Jesus’ Hymn to the Cross
Sometimes, Jesus sings to (not about) the cross. Sometimes, he even dances for the cross. Of course, it’s never in the canonical Gospels…
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New Creation and the New Israel in… Galatians?
One of the most overlooked references to the new creation, and also to the church’s identity, is in Gal 6:15-16: For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation (καινὴ κτίσις). And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. You can see here that Paul is summarizing his argument in Galatians because he states “neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision.” That claim alludes to…
“Should I Be Re-Baptized?” An Interview with Andy Naselli
When someone makes a big step of faith and asks whether they should be baptized again, how would you respond?
How Bad Were Augustine’s Greek Skills?
“For not one word of it did I understand, and to make me understand I was urged vehemently with cruel threats and punishments.”
Is Original Guilt a Biblical Idea?
Original guilt and original sin are two distinct concepts. Although theologians might define the terms differently, I would define them as, respectively, (1) the inheritance of Adam’s guilt and (2) the inheritance of Adam’s sinful nature….
Did Christ Descend into Hell?
The Apostles’ Creed has a line that many are uncomfortable with reciting: “he descended into hell.” Those who are uncomfortable with the phrase might note that it did not enter the creed until very late, perhaps around the seventh century. But even so, the concept of Christ’s descent to the realm of the dead pervades the writings of the early Fathers. They all believed he des….
The Good Samaritan and Appropriate Allegory
The parable of the Good Samaritan is the first example most books on parables use to demonstrate how early Fathers allegorized parables to death. Augustine takes the wounded man as Adam, the Samaritan as Christ, the inn-keeper as Paul, etc. etc….
When Did the New Testament Become Scripture?
Many modern scholars have settled on c. AD 200 as the earliest period at which the New Testament writings were considered Scripture. Irenaeus has been called the “principal architect” of the canon, while another scholar has said Irenaeus “essentially created the core of the New Testament canon of Holy Scripture.” But a fresh examination of the evidence suggests that the New Testament writings were considered Scripture far earlier than Irenaeus….
What Do We Do with Non-Past Aorists?
In the indicative, we occasionally encounter non-past aorists (e.g., Mark 11:24; John 13:31; Rom 8:30; Rev 10:7; see Wallace, GGBB, 563-564). What do we do with these?
Thinking Further about the Greek Perfect Tense-Form
The Greek perfect tense-form is the most puzzling of the indicative forms. Its formation is interesting, its aspectual value is debated, and its flexibility in use is astounding. I’m always happy to learn more about the perfect and I hear there is an entire edited volume coming out on it. But until then, we can whet our appetite with several essays in the recently published The Greek Verb Revisited. In this….