From the June Archives
(avg. read time: 4–8 mins.)
On Credentialism and Associated Follies
I have though of updating this, but the very reason I would update it is what makes it almost pointless to update: there are always more recent examples.
Why Be a Biblical Scholar? What Good Can a Biblical Scholar Serve?
This post and the previous one go together and balance each other. This one in particular is something of a vocational reflection for me.
The Three-Stage Gospel Narrative, Part 1: The Gospels
The Three-Stage Gospel Narrative, Part 2: Acts
The Three-Stage Gospel Narrative, Part 3: The Pauline Letters
The Three-Stage Gospel Narrative, Part 4: Hebrews and the General Epistles
The Three-Stage Gospel Narrative, Part 5: Revelation
This whole series reviews references to some or all of the major events of the gospel narrative of Jesus’s crucifixion, resurrection, and exaltation throughout the NT canon. Each of these events assumes a larger story not only surrounding the particular events but also leading up to them and proceeding from them. The Gospels in particular, in their own distinct ways, show how the gospel story is about a larger context than these key events. Indeed, the gospel story is one that is still ongoing, as the eschatological conclusion still lies in the future. But in all cases, these three events, explicitly or implicitly, are the key reference points for the articulation and summarization of that story in the NT.
Expectations and the Interpretation of Resurrection as “Bodily” (paid subscriber exclusive)
This is a pre-publication draft of one of my articles for Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. Studies of resurrection belief in the Bible and Second Temple Jewish texts tend to present one of two views. One is what I call the “open-referent/open-source resurrection” view, according to which early Jews and Christians used resurrection language in such a way that it may or may not have involved a body, and the source domain for metaphorical uses of such language was an ambiguous revival. The other is what I call the “body-referent/body-source resurrection” view, according to which this resurrection language entailed the involvement of the body, and the source domain for metaphorical uses such language was restoration to bodily life that implied upward physical movement. In this study I evaluate these views and the expectations they produce for what the audience should find in resurrection texts by analyzing OT and Second Temple Jewish texts—including an outline of features of resurrection texts—and applying insights therefrom to the resurrection presented in Dan 12 and 1 Cor 15 (particularly, Jesus’s resurrection). I argue that the body-referent/body-source resurrection view produces expectations that better comport with the content of these texts, especially since it better fits the semantics of the resurrection verbs in their contexts and the implications of the metaphorical uses.
Biblical and Theological Commentary on “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics”
Acts 2 as the Paradigmatic Gospel Proclamation
This is an overview showing how the first gospel proclamation at Pentecost anticipates patterns that we see throughout the rest of Acts, making it the paradigmatic gospel proclamation in Acts.
On the Terminological Hang-Up of Describing Resurrection as “Physical”
This is another draft of one of my articles with an alternate title. It is not an exclusive because it came out sooner than I expected and was already available to those subscribed to Evangelical Quarterly by the time this was posted. From the early centuries of the church, there has been much discussion on how best to describe Jesus’s resurrection and the expected eschatological resurrection (particularly of believers). One popular way of describing resurrection has been as ‘physical,’ which in some ways corresponds with the ancient description of the resurrection ‘of the flesh.’ Critics of this approach have, in fact, treated these descriptions as synonymous and have argued that ‘physical’ is not an apt adjective for describing Jesus’s or the eschatological resurrection. I argue here, particularly by reference to 1 Cor. 15, that it remains appropriate to refer to resurrection according to the Bible as ‘physical,’ not as ‘bodily, but not physical,’ and that it is the critics who have overcomplicated the term by making it entail what it does not entail and have thus provided obfuscation where they claimed to provide clarification.
Resurrection Grammar: A Grammatical Analysis of Resurrection Language in the NT
The title speaks for itself. This is a foundational reference point for a lot of grammatical comments I make on resurrection language and distinguishing resurrection uses from non-resurrection uses of the major terms used for resurrection.
