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Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." (Is.30:21)
Browsing All Posts filed under »Theology«
Genesis Unbound | Review
John Sailhamer. Genesis Unbound: A Provocative New Look at the Creation Account. Multnomah Books, 1996, 2011. (270 pages) Quick Introductory Note In this study blog, I generally post my highlights and underlines for the purpose of documenting the key phrases and ideas of the book and add a few interactions and reflections at the end. This […]
The Son Rises | Notes & Review
February 17, 2013
William Lane Craig. The Son Rises: The Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus. Wipf and Stock, 1981. (156 pages) Preface The Christian faith is based on the event of the resurrection. It is not based on the evidence for the resurrection. (7) 1. Death and Resurrection Modern man is the Cosmic Orphan because he […]
Love Free or Die | Review
November 17, 2012
watch: http://video.pbs.org/video/2294044250/ (only through November 19, 2012) descriptions: LOVE FREE OR DIE (Special Jury Prize winner Sundance 2012) is about a man whose two defining passions the world cannot reconcile: his love for God and for his partner Mark. It is about church and state, love and marriage, faith and identity-and one man’s struggle to […]
Speaking Christian | Review & Notes
September 30, 2012
Marcus Borg. Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power — And How They Can Be Restored. HarperOne, 2011. (248 pages) (Thank you to Janelle for our copy!) CNN Belief Blog. Patheos interview with Borg. The Hillhurst Review. Englewood Review. — REVIEW — This is most definitely an important contribution to the […]
Saving Darwin | Notes & Review
August 18, 2012
Karl W. Giberson. Saving Darwin: How to Be a Christian and Believe in Evolution. HarperOne, 2008. (248 pages) Foreword Giberson’s carefully documented history provides a sobering response to the claims of those who think that the current controversy can be quickly resolved. Just as with other great world conflicts, such as the current war in […]
Inspiration and Incarnation | Notes & Review
July 22, 2012
Petter Enns. Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament. Baker Academic, 2005. (197 pages) Preface The aim of this book is not novelty but synthesis. My focus is twofold: (1) to bring together a variety of data that biblical scholars work with every day for readers who do not have firsthand […]
From The Dust | Notes & Review
June 26, 2012
http://fromthedustmovie.org/ The question of where we come from is a mystery man has explored throughout human history. As Charles Darwin composed his theory of natural selection, he began defining for the modern generation a suitable, if altogether scientific answer for the origin of man. While this theory has gone largely unchallenged scientifically for the past […]
The Bible Made Impossible | Notes & Review
May 20, 2012
Christian Smith. The Bible Made Impossible: Why Biblicism Is Not a Truly Evangelical Reading of Scripture. Brazos Press, 2011 (220 pages) Other reviews: Experimental Theology blog; Rachel Held Evans blog; The Gospel Coalition; Reformation 21; Theoblogy (Tony Jones) – The Ailment, The Cure, The Fatal Flaw Introduction My contention here is that the American evangelical […]
The Hunger Games & The Gospel | Notes & Review
April 9, 2012
Julie Clawson. The Hunger Games and the Gospel:Bread, Circuses, and the Kingdom of God. Patheos Press, 2012. (149 pages; 3930 Kindle locations) One Hand Clapping – Julie Clawson’s website Introduction: Let the Games Begin Although not explicitly “Christian” books, the themes explored in The Hunger Games are the same ones Christians have wrestled with since […]
Understanding Genesis | Notes & Review
September 30, 2011
Nahum Sarna. Understanding Genesis: The World of the Bible in the Light of History. Schocken Books, 1966. Introduction …the very concept of a Canon of Scripture, of a fixed corpus of sacred books, implies a long process of selection and rejection from among a host of candidates. (xvii) Until the Hellenization of the East, it […]
Open Letter to New Testament Students
September 15, 2011
