A Primer on the New Perspective on Paul

By Ken Berding Jun. 18, 2013 3:04 p.m. Theology, New Testament

A couple years ago I was asked to lead a discussion for the Talbot School of Theology faculty on “The New Perspective on Paul.”  Now, you should know up-front that (for the most part) I am not very positive about the overall approach that New Perspectivists take when they interpret the letters of Paul (esp. Galatians and Romans) and when they try to set those letters in a reconstructed first century Jewish theological context.  But I also do not believe that it is right or wise for people to be dogmatic about topics that they don’t know very much about.  So, to help you interact responsibly with the New Perspective, I want to revisit the lecture I did for the Talbot faculty try to help you understand the New Perspective on Paul so that you can critically weigh for yourself its merits and demerits.

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The Heart of Biblical Theology: A Review

By Darian Lockett May. 30, 2013 11:09 a.m. Theology, New Testament, Old Testament

When we read the Bible, how do we get to theology? Should we read the Bible as the word of God for the church, as an artifact of history, or as the material for systematic theology? The term biblical theology has been used to describe all of these perspectives.

So, what is biblical theology? Some would describe it is a theology that is biblical, theology that is grounded in Christian Scripture. Others might insist that biblical theology is only the theology contained in the Bible, that is, descriptively the theology of the Bible itself. In Mark Elliott’s The Heart of Biblical Theology, reading the Bible theologically demands both notions of biblical theology above. Elliott’s book argues for the undervalued role of providence in understanding how biblical theology must be both constructive theology grounded in Scripture and rigorously descriptive of the theology of the Bible itself.

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No Stone Left Unturned: Solving a Minor Mystery

By Gary Manning Jr May. 21, 2013 2:03 p.m. New Testament, Old Testament

Recently, while reading through the minor prophet Haggai in the LXX (the Greek Old Testament), I noticed a phrase that looked familiar: “before a stone was laid on a stone (λίθον ἐπὶ λίθον) in the Temple of the Lord…” (Hag 2:15). Hmm… where had I seen λίθον ἐπὶ λίθον before? Yes: in Jesus’ Olivet Discourse, when he describes the coming destruction of the Temple buildings: “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth: there will not be a stone left on a stone (λίθος ἐπὶ λίθον) here; all will be torn down” (Matt 24:2; see parallels in Mk 13:2, Lk 19:44).

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A Gospel Parable of the Kite

By Doug Huffman Apr. 11, 2013 1:38 p.m. Christian Education, Evangelism, Missions, New Testament

       A search of the Internet will reveal several different kite parables, including one in support of the (un-Christian) idea that by holding tight to the string of God’s commandments people can fly themselves up into the heavens. I’d like to suggest a different kite parable, one that is more in keeping with Christian orthodoxy. My parable focuses on the kite itself (not the string) as the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ alone, but not a faith that is alone. 

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Lessons from the Fog

By Joy Mosbarger Mar. 26, 2013 5:38 p.m. New Testament, Spiritual Formation

A few weeks ago I had an early morning meeting that required me to get up and leave home way before it was light.  As I walked out my front door, I noticed for the first time that, not only was the world still shrouded in darkness, but it was also shrouded in fog. This immediately brought back strong memories of the years I lived in California’s Central Valley where heavy fog at certain times of the year was commonplace.  And most of those memories were not pleasant.A few weeks ago I had an early morning meeting that required me to get up and leave home way before it was light.  As I walked out my front door, I noticed for the first time that, not only was the world still shrouded in darkness, but it was also shrouded in fog. This immediately brought back strong memories of the years I lived in California’s Central Valley where heavy fog at certain times of the year was commonplace.  And most of those memories were not pleasant.

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For and Against: The Majority Text Approach to Textual Criticism

By Ken Berding Mar. 21, 2013 9:30 a.m. Biblical Exposition, New Testament

Which is the best Greek text to use when translating the New Testament?  Some people argue for a “majority text” (a text like the one that lies behind the KVJ or the NKJV but none of the other major translations).  What are the arguments that have been put forth in favor of the superiority of the Byzantine (majority) text of the Greek New Testament?  How would you respond to someone who insisted that the majority text approach is correct?

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The Gospel—key to enduring transformation

By Darian Lockett Mar. 7, 2013 2:41 p.m. Church Life, New Testament, Spiritual Formation

Over the past three years I have had the privilege of serving as a part-time pastor in a local church here in Southern California. Though I’ve been in ministry for several years and have even spent significant time in ministry overseas, these past few years have constituted a re-education in the gospel. Here is what I mean:

“The gospel” is a phrase that Christians often use without fully understanding its significance. We speak the language of the gospel, but we rarely apply the gospel to every aspect of our lives. Yet this is exactly what God wants for us. The gospel is nothing less than “the power of God” (Rom. 1:16). In Colossians 1:6, the apostle Paul commends the Colossian church because the gospel has been “bearing fruit and growing...among [them] since the day [they] heard it.” The apostle Peter teaches that a lack of ongoing transformation in our lives comes from forgetting what God has done for us in the gospel (2 Peter 1:3–9). If we are to grow into maturity in Christ, we must deepen and enlarge our understanding of the gospel as the way God transforms us.

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