid interpretation of the New Testament. (more…)

McKnight, Scot. The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How to Read the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008. 240 Pages.

I would like to thank Zondervan for sending this review copy.

Scot McKnight is the Karl A. Olsson professor of religious studies at North Park College in Chicago Illinois and the author of several other books, The Jesus Creed, being the most well known.  I have mentioned a number of times my love for Dr. McKnight, his ministry and the Jesus Creed blog.  Jesus Creed was the very first blog I ever read.  My friend Derek and I were bored in Church History one day and while I was looking for cheap books on eBay and Amazon.com Derek suggested I browse over the jesuscreed.org and see what Dr. McKnight was discussing that day.  I had read and loved The Jesus Creed and Praying with the Church before, but never actually visited a real blog before.  So to start this review I would like to thank Dr. McKnight for all he has done through his writing, teaching and blogging to shape the next generation of Christians.  (more…)

Until now I have not commented on the Presidential election in the United States here.  I will be glad when the election is over in a few days and people will stop treating their candidate like Jesus and those who author blogs on theology, Biblical studies or Christianity will return to discussing such things instead of politics.  I do not mean to say that I have no interest in politics nor that I believe them to be unimportant or irrelevant to Christian life, only that I see, as many other have seen and written about with much more eloquence, Christians aligning themselves with their candidate, whichever one it is they support, as though he was the one who would fix the world’s problems.  I think the message Pastor Piper expresses in this short clip is much needed and I thank him for it.  While I do not align myself with all of Pastor Piper’s theological views, his passion for Jesus and a life lived solely devoted to loving Him and increasing the Kingdom of God is a ever present blessing for myself and millions of others.  I think this message is another example of the gifts God had blessed us with through Pastor Piper.

Thanks Celucien.

Ellis, E. Earle. Pauline Theology: Ministry and Society. Repr. ed. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2005. 182 pages.

E. Earle Ellis is the research professor of theology Emeritus and scholar in residence at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.  His other major works include Prophecy and Hermeneutic, The Old Testament in Early Christianity, The Making of the New Testament Documents and Christ and The Future of New Testament History.  The current volume is a selection of five articles detailing a range of issues in Pauline theology.  These five articles, although centered on specific themes, are integrated enough to discuss a wide variety of theological issues.  Also, while these articles are quite diverse in the topics they cover, each builds off Ellis’ central theme of the inaugurated Kingdom of God brought by Jesus’ resurrection and facilitated by the Holy Spirit’s work in the Church.  Ellis understands this to be the center of Paul’s theology and the lens through which he reads and interprets Scripture. (more…)

I have been a terrible blogger.  It has been over a month since I posted.  While I have been quite busy with church, family, and school, I need to get back into the discipline of writing here.  Hopefully the currently open series will be continued and finished in the coming days.  I will add another book review later today and also update the lecture pages.  Until then, here is a quote from Earle Ellis’ Pauine Theology that, in my opinion, perfectly explains the Kingdom of God and goes a long way to connecting Paul’s pronouncement of the Gospel to Jesus’ pronouncement of the coming Kingdom .

“As a public and universal manifestation the kingdom would come only in the parousia of Christ at the end of the age; in its present manifestation it occurs only in the acts of the Holy Spirit within the body of Christ, the church.”