It’s Here! My Book on Christianity in the Second Century is Now Available in the USA
Last year (2017) my book on second-century Christianity was released with SPCK in the UK: Christianity at the Crossroads: How the Second Century Shaped the Future of the Church.
For my American colleagues and friends however, this book has not been easy to get. Since it is a dual publication between SPCK and IVP Academic, and since it was released by SPCK first, it has thus far only been (technically) available if ordered from the UK.
I am pleased to say that it is now available in the USA. No more need to get bootleg copies!
Although Amazon is showing the book is not available till February 25th, our … Continue reading...
What is a “Gospel” Anyway? A Few Thoughts on Gospel Genre and Why it Matters
When it comes to reading (and interpreting ) the Gospels, one of the fundamental questions pertains to the kind of document we are reading. What exactly is a “Gospel”? And did the earliest readers of these books know what they were reading?
Such questions may seem pedantic to the average reader, but they matter more than we think. Right interpretation is built on (among other things) correctly assessing the literary genre. We don’t read parables like historical narrative, nor do we read poetry (Psalms) like apocalyptic literature.
An example of confusion over “genre” in our modern world (though in a different medium) pertains to the growing practice of making internet … Continue reading...
Book Notice: The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World
Just a couple days ago I received the new book by Bart Ehrman entitled, The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World (Simon and Schuster, 2018). I had received a pre-published copy of the book several months ago and have been working through it.
The reason I have a keen interest in this volume is because it covers a lot of the same ground of my recent book which was released last year, Christianity at the Crossroads: How the Second Century Shaped the Future of the Church (SPCK/IVP Academic, 2017).
Currently, I am about 3/4 of the way through Ehrman’s volume and plan to review it formally … Continue reading...
Confused by All the Attacks on the Bible? Here Are Three Categories to Help You
When it comes to the truth of the Bible, our world has found plenty of reasons to reject it. We are bombarded with a dizzying variety of objections. So much so, that the average believer is quickly overwhelmed.
It’s a bit like being in a fight with multiple opponents at the same time. You might have a chance in a one-on-one contest, but it is disorientating when punches are coming from all sides. You can’t block them all.
One helpful way to address this problem is to learn how to separate these varied objections into distinct categories. This simple step allows us to organize our thinking. This helps us get … Continue reading...
The Peculiarity of Early Christian Worship (or How Early Christians Managed to Offend Just about Everybody)
“What in the world is this Christianity thing?”
A phrase like this would not have been unusual among Romans in the first couple of centuries. In the eyes of the average citizen, Christians were an odd bunch. And what made them odd was not just what they believed. It was how (and who) they worshiped.
To be sure, worship was a big deal in the ancient world. The ancient Greco-Roman culture was very religious. Even more to the point, they were publicly religious. Worship rituals and activities were visible for all to see.
And it was precisely here that this “Christianity thing” was found to be strange and unusual. Indeed, … Continue reading...