May 2013
2 posts
2 tags
A Year in the Greek New Testament: Paul's Epistle...
scottxstephens:
“Life/salvation/justification are all given to those who have faith in Christ, but it is not that faith that saves the person, it is Jesus that saves them. Jesus is δικαιοσύνη because he fulfills YHWH’s covenant faithfulness (צַדִּיק). It is Jesus’ faithful action that saves/justifies/gives new life. It is faith in Christ’s faithful action that provides these things. The...
April 2013
5 posts
16 tags
A Note On Interpretation, Especially of the...
There is a statement being discussed among some of my fellow bloggers:
“I’m gettin’ real tired of all this postmodernist-relativistic-thought-applied-to-Christianity b—-sh—. Knock. it. the. hell. off. You don’t get to interpret the Bible based on your *feelings* or things you think the Holy Spirit told you that don’t line up with what the Bible actually, clearly says. There’s...
12 tags
Hunting an Image of God
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27, NIV 2011
I write this 30 minutes after the capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the alleged Boston Marathon Bomber. On Twitter, the hashtag #manhunt is associated with the pursuit of this man. I have unfortunately seen many responses to this situation that wish for...
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Wandering Through Hebrews 5:7 - Jesus' Loud Cries...
So also Christ did not glorify in himself in becoming a high priest… In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Hebrews 5:5a and 7, NRSV
The book of Hebrews emphasizes Jesus’ humanity more than any other book in the New...
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Wandering Through Hebrews 3:1-6: We Are God's...
Therefore, brothers and sisters, holy partners in a heavenly calling, consider that Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses also “was faithful in all God’s house.” Yet Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the...
March 2013
8 posts
16 tags
11 tags
Lent Adventure 2013: Week 3 - Orthodox
I attended an Orthodox service with my girlfriend Aubrey when I recently visited California. The experience was a mixture of awe, mystery, and familiarity. [[MORE]] First Impressions The Orthodox church seems, to me, to want to bring to life church history and reverence for the saints within the four walls of the building. Inside were beautiful icons (painting of Christ or another holy figure...
8 tags
Taiwan Experiences, circa Mar 2012 by Megan →
organicsoymilk:
Today I came across an old chat conversation in which Alvin, a new friend at the time, asked me a few questions about my experiences in Taiwan. As it happens, this conversation happened 365 days ago, haha. Many of you back home have asked me, “What’s it like in Taiwan?” and I’ve never been able to answer that very well, so perhaps this more detailed (and slightly edited) Q&A...
5 tags
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Wandering Through Hebrews 2:14 - Devil, Death and...
Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, [Christ] likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. - Hebrews 2:14-15, NRSV
The Devil and Death I do not want to linger on the controversial identity of the “devil”...
9 tags
A Year in the Greek New Testament: Luke 23:34
scottxstephens:
Read More
Another great post by Scott!
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Hebrews, Scripture: Wandering Through Hebrews 1:5
What is the author of Hebrews doing with Scripture?
For to which of the angels did God ever say,
“You are my Son; today I have begotten you”
Or again,
“I will be his Father, and he will be my Son?
- Hebrews 1:5, NRSV In this post, we’ll explore some of the interpretive methods the author of Hebrews may be employing when interpreting the Tanakh (Old Testament). It is one...
February 2013
10 posts
15 tags
NT Wright and the New Perspective on Paul
This is, in most part, a response to a question by Blake: “What is your opinion on the New Perspective on Paul?” I am, admittedly, Wrightian (as in NT Wright) in my understanding of Paul and will draw on his understanding of this controversial topic.* [[MORE]] The formal beginning of the NPP started with EP Sanders’ book, Paul and Palestinian Judaism, which came out in 1977. ...
10 tags
Lent Adventure 2013: Week 2 - Lutheran
(I’ll be blogging through my Lent 2013 experience. I’ve decided to attend a different church service every Sunday exploring different denominations and then work through my experience.) Today, I attended a Lutheran Church. I know a little bit about Lutheran theology/history, but have never actually been to a Lutheran service. [[MORE]] First Impressions The age of the congregation was, on...
