The point of this blogpost is to consider briefly some important differences in structure and form between the Old Testament and New Testament. I hasten to say that none of this is to rank the two; the differences do not make one better or worse than the other. The focus of the New Testament is … [Read more…]
Isn’t the credibility and reliability of the accounts we have of Jesus’ teachings and miracles enhanced by the fact that in them He is before groups of people rather than just one person? To elaborate: The accounts we have of Jesus’ teaching and miracles almost always involve Him being before groups, often very large groups. … [Read more…]
The consistency between how Jesus tells us to live in the Gospels and how the various New Testament epistles tell us to live makes both sets of texts more credible, does it not? This occurred to me during our pastor’s sermon this week, which focused Paul’s letter urging the Colossians to forgive one another as … [Read more…]
One of the blurbs on the back of the cover jacket describes Charles Murray as, “Arguably, the most consequential social scientist alive.” Yes, indeed, and so I was delighted to hear of this book and to get an advance copy of it. It is similar to another book published earlier this year, Ross Douthat’s Believe: … [Read more…]
When you think about it, and as explained below, the books of Ruth, Esther, Job, and Jonah can be grouped together. And it is intriguing to consider what, together, they teach. I happened to be thinking about these books because my wife and I just finished Esther in her Bible study, and because Jonah is … [Read more…]
This is another book that I read because it was cited in Ross Douthat’s recent and excellent Believe. After this book’s 15-page introduction, there follows the author’s new translation of Mark’s Gospel and his and verse-by-verse (more or less) commentary on it. Since there are sixteen chapters in Mark, the book is divided into sixteen … [Read more…]
There’s a new Blaise Pascal biography out, and I’m looking forward to reading it. You can listen to the author, Graham Tomlin, discuss it and, especially, its subject here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFeo0LTQONA . The full title of the new book, by the way, is Blaise Pascal: The Man Who Made the Modern World. Addendum: Here’s my discussion … [Read more…]
In all three synoptic Gospels, Jesus is asked by Pontius Pilate if He is king of the Jews, and He responds (KJV), “Thou sayest it” (though Matthew for some reason does not supply the word “it” the way that Mark and Luke do). See Matthew 27:11, Mark 15:2, and Luke 23:3. This is generally understood … [Read more…]
This is another book I read thanks to its endorsement in Ross Douthat’s Believe. It’s excellent! And more good news (so to speak): The whole book is available online here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64c13fbd86667f166b3c5901/t/6605a833f6068e6a27855728/1711646775902/Can%2BWe%2BTrust%2BThe%2BGospels.pdf The book is fairly recent (2018), short (140 pages of text), and with good footnotes (and both a general and a Scripture index). There’s … [Read more…]
In Luke 24:25, Jesus laments those “foolish and slow of heart to believe in all the things the prophets have spoken.” And Luke, who was apparently a physician and who was of course the one doing the quoting, writes in Greek “bradeis ti cardia” for “slow of heart” — quite close to “bradycardia,” the medical … [Read more…]