Don’t be afraid to ask questions
Category: Hermeneutics
Quote: Greg Boyd on interpreting Revelation
Good quote from Greg Boyd: “…interpreting Revelation’s symbols as referring primarily to future historical events produces a multitude of contradictions and absurdities. To offer one trivial but clear example, when I first read Revelation as a seventeen-year-old recent convert in a fundamentalist church, I was troubled by John’s statement that all the stars fell from…
“How have Christians missed this?”
I recently appeared on The Analytic Christian for an interview about end times-y stuff. I enjoyed the conversation and discussion very much. You can watch it below. Check it out!
My interview at Logos Live
I was recently interviewed by Jason Stone at Logos Live about my new book, The End of the World as You Know It. It was a fun conversation. Check it out below…
New Interview at RTB
I was recently invited to come on Jason Bastow’s show, Ring Them Bells, to chat about my new book. Many thanks to Jason for a stimulating conversation! You can watch the interview below.
An Interview with Steve Walton
In this episode of The Bible (Unmuted). I chat with Steve Walton, a Senior Research Fellow at Trinity, College, Bristol. Steve is the author of Reading Acts Theologically, which was published by T&T Clark in the Library of New Testament Studies series. He is currently working on an Acts commentary, which will be published as…
The End of the World & Rapture Theology
Below is a recent interview I did at The Learning Laborers Podcast with Taylor and Denver about my new book, The End of the World As You Know It. Check it out below. Here’s the episode description, followed by a link to the conversation: Should our eschatology make us fearful or hopeful? Is there any…
The Hebrew Bible: An Interview with Robert Alter
My interview with Robert Alter was just published. You can watch it on YouTube or listen via audio on the podcast (links below). Enjoy! Audio: The Bible (Unmuted) is available on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon — and wherever you get your podcasts) YouTube:
On Walking
I went for a walk the other day and came across a cross. One might chalk it up as happenstance. Perhaps the wind blew these two sticks until they eventually married one another on this random path at just the right time before I chanced upon them. Or maybe it was by design. Perhaps some…
New SAET Article on Justification
Matthew Thomas recently published a new article on the doctrine of justification for the St. Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology. You can read it here. Thomas offers a well-rounded overview of all the important questions (and controversies) that have accompanied the doctrine through the years. I’m fascinated by the subject. It’s interesting to reflect upon not…
Nobody’s Mother
I’ve started reading Dr. Sandra Glahn’s new book, Nobody’s Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament. I’m a little more than a fourth the way in, and it’s fantastic. She’s a great writer, and if you’re interested in questions surrounding women in ministry or the cultural background of the New Testament,…
Latest Podcast Episode
In the my most recent podcast episode, I discuss Romans 9:14-33. Here Paul talks about God’s right to show mercy in the way he wants (with the same being said about divine hardening). To illustrate this, the apostle brings to the fore the story of Pharaoh, who God hardened. I connect this story, and the…
Would ET existence undermine Christianity?
I just published a new article at Premier Christianity on the topic of UFOs and ET. A lot of people are talking about UFOs, now known as UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena). And with the recent public hearing in the U.S. Congress, a lot of people will continue to do so. At the congressional hearing, testimony…
Reflections on Table, Time, and Church
When it comes to church, one thing I’ve learned is that “community” is important. In fact, the communal life is necessary. And by “community,” I mean more than a place for shop talk (as important as that is). I mean something along the lines of habitual participation, constant give-and-take, and sacramental union. I mean koinōnia. …
The Deep Things
I spent time nearly every day last week walking the shoreline. There’s something mesmerizing about it all. The vastness summons you to attention. The waves are fierce and rhythmic, drawing you away from distraction and into wonder and contemplation. What’s beyond our own horizon? What lies behind the veil of our finitude? Without knowing it,…
New podcast episodes on Revelation
I recently launched a new podcast called The Bible (Unmuted). You can find it on Apple, Google, Spotify, and pretty much wherever you listen to podcasts. The past few episodes have been on Revelation, specifically about the mistakes we make while reading Revelation. The first two episodes are followed by a fun conversation I had…
Interview on UFOs, Aliens, and Paranormal Experiences
I recently did an interview with Preston Sprinkle about UFOs, aliens, and paranormal experiences that people sometimes report. Preston is a great guy, and I had a lot of fun chatting with him about this topic.
Be careful when you read your Bible
Here’s something you might not have considered before: You will never be able to read the Bible objectively. There will always be some level of bias in play. To read the Bible is to interpret the Bible, after all. That’s why it’s wise to be mindful of the assumptions you bring to the text. The…
Bono and Franklin Graham talk about Jesus
In this article, Bono recounts a conversation he once had with Franklin Graham. It’s kind of funny and reminds me of a couple things: (1) some sectors of evangelicalism don’t quite understand the evangel (the gospel) or how to share it; (2) thank God for the renegade poets who do. Graham: “You … you really…
How to read the Bible
You’re not truly reading Scripture until you allow Scripture to read you. Do you allow the Bible to question your beliefs or do you read it in such a way that it always agrees with you? Do you simply treat the Bible as your personal answer book—a cache of weaponry you can deploy to support…
How should we interpret the plagues of Revelation?