10 tags
Lent Adventure 2013: Week 1 - "Bible" Church
(I’ll be blogging through my Lent 2013 experience. I’ve decided to attend a different church service every Sunday exploring different denominations and then work through my experience. I started doing this on my side blog, but decided to move this over to my main one. This post is actually a week old.) Today I attended a church that video’d the preaching pastor in. I am familiar with...
11 tags
Jesus, Angels: Wandering Through Hebrews 1:4-14
What has Jesus to do with angels? Hebrews 1:4-14 is an interesting segment within the whole of the New Testament canon for two dominant reasons: [1] Its topic — Jesus’ Superiority to the angels — is not dealt with (at least in length) anywhere else. [2] It’s the first heavy display of heavy citation and employment of Jewish Scriptures with the authors’ Jewish...
Hallelu: Reflections on the Calling of Matthew →
hallelu:
Jesus’ meal with Saint Matthew reorients the vision of the salvation of God. When Jesus called the Apostle Matthew, who was a tax-collector and traitor to the Jewish people, Matthew immediately ate a meal with him. This strikes me as notable in a few ways.
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Great post by Hallelu!
A Year in the Greek New Testament: Mark 2:3-5a
scottxstephens:
“What is there to learn from this? I think that all to often, we go to the Gospels looking for lessons about this abstract idea that we call ‘faith.’ While being a faithful follower of Jesus is important, it is not the main idea of the Gospels, specifically Mark. The Gospels stand to tell us the story of Jesus; who he was and what he did. We cannot have...
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Supreme Christology: Wandering Through Hebrews...
The Epistle to the Hebrews 1:1-4, NRSV:
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made...
January 2013
5 posts
11 tags
Wandering Through Hebrews, Pt. 1 (And a Note on...
This is the inaugural post of my series on the Epistle to the Hebrews. Opening Points of Interest Hebrews is an odd book for several reasons: Lack of a set author, set audience, large and heavy usage of the Tanakh (Hebrew/Old Testament) in unfamiliar ways, High (yet nuanced) Christology, Exposition on the Israelite sacrificial system and the relevance for the New Covenant, Usage of the...
2 tags
Aubrey
Meet Aubrey. [[MORE]]
A Girl From Athens Meets a Guy From Jerusalem
She is a smart, caring, generous, and beautiful young lady. Close to attaining her degree in Philosophy, she has a love for hermeneutics, aesthetics and truth that I find irresistible. We met while discussing her 20th century philosophy paper on Hans-Georg Gadamer’s Truth and Method and its compatibility with...
13 tags
The Gospel as Entering a Narrative, Not Making a...
As a follow up to my previous post, there will be a lingering question of “how” the Gospel should be presented and what difference this makes. I do not intend that this is the way how the Gospel should be presented, but rather am trying to make a case as a possibly better way of understanding the Gospel in relation to the Christian life. Decisionism in “Gospel...
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Ask: Books on Biblical Hermeneutics
I recently received a question from wakedeadman asking to recommend a book or two on hermeneutics. I decided to do a small resource post for anyone interested! Biblical hermeneutics (textual interpretation) is one of my favorite subjects. I’ll post different “reading levels” for my followers. Note: I do not fully endorse all the views of every book that I recommend, but...
December 2012
8 posts
12 tags
2012 Favorites/End of the Year Post
I started blogging February 4th of this year. It has been a great way to connect with different traditions of the Christian faith and to forge great online friendships. I’ve had many great discussions and challenges and questions and look forward to more possibilities in 2013! Here is my 2012 Reading List Keep up to date with my 2013 Reading List In the meantime, here are my personal...
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What is the Gospel?
