New SBTS Journal free

Adorare Mente is a new academic journal from the students of SBTS. The articles are up and downloadable for free. Here is a list of the first round of offerings:

Hyun-Gwang Kim, Imitating Christ: An Exegetical Study of Philippians 2:5-11

John Meade, The Meaning of Circumcision in Israel: A Proposal for a Transfer of Rite from Egypt to Israel

Blake White, Christ as the Last Adam

Trevin Wax, The Centrality of Christology in the Marburg Colloquy

Nathanael Copeland, Pastoral Presuppositionalism: Lessons from the Life and Work of Francis Schaeffer

Adorare Mente, Volume 1 (complete issue as a PDF)

HT: Blake White

William Perkins on the New Creation

In his commentary on Galatians, William Perkins captures the necessity of becoming a new creation very well. He writes:

“the new creature is the only thing that is acceptable to God.”

It is one thing to be a forgiven sinner; it is quite another to become a man or woman of new affection and thought that enters into a profound relationship with the living God. Again, Perkins comments:

“By the new creature, the Apostle understands the image of God, or renovation of the whole man, both in the spirits of our minds, and in the affections of our hearts, which is also called the new man.”

In other words, God can not accept us and commune with us unless we are entirely new beings, people who have been renovated by the gospel to desire and think of God. And that is just what new creation accomplishes.

Rob Bell, Ben Witherington, & Re-Judiazing Jesus

Time magazine ran a piece on the differences between Rob Bell and Ben Witherington’s understanding of Judaism and Jesus called “Re-Judaizing Jesus.” It’s a confusing piece, but the main point is that this pastor (Bell) and scholar (Witherington) disagree on how Judaism should influence our understanding of Jesus and the New Testament. For some, this may seem like an esoteric discussion, but if it is entirely esoteric and academic, why would Time magazine pick it up as a Top Ten of future revolutions for 2008?

I tend to agree with Witherington’s conclusions and critique of Bell. At the end of the day, many of Bell’s re-interpretations of the NT rely on unreliable primary and “scholarly” sources, drawing from a Judaism that was not contemporaneous with Jesus’ time and teaching. This is anachronistic. However, it is highly commendable that Bell is trying to discern the influence of Judaism and the Old Testament upon the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament. In this, he is exemplary. Witherington writes:

At times Rob seems too uncritical in his reading of sources like the truly dated works of Alfred Edersheim, and apparently he spends too much time listening to folks like Ray Vanderlaan, a local teacher in the Grand Rapids area who doesn’t really much understand the differences between medieval Jewish rabbis and the context and ethos of teachers in early Judaism of Jesus’ day. Rob needs to read some viable sources on early Judaism, for example some of the work of Craig Evans or George Nickelsburg or Jacob Neusner if he wants to paint the picture of the Jewish Jesus using the right hews, tones, and features.

Beale on Jesus and the Law

We could picture Christ as a hermeneutical filter through which the Law must pass in order to get to the new creation. Those parts of the Law which are nationalistic in nature or are overt nationalistic tags distinguishing Israelites ethnically form other people-groups are too large or misshapen to be able to pass through the filter. Those parts of the Law more moral and less ethnic in nature are able to pass through the filter.

In other words, Beale sees Jesus as the filter for discerning what parts of the OT law remain applicable and those parts that do not. It is worth noting that he is not taking Calvin’s approach on the three uses of the Law. Keep the Moral (Decalogue/Ten Commandments) and dispense with the Ceremonial and Civil parts of the Law, which in turn leads to sabbatarianism (which I do not know if Beale observes). Rather, Beale is advocating Christ as a certain type of filter, a typological filter:

This is why Paul quotes only form the moral law, or when he quotes from other facets of teh Old Testament law (such as the civil), he uses it in a typological or non-theocratic manner in employing it withing the covenant community of the church (e.g., see his use of Deuteronomy in 1 Cor 5:13). Consequently, understanding how Christ has instituted the new creation also gives insight into understanding what parts of the Old Testament Law relate to the new age and what parts do not.

Quotes taken from, Greg K. Beale, “Eschatological Conception of New Testament Theology” in Eschatology in Bible and Theology (Downers Grove: IVP, 1997), 38.

Helpful Books in Determining the Meaning of Gal 3:10-14

The New Perspective debate rages on, but there are few exegetical resources or arguments floating about the blogosphere (but plenty in print). I recently preached on Gal 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us- for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree,” which demanded deeper research than I had previously done in Galatians. The meaning of Gal 3:10-14 is hotly contested including debate over the meaning of “works of the law,” the accuracy of Paul’s Deuteronomic quotation, the meaning of the “righteous shall live by faith,” to name a few. Several resources struck me as particularly helpful in sorting through some of these theological issues, especially as it pertains to working through Wright’s position:

Climax of the Covenant, N.T. Wright

Covenant & Salvation, Michael Horton

Perspectives Old and New on Paul, Westerholm

Presence & Function of Scripture in Galatians 1 & 2, Roy Ciampa

Review of Above

Did the Roman Imperial Cult Factor into Paul’s Letters?

Jim Hamilton interviews Justin Hardin on the Roman Imperial Cult. Hardin’s doctoral work was done in Galatians under John Barclay, who opposes the notion of the Roman Imperial cult as a presence in Paul’s polemics. N.T. Wright has written extensively on this, in support of a Pauline Imperial Cult polemic. Hardin sides with Wright.

Gunton Lives On

Here is some info on a conference that attests to the ongoing influence of Colin Gunton.

Africa Bible Commentary

One of my favorite Christmas gifts is the Africa Bible Commentary! However, I was disappointed to see that Lamin Sanneh, and Kuame Bediako were not included among the commentators.

Lamin Sanneh’s New Book

I was thrilled to open my post box today to find a package from Oxford University Press (blog) containing a complimentary copy of Lamin Sanneh’s Disciples of All Nations. Sanneh is a Gambian scholar whose understanding of World Christianity has richly contributed to stimulating thoughtful, post-colonial, indigenous theologies.

His book Translating the Message has immensely influenced the way I think about theology and culture. Look for more posts on this book; it will surely strengthen honest thinking about the nature and impact of global Christianity.

What is My Theology? (Sam Storms)

Sam Storms recently wrote a great post summarizing his theology and theological positions on various points. I in agreement with most, but not all points. I was surprised by his view of the sacrament and his firmness on the election of children, two areas I have not extensively studied. In particular, I appreciated this prefatory comment:

“Please understand that the issues below are not regarded as fundamental in the sense that one must believe them in order to be a Christian.” This is a point that otherwise doctrinaire Calvinists and theologically-minded folk sometimes seem to forget. In the words of Puritan Divine, Rupert Meldenzie (popularized by Baxter): “In the essentials unity, in the non-essentials diversity, in all things charity.”