I recently published an article at Logos about interpreting the plague passages in Revelation. There are a lot of misunderstandings about these texts, and I thought it would be helpful to write up something that would shed some light on how to interpret them. Some people point to modern health crises (such as Covid, monkeypox,…
My new book has been released
I’m excited to announce that my book, Paul and the Meaning of Scripture, has just been released. Here’s the link to the Amazon page. This has been a labor of love, and I’m happy to see it published. It’s a project that, in many ways, began over ten years ago during my my master’s research.…
Why you should read the Apocrypha
I’m once again opening up David DeSilva‘s excellent introduction to the Apocrypha as I gear up for my Jewish and Greco-Roman Backgrounds of the New Testament class at Eternity Bible College. Here’s a link to deSilva’s book, Introducing the Apocrypha. My hope is that we modern Christians (especially us Protestants) would become more like the…
The Gospel of Beautiful Truth
Here’s what you don’t say when counseling someone who’s come face to face with evil and trauma: “God is in control” or “This was God’s will” or “God did this so you will learn something” or “We shouldn’t ask why ‘bad things happen to good people’ because there are no ‘good people’; we are all sinful,…
Playing with Theological Explosives: A Second Interview with Matthew J. Thomas
I had the privilege to once again chat with Dr Matthew J. Thomas about Paul’s well-known phrase “works of the law.” When Paul says we are not justified by “works of the law” (see e.g., Gal 2:16), what does he mean? Is he saying good works are not necessary for salvation? Or by “works” is…
Text Traditions of the Old Testament
Here’s a fun video from Mike Heiser, who answers the question, “Was there only one version of the Old Testament in ancient times?” Many Christians are unaware of the various text traditions of the Old Testament, but it’s certainly an important topic that I recommend getting familiar with. Here’s the video description, followed by the…
Paul’s Use of Scripture in Romans, Part 4
Here is the final installment of my series with Mike Heiser at The Naked Bible Podcast. It’s been a lot of fun chatting with Mike these past few months about the Old Testament’s messianic profile. As we’ve discussed throughout the series, knowing that profile is essential if we want to understand how New Testament authors…
Paul’s Use of Scripture in Romans, Part 3
Here is Part 3 of my series with Mike Heiser at The Naked Bible Podcast. Episode Description: In the preceding episodes, we’ve seen how Paul reconfigures Old Testament faith, faithfulness, and Torah keeping in light of the work of Jesus and his own encounter with the risen Christ. In this episode we look at how Paul…
Paul’s Use of Scripture in Romans, Part 2
The latest installment of The Naked Bible Podcast takes us back to Romans for a second time. In the following episode, Mike and I chat about how Paul employs the Abraham story in Romans 4. I discuss how Paul’s exegesis of Genesis and his christological assumptions work together to further his larger argument about justification.…
Paul’s Use of Scripture in Romans, Part 1
Mike Heiser and I have been talking a lot about the Old Testament’s “messianic profile” in several episodes at The Naked Bible Podcast. We wanted to do this because it’s so foundational for understanding Jesus’ ministry in the New Testament. It’s also important for understanding the way in which New Testament writers (such as Paul)…
Election and Messianism in Malachi
In previous episodes of the Naked Bible Podcast, Mike and I spent a lot of time observing how the Old Testament builds a “messianic profile.” It’s important for readers of the New Testament to have a working knowledge of that profile because it aids in understanding how, exactly, Jesus of Nazareth brings the biblical story…
“The Messiahs in Daniel 9”
In this episode of The Naked Bible Podcast, Mike and I return to the book of Daniel. This time we explore Daniel 9, which contains a passage where the word “messiah” (“anointed one”) is used a couple times, along with the verb “to anoint.” Are these prophecies about Jesus? How does this passage contribute to…
The Messianic Story, Part 2
Below is the fourth installment of my ongoing series with Dr. Michael Heiser at The Naked Bible Podcast. Throughout this series, we have been discussing the “messianic profile” that is constructed in the Old Testament. Both Mike and I have said this profile cannot be reduced down to just those instances in the Old Testament…
Tracing the Messianic Story on the Naked Bible Podcast
Here’s the third installment of my ongoing series with Dr. Michael Heiser at The Naked Bible Podcast. This was a fun episode. As we continue to discuss the Old Testament’s messianic profile, we start by recognizing key motifs that occur throughout the Old Testament itself. In this episode, we talk about the “offspring” motif, which…
Conversations with Mike Heiser
I’ve been honored to chat with the well-known biblical scholar Mike Heiser at The Naked Bible Podcast these past two weeks. Mike is a hero of mine, and it’s a real blessing to be on his show. We are currently in the middle of doing an extended series on Paul’s use of the Old Testament.…
Andrew Judd on Gadamer, Genre Theory, and Biblical Interpretation
If you’re interested in biblical interpretation and hermeneutic theory, check out this great conversation between Ian Paul and Andrew Judd. Andrew recently finished his doctoral thesis on Hans-Georg Gadamer, genre theory, and biblical interpretation. His work looks fascinating. Below is a snippet from the interview. Commenting on the value of Gadamer’s hermeneutics for interpreting Scripture…