I recently got an anonymous message asking “What is the Gospel?” It is such a simple question, but one that is so central to the message of Christianity. And as with many simple questions, it comes with many responses: One does not have to look far to find many different books claiming to tell us what the Gospel really means. I will barely scratch the surface on this post, but...
8 tags
The Anger of God and Christmas
The Anger of God may not come off as a very “Christmas”-y subject, (also, I may sound slightly fundamentalist) but bear with me. There are those who hold that God is not angry, as to make God palpable to popular taste - a God who always wears a smile and says that everything is “A-OK!”. This may be an underlying though in popular theology in some Christian circles. ...
9 tags
The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus and...
Crucifixion I’ve always wondered what the disciples of Jesus emotionally and spiritually went through between the time of the crucifixion and resurrection. I would imagine they grieved the death of their beloved leader and were terribly shaken in their faith in, and their identity as the people of, God. Jesus, their messianic hope, was brutally murdered. Their expectations and hope of...
14 tags
The Irony of Megachurch Missions
Megachurches make me uncomfortable. But it’s not because I’m a ecclesiastical minimalist. Just because a local church is small doesn’t mean that it is a healthy church - vice versa, having a large church doesn’t make it automatically bad. However, I do find the idea of certain megachurches participating in missions/giving somewhat ironic. I was once in a traveling Gospel...
11 tags
My Journey To, With, and Away From Calvinism
Once upon a time, I was Calvinist. 5-Point, Full Reformed. If you have been following me for some time, then this may come as (maybe) shocking to you, since I strongly separate myself from it. To In the fall of 2007, I started to re-attend church services. In 2008, I was playing “worship” music for high school services as a guitar player. In the summer of 2009, I attended a...
November 2012
8 posts
6 tags
2 tags
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Are We More Moral Than [Some Explanations of]...
I’ve had a few responses to my previous post: Are We More Moral Than [Some Explanations of] ‘God’? (Or: “A Problem with Best-Of-All-Possible-Worlds”) and would like to use this post to respond to them. [[MORE]] Anonymous Asked:
Your best-of-all-possible-worlds post misunderstand what it means to have a best possible world. Biblically, Gods ultimate purpose is to glorify himself, not to...
13 tags
Are We More Moral Than [Some Explanations of]...
The idea that humanity, whether individuals or a certain group or as a whole, can become more ‘moral’ than God will obviously raise a few flags. However, when questioning God or our idea(s) of God, becomes off-limits, we need to ask ourselves: “Is your God big enough to be questioned?”[1] A god that cannot handle questions is either too insecure or transcendent. For...
2 tags
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Do you ἀγαπάω or φιλέω?
In John 21:15-17, there is an odd dialogue between Jesus and Peter: Jesus repeatedly asks Peter if he loves him. It’s quite the confusing scene: Why does Jesus need this confirmation? Isn’t one, even two answers, enough? I’m no expert in Greek translation (aabyegrace is much more educated), but there is a little bit more going on than what most English translations let on...
11 tags
Jesus, Paul and "The Sword"
The Church’s relationship to government has been historically messy. From the approved execution of Jesus by the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate, to the merging of Church and Government that lead to the violent Crusades and to the modern Christian struggle of political involvement in democracy, there have been differing views on what exactly is the “Biblical” relationship of the...
October 2012
8 posts
8 tags
The Conflict[ed God] of Calvinism (Or: "The...
In Calvinism, there is the explanation of the two wills of God - passive and decreed - in order to explain why “God can save everyone but doesn’t” in order to reconcile their view of God predestining salvation according to their view of deterministic salvation. Both Hebrew and Christian testaments refer to God as one who does not “take pleasure in the death of the...
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Scriptural Roles of Women: Proverbs 31
Proverbs 31:10-31 is the popular passage of the “excellent” (ESV) or “noble” (NIV) wife. Complementarians have cited this passage as an example of what “biblical womanhood” looks like.[1] There is even a ministry named after the chapter of the passage.[2] From these observations, it is safe to say that this section of Scripture plays note-worthy part in the identity and...
