From the April Archives
(avg. read time: 3–6 mins.)
The First Round of Debates on the Timing of Easter: 14th of Nisan (Passover) or on a Sunday?
The Third Round of Debates on the Timing of Easter: The Julian/Gregorian Divide
Wherefore Art Thou Easter? On the Names of Easter
In case you wanted to revisit my series on the history of the celebration of Easter (or acquaint yourself with it for the first time), here it is (see the introduction here).
Tolkien and Criticism: General Thoughts
Tolkien’s Responses to Critics
Tolkien’s own approach to criticism of his work and that of others tended to differ from how his fans approach the matter.
Making the Gospel Story Our Story: A Sermon on Philippians 3:8–12
Of all my sermons, this is the one I probably return to the most often for the main idea I expound therein.
Resurrection in 2 Corinthians 4:13–5:10 (paid subscriber exclusive)
I wrote the longest chapter of my dissertation on Paul’s longest exposition on resurrection. I did not write nearly so much on his second-longest teaching, but there is still much to talk about, particularly since there is so much confusion about it. Since this is something of a preview for what is planned to be more extensive published work, I have made the full version exclusive for paid subscribers.
On the Question of an Intermediate State Between Death and Resurrection in the NT
A few texts in the NT are often adduced for an intermediate disembodied state. I argue that these texts have been misunderstood and misapplied in line with what has been called “common-sense dualism” rather than with what they actually teach.
Conquering Kingship for a Compliant People: Revelation 3:14–22, Part 1, Setting the Scene
This is built from an exegesis paper I wrote for a Johannine Literature class. Throughout, I expound how John presents theological-ethical themes that are important to his overall work, particularly that of living victoriously in anticipation of our kingdom inheritance, rather than as compliant people assimilated to our environment, like the Laodiceans were. In the process, I also respond to historically suspect readings of contextual connections in this letter.
Against Attempts to Find a Precise Date for Jesus’s Crucifixion
Many have attempted to give a precise date for Jesus’s crucifixion in either 30 or 33. I argue that these attempts have been built on faulty assumptions. Nor am I confident that 30 or 33 is the correct year (for reasons I have gone over in my series on when Jesus was born).
The Synoptic Accounts of the Empty Tomb (paid subscriber exclusive)
As this is a draft of what I plan to address in volumes on resurrection in the Synoptic Gospels and my Gospel synopsis commentary, it is another exclusive.
Resurrection and Scripture in Luke 24
This is a discussion of the references to Scripture being fulfilled by Jesus’s resurrection and the other major Gospel events. Although specific Scriptures would be cited in Acts, Luke 24 keeps the references general. On the one hand, it could be that specific ones were referenced but there were a number of them. On the other hand, the general use also fit a tendency to evoke Scripture as a whole.
The Salvation-Historical Interpretation of John’s Prologue
There have been a few cases where scholars have suggested that John’s prologue is concerned not with the Word’s role in creation but with his role in salvation history. Wilson Paroschi has the best analysis of these arguments that I have read, and so I interact with his analysis here.
Links Between The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings, Part 1: Introduction and Book I
Tolkien had initially wished to have The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion published together. This did not work out, of course, and Tolkien never even had a version of The Silmarillion completed to his satisfaction in his lifetime. But in this series (the first part of which has links to the rest) I explore how Tolkien referenced the stories of The Silmarillion at literally hundreds of points in LOTR.
The Word of God in John and the Rest of the NT
The Gospel according to John is noteworthy for how it refers to Jesus as “the Word.” Of course, there are other referents for “the word of God,” which raises the matter of what those other referents are in John and the rest of the NT.
Speakers Besides Jesus in the Gospel of John
This comes from an interesting feature I noticed of how John has more quoted dialogue from speakers other than Jesus than any other Gospel author does.
Synoptic Analysis of the “Quadruple” Tradition in the Gospels, Part 1: Jesus in the Temple
Synoptic Analysis of the “Quadruple” Tradition in the Gospels, Part 2: The Feeding of the 5,000
These posts came from an assignment I had to do for my class on the historical Jesus with Dr. Craig Keener. This would prove to be the prototype for my Gospel synopsis commentary.
Resurrection in John 5 and Daniel 12
Since I had written so much on Dan 12, I wanted to look at how it connects with Jesus’s teaching on the general resurrection in John 5.
Resurrection in John (paid subscriber exclusive)
If the volume on resurrection in the Synoptic Gospels actually comes to fruition, the next planned volume in the series would be on the Gospel according to John. Since this is a draft preview of the matters I would cover, the full version is an exclusive.
A recent book by Jeremiah Johnston on Jesus’s resurrection interested me for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, it proved to be disappointing for reasons I outline in this review.
Review of Resurrection: Investigating a Rabbi from Brooklyn, a Preacher from Galilee, and an Event That Changed the World
Conversely, this book by Michael Brown proved to be a pleasant surprise.
Biblical and Theological Commentary on The Lord of the Rings, Part 5: Book V (paid subscriber exclusive)
This chapter of my forthcoming book addresses the various plotlines of the Fellowship leading to battle in Gondor and the Black Gate. Among other things, particular attention is paid to the operations of Providence, the virtue of hope, and Denethor’s failure in despair.
My series on orientations to the Apocrypha continues with the story of Judith.
This is the first part of my series on resurrection that extends beyond the biblical canon. This one is particularly noteworthy for how it connects resurrection belief to the larger ethical focus of the book.
Biblical and Theological Commentary on The Lord of the Rings, Part 6: Book VI (paid subscriber exclusive)
This chapter addresses Tolkien’s eucatastrophe (and the narration of its effects in the Field of Cormallen), Frodo’s heroism, and other aspects of the resolution of the story.
Evaluating Resurrection Harmonies, Part 1: John Wenham’s Easter Enigma
This series, which I may return to for future installments if there is interest, is a review of various proposed harmonizations of the resurrection narratives. Appropriately, I begin with the most extensive one from John Wenham.