Don’t Make this Mistake When you Read the Bible
What is a common mistake people make when they read the Bible—particularly the creation stories in Genesis? They forget that it is an ancient text. Why does this matter? Because ancient literature, like modern literature, is embedded with the assumptions of its own time. If we read ancient texts merely from the perspective of our…
Another Good Resource on Revelation
In my last post, I mentioned Michael Gorman’s Reading Revelation Responsibly. That book is definitely one you need to own. Another book on Revelation that I highly recommend is J. Nelson Kraybill’s Apocalypse and Allegiance: Worship, Politics, and Devotion in the Book of Revelation. It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but it left…
Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther on the Book of Revelation
I’m currently writing a popular-level book on eschatology, and it’s been so much fun working on the manuscript. I don’t want to share too many details about it just yet, but suffice it to say: I’m stoked for it to get published and into the hands of readers. Working through old research notes, I rediscovered…
Advice for Reading Revelation
In his book, Reversed Thunder, the late Eugene Peterson offers a simple strategy for reading the last book of the New Testament: Before you read Revelation, read all the books that come before it first. He says, “. . . no one has any business reading the last book who has not read the previous…
C. S. Lewis and Making Contact with Aliens
I have always been a fan of C. S. Lewis. His punchy lines and pensive reflections are something to be admired. My favorite book, by the way, is his Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold. It should be required reading, especially for those who have loved-ones (i.e., all of us). At any rate, I…
A Conversation with Dr. Matthew J. Thomas
In this video, I chat with Matthew J. Thomas (DPhil, University of Oxford). His book Paul’s “Works of the Law” in the Perspective of Second-Century Reception has received high acclaim and continues to generate discussion among those working in Pauline studies. My conversation with Dr. Thomas centers around the doctrine of justification and how thinkers…
What is the Bible?
I have read many books in my life, and many of them have had a tremendous impact on me. But none of them compare with this fascinating collection of texts that we call “the Bible.” Many people from all walks of life have found within its pages comfort, peace, and wisdom. From “In the beginning”…
Video Resource: Hermeneutics (a brief introduction)
This video offers a brief introduction to hermeneutics with special attention given to biblical hermeneutics. I talk about a host of things: What is hermeneutics? What causes misunderstandings of the Bible? How should we read the Bible? I pray this video is encouraging to you!
“How Preaching is Usually Taught in Seminary”
My Doktorvater, Thorsten Moritz, posted a fun video today. To say the least, he offers thoughts worth considering! Here is the video, followed by its description: The most widespread method taught in seminaries to move from Bible text/Jesus story to Sunday sermon is called principlizing. You gain an anemic principle with clickbait potential at the…
What is interpretation?
Below is a great quote from Joel Weinsheimer, who reflects on the hermeneutic theory of the great German philosopher, Hans-Georg Gadamer. I did my PhD on Gadamer’s hermeneutics, and if you’re at all interested in the subject of interpretation, you’ll need to read his important work Truth and Method. In the meantime, enjoy this fun…
What does Paul mean by “Works of the Law”? An interview with Matthew J. Thomas
I am delighted to post a fun interview I recently conducted with Matthew J. Thomas (DPhil, University of Oxford). Matthew is the author of the highly-acclaimed Paul’s “Works of the Law” in the Perspective of Second-Century Reception. I read this book over the Christmas break, and I found it to be a fantastic treat. Matthew’s…
Should Christians Get Tattoos?
In the latest installment of Practical Theology, we chat about tattoos. Is it a sin to get a tattoo? Does Leviticus 19:28 forbid Christians from getting inked up? In the video below, I also touch briefly on the broader question of interpreting the Old Testament and its commands. How should we interpret Old Testament law…
John MacArthur on the Mark of the Beast
Currently, I am in the throes of writing a book on the end times. When it comes to this topic, the “mark of the beast” tends to get a lot of attention. In some corners, sadly, much of that attention is fueled by needless fear and anxiety. As I discuss below, I think a lot…
Is the Bible Sexist?
This is a question that comes up a lot. Some of Paul’s writings on gender relations, for example, cause a bit of consternation in folks. Take his letter to the Ephesians. There Paul uses the language of submission to describe a wife’s posture toward her husband. He says, for example, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as…
Andrew Bartlett on the ‘Worst NT Translations Relating to Women’
If you get a few moments, I recommend you read through Andrew Bartlett’s 4-part series on the “Worst NT Translations Relating to Women.” Bartlett is the author of Men and Women in Christ: Fresh Light From The Biblical Texts. I haven’t read the book yet, but if his 4-part series on this subject is any…
Can we trust the New Testament?
Below is a short video I made with my friend, Pastor Jayson John. This is part of a series of videos where we tackle various topics and answer common questions people have about the Bible and the Christian faith. In this video, I took a few moments to answer a question about the New Testament’s…