J. R. Daniel Kirk has written an open letter to students of the New Testament. I thought it well done and important, and in some ways, according to the comments, enlightening to the kinds of assumptions and attitudes that people have towards seminary, higher education, and Biblical studies. It is duplicated below with my underlines […]
Junia | Notes & Review
April 30, 2011
Eldon Jay Epp. Junia: The First Woman Apostle. Fortress, 2005. (138 pages) FOREWORD: To begin with, most scholars now agree that Romans, in common with other early Christian texts, was written in a specific context and to address a specific set of issues or concerns. (IX) To put the point sharply: there is no Greek […]
Man and Woman, One in Christ | Notes & Review
April 29, 2011
Philip B. Payne. Man and Woman, One in Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Paul’s Letters. Zondervan, 2009. (511 pages) Let’s begin with the end: To the degree my thirty-six years of research on this topic has led me to understand correctly the message God intends to communicate through his Word, I pray that […]
The Epic of Eden | Notes & Review
November 6, 2010
Sandra L. Richter. The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament. IVP Academic, 2008. (263 pages) St. Pete’s Blog: Book Review Q&A on Ben Witherington’s Blog Introduction: The Dysfunctional Closet Syndrome The Bible, in all its parts, is intended to communicate to humanity the realities of redemption. Over the centuries, the church […]
The Sabbath | Notes & Review
September 27, 2010
Abraham Joshua Heschel. The Sabbath: its meaning for modern man. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1951, 1979. (118 pages) [VIA: This is one one of the few books in my library where every page is worth quoting. Below is a small sliver of quotes that hopefully summarize each heading; though their mere abstraction does an injustice […]
Conversations on Being a Heretic | Notes & Review
August 18, 2010
http://qideas.org/video/conversations-on-being-a-heretic.aspx by Scot McKnight and Brian McLaren [NOTE: My notes below is not an exact transcript.] If the gospel isn’t embodied as good news to the poor, it isn’t the same gospel that Jesus talked about. MCKNIGHT: It is common for a reader of yours to come away from your books wondering exactly what you […]
שמע – Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
July 27, 2010
Perhaps the most important word in the Bible is “Sh’ma.” I am deeply thankful for Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ comments. Below are just a few of the snippets that I want to take away: The Greeks were the supreme masters of the visual arts: art, sculpture, architecture and the theatre. Jews, as a matter of profound […]
JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy דברים | Notes & Review
May 20, 2010
Jeffrey Tigay. JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy דברים. The Jewish Publication Society, 1996. (548 pages) THE COMMENTARY TO DEUTERONOMY INTRODUCTION The Title | notes… The Text | notes… The Character and Structure of the Book | notes… The Main Themes of Deuteronomy | Monotheism. Loyalty to the Lord. The concept of God. Covenant. Love. Israel. Israel […]
JPS Torah Commentary: Numbers במדבר | Notes & Review
May 20, 2010
Jacob Milgrom. JPS Torah Commentary: Numbers במדבר. The Jewish Publication Society, 1990. (520 pages) THE COMMENTARY TO NUMBERS INTRODUCTION Preliminaries: The Title | Latin Numeri… THE GENERATION OF THE EXODUS (3) THE ORGANIZATION OF THE WILDERNESS CAMP (3) Census in the Wilderness (3) The Arrangement of the Camp (11) The First Levite Census (14) The […]
JPS Torah Commentary: Leviticus ויקרא | Notes & Review
May 20, 2010
Baruch A. Levine. The JPS Torah Commentary: Leviticus ויקרא. The Jewish Publication Society, 1989. (284 pages) THE COMMENTARY TO LEVITICUS INTRODUCTION Notes… The Principal Types of Sacrifice (3) The expiatory Sacrifices (18) The Disposition of Sacrifices (34) The Initiation of Formal Worship (48) Admonitions on Priestly Conduct (58) The Laws of Kashrut: Proper Foods and […]
JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus שמות | Notes & Review
May 20, 2010
