Gabriel’s Revelation?

In Sunday’s New York Times there is an interesting story about a tablet discovered that dates to the second century BC: Tablet Ignites Debate on Messiah and Resurrection. It reports that this MAY provide evidence of the pre-Jesus idea of the Jewish messiah dying and rising again after three days. There is some vital text missing from the stone but it seems to suggest that Jesus did not invent the idea of a suffering, dying, and resurrecting Jewish Messiah.

I can’t see this changing things though. Those who accept Jesus in the Christian sense will say that he fulfilled pre-existing expectations and died for the people of God, including both Jews and Gentiles, whereas those who do not believe will say that Christians co-opted an existing tradition and presented Jesus as this suffering, dying Messiah. Either way I’m sure we will be hearing a lot more about this next Easter if not in the coming months.

All I can say is wow

I could not believe my eyes when I read that Henry Morgentaler was awarded the Order of Canada today. Thankfully Canada Day is almost over so it wasn’t completely ruined for me. I cannot think of very many people who deserve this “honour” less than him. Here’s the intent of the Order of Canada:

The Order of Canada is the centrepiece of Canada’s honours system and recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. The Order recognizes people in all sectors of Canadian society. Their contributions are varied, yet they have all enriched the lives of others and made a difference to this country. The Order of Canada’s motto is DESIDERANTES MELIOREM PATRIAM (They desire a better country).

There is no question he has made difference in this country but I do not think that killing untold thousands of unborn people qualifies as enriching the lives of others. I do not think the country is better off for his presence either. Of course our supreme court and federal government have to take some of the blame for not implementing any type of abortion law for twenty years now.

NLT Study Bible for Logos

I just found out that Tyndale will be releasing their study Bible for Libronix. 1414326211, 978-1414326214.

It comes with some bonus commentaries as well: Matthew/Mark and Romans/Galatians from the Cornerstone
Biblical Commentary which is great. It is fairly reasonably priced for the computer so check it out if you like the NLT.

An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and their Texts

The B-Greek mailing list yesterday contained a mention of David C. Parker’s forthcoming book on New Testament manuscripts:

David C. Parker, An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and their Texts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. 0521719895, 978-0521719896.

It looks interesting and provides me with an opportunity to point you to his inaugural lecture at the University of Birmingham: Inventing New Testaments. It is presented as a slide show with lots of pictures of manuscripts and some interesting details. The title could be taken the wrong way by those not familiar with NT textual criticism but don’t let it put you off. However, he does ascribe to the idea that the goal of textual criticism should not be the reconstruction of the original text. This is a troubling idea which is thoroughly responded to by Moises Silva at the end of Rethinking New Testament Textual Criticism. Edited by David Alan Black. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2002. 0801022800, 978-0801022807. I am therefore curious to see whether Parker’s introductory book reflects his “postmodern” view or whether he is neutral on the purpose of the task.

I also came across another book on textual criticism recently which looks like it should be good so enjoy:

Scot McKendrick and Kathleen Doyle. Bible Manuscripts: 1400 Years of Scribes and Scripture. British Library, 2007. 0712349227, 978-0712349222.

How would God get our attention today?

I was reading an article in the New York Times today - Worries Mount as Farmers Push for Big Harvest. I love this quote:

“We can’t snap our fingers and make high yields,” said Emerson D. Nafziger, a professor of agronomic extension at the University of Illinois. “We still depend on the weather.”

The Old Testament is full of stories of famine and disaster and the writers and prophets always saw them in the context of global warming God’s message to humanity. Remember Joseph? He was given the task of saving Egypt and the world from seven years of famine. If it wasn’t for that famine the Israelites would never have been in Egypt and never have been rescued by God using Moses.

Today the media carries on about Global Warming as if it has Divine Sovereignty over Earth…as if we control the fate of the world and not God. During the Cold War the concentration was on whether or not NATO and the USSR would destroy the world through nuclear winter. Would God really allow us to blow up the entire planet, even if it was a consequence of our own stupidity? Now we wonder whether we will flood and cook the world through burning too many fossil fuels.

