8
Jul
2024
Review of 1 Peter (ICC) by Williams and Horrell (Part 2)
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This post continues (see Part 1 here) a review of the new, two-volume commentary in the ICC series by Travis Williams and David Horrell. In this post on Volume 2, we will examine the exegesis of a few debated passages in chapters 3–5, the chapters covered in this volume. We will first explore the authors’... Read More
1
Jul
2024
Theologically Loaded Catch-Lines, Episode 1: What Does It Mean to “Cease Striving”?
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I’ve decided to start a mini-series of blogposts on historically freighted phrases/clauses/mantras that have been detached from their moorings and have become cliché in contemporary Christian-speak. Most of the time these lines are intrinsically innocuous (i.e., the words themselves are unobjectionable), but the ideas they represent are not always so. The goal in this series is... Read More
24
Jun
2024
Review of 1 Peter (ICC) by Williams and Horrell (Part 1)
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Travis B. Williams and David G. Horrell have recently produced an expansive two-volume commentary on 1 Peter. Both volumes together stretch to just over 1,600 pages, covering 105 verses. The introduction alone is over 300 pages. It is one of the most well-researched commentaries currently available on 1 Peter. The bibliography at the end of... Read More
17
Jun
2024
Does Matthew 24 Describe the Rapture of the Church (Part 5)?
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This series has been looking at nine arguments made by John Hart in Evidence for the Rapture for a pre-tribulation rapture in Matthew 24. So far, in Part 1, we have seen that there is a switch at 24:36 from a gathering of believers that comes after signs (vv. 29–31) to a gathering that comes suddenly... Read More
10
Jun
2024
Church Leadership in the First Century
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What did church leadership look like in the first century? Below are a few observations. In a passage penned in the mid-first century, James addressed the question of what to do when one is facing serious illness. He wrote, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call the elders of the church, and let them... Read More
27
May
2024
Christian Platonism: Friend or Foe?
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Christian Platonism. Friend or Foe? The Christian system has long been dogged by the question of philosophical grounding and the ancient comparison between Aristotle and Plato. Which (if either) of these philosophical models best sustains Christian theology? Aristotelianism, with its fixation on the observable and the material, is easily scorned. Its shockingly immanent version of... Read More
23
May
2024
Reasons vs. Rationalizations
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I’ve found it helpful to distinguish between reasons and rationalizations. Reasons are facts, arguments, principles, etc., that lead you to a particular conclusion. Reasons are the explanation for why you started holding a position or taking an action. It is what a faithful judge offers to support the verdict he reached after the court proceedings... Read More
13
May
2024
Their Angels See the Father’s Face
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I do intend to finish my series on Matthew 24:36–41, but I am taking a break for this post. First, like Nebuchadnezzar’s magicians, I am “trying to gain time.” Second, while dealing with a passage that is debated, like Matthew 24, sometimes it is comforting to remind ourselves that the basic message of Scripture is... Read More
6
May
2024
Ministry Advice from a Dead Guy
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In recent months, I’ve written about marriage, parenting, and financial advice “from a dead guy” (i.e., John Chrysostom, c. 347–407). In recounting this advice, I’m not suggesting that Chrysostom was always correct or that his advice should necessarily be followed in every detail in the 21st century. Rather, I simply think it is helpful for... Read More
29
Apr
2024
Is Ethics Ever a Matter of “Indifference”?
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The term ἀδιάφορα (adiaphora), literally, matters that are to be viewed with indifference or that make no difference, does not appear in the Christian Scriptures and does not feature significantly in Christian Theology until the Reformation era. The term does, however, predate the Christian period by several centuries, being well-established in Greek philosophy/ethics. For instance, The... Read More