Chatty God
Galileo said, “Mathematics is the language with which God wrote the Universe.” In Genesis 1:3ff, God said, “Let there be… and there was…” Psalm 19:1-4 praises, “The heavens declare the…
My Review of The Art of Bible Translation by Robert Alter
Shared with permission from Criswell Theological Review The Art of Bible Translation. By Robert Alter. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2019, 129 pp., $24.95, Hardback In The Art of Bible Translation,…
Without a Vision People are Sure to Misinterpret Proverbs 29:18 (Video)
Few churches go more than a couple weeks in business meetings or general assembly without somebody quoting the first half of Proverbs 29:18 from the King James, “Without a vision…
The Three Amigos: Biblical, Systematic & Historical Theology
As a constant advocate for Biblical Theology, some imagine that I want Biblical Theology instead of Systematic Theology. I don’t. Systematic Theology does not hold as much interest for me…
Depends What the Meaning of “OF” Is
Grammar stinks…. just kidding; I love grammar, but I’m hoping that by pretending not to that you will suck it up and actually read all the way to the bottom…
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Language Issues
Biblical Studies
Biblical Theology
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
Meeting the Jesus of Mark
New Testament Studies
Jesus as Gospel: Is there Emperor Typology in Mark 1:1?
Some have suggested that the “OF” case in Mark 1:1 in the phrase “Gospel of Jesus” is objective… meaning that Jesus is the gospel and not merely the preacher of…
Keep One Eye on the Old Testament: Mark 1:2-13 & Ancient Reference
“I’m a New Testament Christian!” A common boast by those little interested in the Old Testament… I mean… Doesn’t that just sound defunct… OLD… Good old things get the label…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Language Issues
Biblical Studies
Biblical Theology
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
Old Testament Studies
Text Criticism Issues
Getting out the Pagan Within Part 1: A Biblical Theology of I Samuel 15:27-31
Even a brief scan of 1 Samuel 15 should be enough to perplex the average reader. Here YHWH commands Samuel to command Saul to utterly destroy a people called the…
Did God Invent Covenant?
So you are reading a prophetic vision story in the Bible, perhaps say, 1 Kings 22:19ff, and God appears sitting on a heavenly throne. Have you ever asked yourself the…
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Language Issues
Biblical Theology
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
Intertestamental History & Literature
Meeting the Jesus of Mark
New Testament Studies
NT's Use of the OT
A Baptism in Confusion: 3 Baptisms in Mark 1:2-13
In our last episode, we introduced the bare bones essence of water baptism as an ancient covenant ratification act saturated with typical death imagery and corresponding OT interests in ordeal…
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Theology
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
Meeting the Jesus of Mark
New Testament Studies
NT's Use of the OT
Old Testament Studies
A Baptism in Baptism
So you read the whole Old Testament. You read it several times. Having immersed yourself in the literature that your Bible, by its basic structure, seems to promise as the…
Bible Backgrounds
Inductive Study Methods
Meeting the Jesus of Mark
New Testament Studies
NT's Use of the OT
Old Testament Studies
Text Criticism Issues
Name that Quote: Exodus 23:20, Malachi 3:1, and Isaiah 40:3 in Mark 1:2
I will never forget my first Master’s paper at Regent University. I called it, “How They Got This Out of That.” I worked hard in my undergraduate programs (Yes, programs…
Striving for the Impossible… and loving it
I love the word asymptotic. I’m not a mathematician. No offense intended to all you left brained calculus types, but I actually hate doing math. It seems to me, however,…
Historical History & the Little Scholar Who Could
One of the benefits of a being raised in a blue collar environment and receiving academic training is that I tend to experience the full force of learning. This means…
Biblical Language Issues
Inductive Study Methods
Meeting the Jesus of Mark
New Testament Studies
NT's Use of the OT
“As” if: Mark 1:2-4 as a Single Sentence
There is a certain beauty in translation. It is not only a science, but also an art… some would say not even a science. There are all kinds of philosophies…