Nahum Sarna, gen. ed. The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus שמות. Jewish Publication Society, 1991. (278 pages) THE COMMENTARY TO EXODUS INTRODUCTION The Title | notes… Reversal of Fortune (3) The Birth and Youth of Moses (8) The Commissioning of Moses (13) The Challenge of Leadership: Initial Failure (22) Divine Reaffirmation (30) The Plagues (38) The […]
JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis בראשית | Notes & Review
May 20, 2010
Nahum Sarna, gen. ed. The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis, בראשית. Jewish Publication Society, 1989. (414 pages) I’ve been wanting to write my notes and reviews on the JPS Commentaries for a while. But I’ll be honest, that is a daunting task. So, beginning this night, I’ll begin to post the TOCs of each edition, and […]
Jesus and the Victory of God | Notes & Review
May 3, 2010
N.T. Wright. Jesus and the Victory of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God, Volume 2). Fortress Press,1996. (741 pages) It was serendipitous for Wheaton to be holding their Theology Conference featuring Wright, and particularly this work. Audio available here. Part I/Introduction 1. Jesus Then and Now 2. Heavy Traffic on Wredebahn: The ‘New […]
How To Read The Bible | Notes & Review
May 3, 2010
James Kugel. How To Read The Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now. Free Press, 2007. (819 pages) This afternoon, my wife and I attended “Bible By The Bay” by Lehrhaus Judaica held at the local JCC. For the seminar entitled A Biblical History of the Senses, I’d like to thank Steve Weitzman for […]
Why Learn The Biblical Languages – Professor Elizabeth Groves of Westminster Seminary
September 26, 2009
Your translations are “trustworthy.” But… Often, there is much richness in the original languages that forces a “choice” in the receptor language. With that choice comes a loss of meaning; we are missing something in the translation. Often there are things you simply cannot translate (such as structural grammar and poetry). You can also know […]
Exploring Exodus | Notes & Review
September 9, 2009
Nahum Sarna. Exploring Exodus: The Origins of Biblical Israel. Schocken Books, 1986, 1996. (277 pages). FOREWARD “It is a truism that knowledge usually lags far behind learning; it is also a fact that where knowledge fails, speculation often fills the void.” (xi) “…archaeology is hardly an exact science.” (xii) “The overriding aim of the biblical […]
To Heal A Fractured World | Notes & Review
August 21, 2009
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. To Heal A Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility. Schocken Books, 2005. (279 pages) Part 1: THE CALL TO RESPONSIBILITY Chapter 1: The Ethics of Responsibility Being human means being conscious and being responsible. – Viktor Frankl “Life is God’s call to responsibility. That is the theme of this book. More than […]
The Bible Illuminated
June 3, 2009
http://bibleilluminated.com/, and http://illuminatedworld.com/ Amazon.com: Old Testament, New Testament (with author video) A Critical analysis by Chuck Colson. (BTW, Dag Soderberg will be on Stephen Colbert Thursday, June 4, 2009) From the website: This modern illuminated bible is an oversized (8 ¼ x 11 ½), full-color, 264-page glossy magazine. It has striking, provocative, contemporary photographs. It […]
The View From The Mastaba – Gary Burge’s View is Skewed
March 20, 2009
Books and Culture recently published “The View From The Mastaba: Jesus From a Middle Eastern Perspective,” March 6, 2009, written by Gary Burge, professor at Wheaton. There are some things to applaud, yet there are some things that must be highlighted regarding his critique. To applaud: Burge is absolutely correct that there is “meaning beneath […]
The Challenge of Jesus | Notes & Review
December 25, 2008
N.T. Wright. The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1999. (202 pages). “Just as integrity demands that we think clearly and rigorously about Jesus himself, so it also demands that we think clearly and rigorously about the world in which we follow him today, the world we […]
The End of Reason | Notes & Review
December 25, 2008