Differences Between Qur’anic and Biblical Commentaries
This is unsurprisingly one of my more obscure posts. It was born out of my experience researching Qur’anic commentaries for my dissertation and seeing how different they tended to be from biblical commentaries I was used to reading. For anyone else looking to explore this field, this can give you an idea of what to expect.
This part has links to the rest of the series. From a letter written during WW1 to some of the last letters he ever wrote, he wrote much that provides many, many references of interest to my larger series of commentaries
There is a common narrative that the Qur’an does not affirm Jesus’s resurrection because it presents Jesus as having not died in the first place. While that is the traditional reading, it is not necessarily the most accurate one. I think the pertinent texts in the Qur’an are better accounted for by the understanding that Jesus is implied to have died and been raised from the dead. However, this implicit event is presented in such a different worldview framework that it is completely different from the Christomorphic resurrection belief we see in the NT. This is a prime illustration of the importance of larger worldview considerations when it comes to Jesus’s resurrection.
Resurrection and New Creation in Rom 8
This is a preview of what is a longer paid subscriber exclusive. It focuses specifically on the relationship of resurrection and new creation in the central resurrection text of Romans.
Resurrection in Romans (paid subscriber exclusive)
And here is the longer exclusive that provides something of a preview of what I would want to write about Romans.
Paul’s Body Language in 1 Corinthians
This is a review of how Paul uses “body” language in 1 Corinthians in anticipation of analysis of his resurrection texts in this letter.
Resurrection in 1 Corinthians 6
There is obviously going to be a lot to say about 1 Cor 15, and I have written on that quite a bit in various contexts. But we should not overlook what Paul has to say about resurrection in the part of this letter that anticipates 1 Cor 15.
Resurrection and Christology in 1 Cor 15:24–28
The Resurrection Body in 1 Cor 15:42–49
Controversies in 1 Cor 15:50–53
Christ and the Spirit in Resurrection in 1 Cor 15:45
All of these posts are extracts of my dissertation.
Links Between The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings, Part 5: Book V
Links Between The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings, Part 6: Book VI
The “Divine Warrior” Theme and Christ’s Work in 1 Cor 15:24–28 (paid subscriber exclusive)
This is an expansion of pieces of my dissertation, which is something of a “proof of concept” of a possible article I may return to someday.
Christ and the Spirit in Resurrection in 2 Cor 3
This is a corresponding application of my review of 1 Cor 15 to a text from 2 Cor 3, which also links Christ, the Spirit, and resurrection.
Paul’s Theology of Resurrection in 2 Corinthians (paid subscriber exclusive)
This is a fuller review of resurrection theology in a letter with some of Paul’s most extensive teachings on the subject.
Orientation to Wisdom of Solomon
This is an orientation for the book of the Apocrypha that I find the most interesting, particularly for how it is consonant with Trinitarian language in the NT.
There are not many explicit references to resurrection to review in this homily, but the theme resonates throughout the theological-ethical framework.
Biblical and Theological Commentary on Tolkien’s Letters Supplement, Part 1: Expanded Edition
Biblical and Theological Commentary on Tolkien’s Letters Supplement, Part 2: Unpublished Letters
These entries were written after the expanded edition of Tolkien’s letters was released. Included in this expanded edition were more letters that I had to note for my series. Additionally, I had read more references that were not included in the expanded edition that I needed to review as well.
Barabbas: A (Para-)Biblical Adaptation Review
While the quality of this adaptation of an expanded story for Barabbas is a step down from Ben-Hur, I must say I was pleasantly surprised by it. And as with other adaptation reviews, I had a lot to say about it.
Evaluating Resurrection Harmonies, Part 3: Eckhard Schnabel’s Jesus in Jerusalem
Misleading Statistics About the Synoptic Puzzle
I have noticed some common statistics that have gone around about how closely the Synoptic Gospels resemble each other. I decided to investigate how these statistics are presented and show how they are misleading. Although the charts supporting my points need to be updated and slightly corrected, I have kept the charts as exclusive to paid subscribers, but the proper text of the post is freely available.