A Preview of What I Will Be Up To at ETS and SBL
Next week I will be headed to Dallas, and then to San Antonio, for the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) and Society of Biblical Literature (SBL)—two of the largest scholarly gatherings in the world. In addition to the normal meals, gatherings, and meeting with old friends, here’s a little preview of what I will be up to.
1. Time with the Executive Committee. As a former president of ETS (2019), I am still serving on the Executive Committee which now consists of Al Mohler, D.A. Carson, Timothy George, Gregg Allison, Sam Storms, David Dockery, and Craig Keener. And I should not forget to mention our … Continue reading...
How Difficult was the Book of Revelation’s Journey into the Canon?
The story of the New Testament canon is a fascinating one, with many twists and turns. There are books that were accepted very quickly, almost from the start (e.g., the four gospels), and there are other books that struggled to find a home (e.g., 2 Peter).
And then there is the book of Revelation.
Few today would contest the claim that the book of Revelation stands as one of the most controversial, complicated, and esoteric books in the New Testament canon. Perhaps it should come as no surprise, then, that its reception by the early church was equally complicated and controversial.
But, the story of the book of Revelation is … Continue reading...
How to (Honestly) Face the Oddities of the Bible
Review: ‘A Most Peculiar Book’ by Kristin Swenson
…Continue reading...
How Far Back Can We Trace the Fourfold Gospel?
There has been a long-standing scholarly discussion about how far back we can trace the roots of the fourfold gospel. Even though the four gospels obviously existed in the first century, there is still debate about when Christians began to gather them together and view them as a unit.
We certainly see this happening in Irenaeus, who is quite plain about his view, “It is not possible that the gospels can be either more or fewer than the number they are. For, since there are four zones of the world in which we live and four principle winds… [and] the cherubim, too, were four-faced” (Haer. 3.11.8).
But, can … Continue reading...
Were the New Testament Authors Aware of Their Own Authority?
Sometimes, even in the academic world, things get said so many times that people assume they are true. And when that happens, no one bothers to look at the historical evidence in a fresh way.
One example, which is fairly routine these days, is to assert that the New Testament authors certainly did not think they were writing Scripture, nor had any awareness of their own authority. Mark Allan Powell, in his New Testament introduction, affirms this view plainly, “The authors of our New Testament books did not know that they were writing scripture.”[1] Gamble takes the same approach, “None of the writings which belong to the NT was … Continue reading...