I got this for Christmas. Thanks Ian! Here are my notes and reflections. Ravi Zacharias. The End of Reason: A Response to the New Atheists. Zondervan, 2008. (143 pages) In line with the many books published recently by the “new atheists,” as they’re called, Zacharias responds to them (in particular to Sam Harris and his […]
The Religious Case For/Against Gay Marriage | Saying A Lot About So Little
December 12, 2008
While reading the current Newsweek cover article (“The Religious Case for Gay Marriage” by Lisa Miller), it struck me how much we say about how little the Bible mentions. The summation of the Newsweek article is found, really, in one sentence, The practice of inclusion, even in defiance of social convention, the reaching out to […]
Doing Good, Departing from Evil: Research Findings in the Twenty-First Century
November 28, 2008
Carole J. Lambert, ed. Doing Good, Departing from Evil: Research Findings in the Twenty-First Century (American University Studies VII: Theology and Religion). Peter Lang Publishing: November, 2008. Though this book is yet to be made readily available, I’m doing my part in getting the word out about it, so that, as with many posts on […]
The Blue Parakeet | A Review & Critique
October 19, 2008
Scot McKnight, The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible, (Zondervan, 2008). [This review is of the Advance Reader Copy. All page numbers refer to that edition]. (Out of Ur review 1, and 2) There are several reviews out there, most of them favorable, thanks to Zondervan’s marketing genius (congratulations to all you “advance” […]
The Mission Of God – Notes & Review
August 15, 2008
This Out Of Ur blog post by Scot McKnight inspired this post of my review. Wright, Christopher J. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative. IVP: 2006. (581 pages). Simply well done and very thorough. Addressing the need to reassess our understanding of “mission” and all the other words that go with it, […]
Proving God’s Existence?…100%?…Without Faith?…With Kirk Cameron?
August 11, 2008
ABC News and Nightline hosted a “face-off” between Christians and Atheists to debate the existence of God. The ABC News page is here, and the YouTube videos begin with pt.1. CBN.com’s page. Richard Dawkins.net blog post. Ray Comfort’s site, The Way of the Master, the YouTube account. The Blasphemy Challenge site. The Rational Response Squad. […]
The Soul of Christianity – Huston Smith
May 6, 2008
Smith, Huston. The Soul of Christianity: Restoring the Great Tradition. HarperSanFrancisco, 2005. (176 pages) I found writing this book exhilarating, for it enabled me to see more clearly than before the intellectual and spiritual gold of Christianity, its intellectual expanse, the vastness of its atmosphere, and its genius for cutting through to the quick of […]
A Third Way – Jesus and Nonviolence
April 27, 2008
Wink, Walter. Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third Way. Fortress, 2003. (119 pages). What does it mean to champion non-violence, and to live against the “Myth of Redemptive Violence?” The beginning chapters of this short book illuminate the passage in Matthew 5:38-42, the famous “eye for eye” (cloak and tunic, and “extra mile”) passage that has […]
Surprised by Hope – pt.3
April 6, 2008
[Go to Part Two] N.T. Wright. Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. HarperOne, 2008. (332 pages). PART III: Hope in Practice: Resurrection and the Mission of the Church. “The point of this final section of the book is that a proper grasp of the (surprising) future hope held […]
Surprised by Hope – pt.2
April 6, 2008
[Go to Part One] N.T. Wright. Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. HarperOne, 2008. (332 pages). PART II: God’s Future Plan. Ch.5 addresses the “myth of progress,” the plight of evil, and how the resurrection addresses both in ways that are more sufficient than other explanations. “Only in […]
Surprised by Hope – pt.1
April 6, 2008
N.T. Wright. Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. HarperOne, 2008. (332 pages). PART I: Setting the Scene. In this section, Wright tackles the issues of present depraved reality, and the question of death, Heaven, and Salvation. He suggests that if Heaven is some far off distant place, then […]
April 23, 2013
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