Some of you may justifiably ask just what some guy moving on through middle age is doing writing a review of a book whose title starts For Girls Only! And that was indeed my reaction when I first saw the book in an e-mail from Tyndale House. Indeed, I had just about deleted the e-mail…
I was impressed recently while reading several different blog entries about the importance of the way(s) in which we look at Bible passages. Now I certainly emphasize looking at the forest–at the broad sweep of Biblical themes. One way of looking at themes is in terms of trajectories–which way is the Bible story going. For…
I frequently encounter people who are afraid of depending on scholars for their knowledge of the Bible. I understand this fear. One thing that got me into studying biblical languages was the desire to know for myself, without having someone else translate. But when I had learned the languages, I found that one had to…
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.” — Matthew 7:1 (NRSV) I have often called this little verse the most violated verse in the New Testament. Christians regularly take it upon themselves to judge one another and also to judge non-Christians. At the same time, this is one of the most misinterpreted…
I’m doing a run through J. Louis Martyn’s commentary on Galatians (Anchor Bible)Galatians (Anchor Bible), and enjoying it a great deal. He has a paragraph on historical methodology to which I want to call your attention: Convincing attempts to present a chronology of Paul’s travels and labors are based on a simple rule: Our first…
That is, study it in English if English is your native language, and when your knowledge of biblical languages isn’t up to the task. Face it. For most people, even those who have some study of biblical languages. Different levels of study of the languages provide different levels of benefits. But for most people, the…