Famine was been a very effective tool for getting people’s attention in the Old Testament. What would God do today? How would be get our collective attention? What would it take to wake up those who believe there is no God, that humanity determines its own destiny and we need nothing but the time to evolve beyond our superstitions. Oh that’s right, we don’t believe in that sort of God anyway. He was replaced by Jesus’ loving, tender God who is only concerned with showering humanity with blessings, not punishing them and calling them to repentance. Jesus would never condemn anyone for their sin, he wouldn’t ask people to repent. He would tell them that they are fine as they are and they should celebrate their liberation. Forget I asked.

What would happen if we all took the bus?

I read with interest this CBC report today which says that too many people in Vancouver are taking the bus! Their monthly passes sell out every month and they are considering printing more but only if they think the system can handle the extra load.

For years and years environmentalists have been insisting that everyone should take public transit. Now that gas prices are so high many more people are. What would happen if everyone took the bus? Obviously the system would collapse and anarchy would reign. Many would argue that the government should spend billions on increased public transit, but then they also complain about the Cambie Street fiasco and the Richmond “Sky Train.” Not surprisingly, those with the means will gladly plunk down $60,000 for a luxury vehicle but refuse to pay the taxes that are required to support an increased transit system.

I will make one prediction - if we all took the bus the sales of locking gas caps at Lordco would return to normal because only Coast Mountain would have any gas to steal.

Prince Caspian

We just got home from seeing Prince Caspian at SilverCity. In a word it was “long.” The cinematography is gorgeous and the acting is good but it tends to drag. As a movie in and of itself it seems incomplete…like the whole event is just a hiatus between the first movie and whatever will follow. I see it has taken in $115 million so far and we can thus be certain that the whatever will follow. As if there was any doubt! My wife said Prince Caspian looks twice as handsome on the big screen as he did in an interview so go see it!

Based on the previews here and before Iron Man which I saw a couple of weeks ago it looks like a very strong summer line up, unlike last year which I felt was disappointing.

Happy viewing!

Orthodozy and the Search for the Hysterical Jesus

That’s the title of my forthcoming book. It’s about why the world and even Christians find orthodoxy boring and would rather search for the hysterical Jesus than study the finer points of Christianity which have been the basis of the faith for millennia. Let me know if you think the title alone will sell a few thousand copies And suggest some corresponding cover art!

List of forthcoming commentaries

I discovered this list of forthcoming commentaries today. It is a little dated (two years ago) and some of them have been released already but it begins with a helpful list of all current commentary series. On the whole it demonstrates what a wondrous ability Christians have at producing more commentaries on the same 66 books year after year for centuries! I discovered a couple I hadn’t heard of before including Asia Bible Commentary whose purpose is:

…to enable readers to understand the Scriptures in their own context and to interpret and apply them to the plurality of Asian cultures in which they live and work.

The series is designed for use by pastors in their expository ministry of preaching, teaching and counselling, by teachers and students in their theological studies, and by men and women who lead small groups in churches and homes.

Hopefully the commentaries don’t contain such sentences ;). Another series I was previously unfamiliar with is Paideia from Baker. Its first volume on Ephesians and Colossians was released in November. This is its focus:

This series approaches each text in its final, canonical form, proceeding by sense units rather than word-by-word or verse-by-verse. Each sense unit is explored in three sections: (1) introductory matters, (2) tracing the train of thought, (3) key hermeneutical and theological questions. The commentaries shed fresh light on the text while avoiding idiosyncratic readings, attend to theological meaning without presuming a specific theological stance in the reader, and show how the text uses narrative and rhetorical strategies from the ancient educational context to form and shape the reader. Professors, graduate and seminary students, and pastors will benefit from this readable commentary, as will theological libraries.

It’s nice to think that everyone will have a reason for buying it. I have to confess I am a little leery whenever a book or series claims to be all things to all people as both of these do. Of course, the Bible is all things to all people at all times so perhaps it is possible!

What is your hermeneutical bent?

I discovered Scot McKnight’s Hermeneutics Quiz today. It asks a series of questions regarding how you view certain issues relating to scripture and its relationship to the modern world and then you rank your position on a scale of 1-5. The results place you in one of there categories: conservative, moderate, or progressive. I scored a 52 which puts me at the limits of conservative, one point off from being a moderate. Obviously, twenty questions a hermeneutic does not make, but I would much rather be conservative than progressive so it got that right :). For more information on the quiz see this Christianity Today Leadership Journal page. I think its most valuable contribution is to get people to think about why they hold the scriptural interpretations they do and how they hold it in relation to others who read the Bible with a different viewpoint and/or agenda.