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Not that kind of girl anymore

My point, so far, is that God’s wrath is coming, and Jesus — whose birth we celebrate at Christmas — is the savior from that wrath. It’s a point a lot of people got because that’s what a savior is — and it’s a point I have made here before, so you were . . . . Continue Reading »

Divvying Up the Writers of the 66

Ecumenical dialogue is important. One problem in discussions between Christians has been the failure to recognize that each group quotes different Biblical authors. We all know that Paul is a Protestant, for example, but few recognize that Paul himself can be divided between early Paul . . . . Continue Reading »

God’s Priorities in Phil 1:9-11

As I was thinking through the following prayer of Paul last week, several things occurred to me:And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with . . . . Continue Reading »

Recovering the Bible

The Bible contains a verse that scholars like to quote. It is from the book of Ecclesiastes: “Of making many books there is no end, and much study is weariness of the flesh” (12:12). In context it serves as a warning against the vain illusion that we can study our way to the Kingdom of God. The . . . . Continue Reading »

Negative Theology

The Concept of Biblical Theology: An Old Testament Perspectiveby james barrfortress, 715 pages, $40 Formerly the Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford and now the Distinguished Professor of Hebrew Bible Emeritus at Vanderbilt Divinity School, James Barr is surely one of the leading biblical scholars . . . . Continue Reading »

The Elliptical Exodus

The Hidden Book in the Bible.By Richard Elliott Friedman.HarperCollins. 402 pp. $25. I  have used Richard Friedman’s best-selling book on source-criticism, Who Wrote the Bible?, in my introductory course for several years. Unlike most introductions to the problem of the Bible’s . . . . Continue Reading »

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