Audio Lecture: Gordon Fee, GK Beale, etc. on Apocalyptic Texts (and how to preach on them)

Ok, so wrong Apocalypse

I wish there was an audio file for the closing roundtable discussion, but I imagine that the rest is definitely worth listening to. It requires Realaudio. If anyone has these on .mp3, please let me know.

Preaching Apocalyptic Texts
Third Bible and Ministry Conference
Calvin Theological Seminary
June 9-11, 2005

Douglas Stuart on Theology in the Book of Exodus

‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.’ (Exodus 6:6)

…the book is not about liberation in general or about political or religious freedom in particular, but about deliverance from bad servitude to good servitude. The Israelites served (‘abad) Pharaoh but were called by God to serve (again, ‘abad) him instead. It was not a question of needing freedom from being under the control of a national leader; it was a question of a good, divine, national (and universal) leader rescuing his chosen people from a bad, human, national leader.

…In the New Covenant, bondage to the greatest power, sin, and its consequence, death, constitutes the last enemy. But this is not merely a New Covenant concept. Sin is whatever offends God, and sin is an enslaver. But this slavery can be escaped – not by skill or cunning but by changing masters from sin to God”

- Exodus (NAC), pp. 34

Crucifixion in the Ancient World & the Folly of the Message of the Cross

Martin Hengel. Crucifixion in the Ancient World & the Folly of the Message of the Cross. Philadelphia, PA. Fortress Press, 1977

Thanks to Fortress Press for the review copy.

Martin Hengel’s Crucifixion is considered a classic, and for good reason. The book is only 99 pages long, but there is hardly a wasted word in the entire work. Hengel has a straightforward and to-the point style of writing (at least in this work) that is actually very refreshing. It was originally written in German, so there are a few clumsy phrases where apparently the translation did not come over perfectly, but overall it’s pretty easy reading as far as the actual language and writing is concerned.

The content is another matter entirely. Hengel manages to compress a massive amount of information into the short little book. At times it feels like being on the receiving end of a machine gun of information, drawn from the mind of someone who has obviously spent decades in the classics of the Roman and Greek world. Many readers, if they are anything like me, will find themselves reading and then re-reading many passages multiple times to allow them to sink in. It’s great stuff, but I wouldn’t call it easy reading.

The basic thesis of the book, if I can be so bold to try and distill it down, is twofold:

1. In the ancient world, crucifixion was not only a gruesome and painful death, but was a shameful death, and was the “death of a slave”, in ways that we often do not understand today.
2. As such, the claim that a victim of crucifixion was the Son of God would have been seen as utterly foolish, in ways that may be impossible for a modern person to understand.

Since the second point naturally follows from the first, probably 95% of the book is devoted to the historical background of crucifixion. The first three chapters focus on the general “folly” of the claim that a crucified figure could be ‘divine’ in any sense of the word by going deep into the mythology of the ancient world to compare other gods and their claims with the Christian claim. It takes a while to get your bearings when reading these sections, as quotes are often rendered in Latin, and Hengel is basically just smarter and well-read than any of the rest of us, and it shows. The remaining eight chapters are all concerned with the historical information, and it is here where the real meat of the book lies.

Hengel makes his point extremely well, and it is  hard to try and give the force of his argument in just a few sentences. It is one thing to say that Jesus died a gruesome and shameful death. Not many are surprised or ignorant of this. It is something totally different entirely to be led by a scholar like Hengel through the ancient world, and actually be shown just how shameful that death would have been. By the time I finished the book, I truly had a completely new understanding of just how shameful death by crucifixion would have been seen at the time of Jesus, and how scandalous the message of the cross that we proclaim as Christians truly is. When it comes to the contemporary significance of the shame of the crucifixion, Hengel pulls no punches with the modern church and the tendency among some to ‘domesticate’ the message of a crucified Messiah.

As he says himself in the conclusion, Hengel is “breaking off where theological work proper ought to begin”. As such, this short little book works best as a work of history, with a little theology thrown in for good measure. It’s hard to imagine a better historical survey of that way in which crucifixion was viewed in antiquity, and, even though the book was originally published in 1976, I am not aware of any book that has filled its spot to date.

Bottom Line:

Crucifixion is an extremely useful survey of ancient attitudes toward crucifixion. Reading it will cast new light on your reading of the New Testament (not just the Gospels). Recommended.

In the Mail

Thanks to P & R Publishing, 3 books were in the mail today:

Richard C. Gamble – The Whole Counsel of God, vol. 1

John Frame – Apologetics to the Glory of God

Tremper Longman III – Immanuel in Our Place (Seeing Christ in Israel’s Worship)

I thumbed through each of them, and they all look great. The Tremper Longman III volume looks particularly good. I have to admit that I was most excited about The Whole Counsel of God, but after reading a few snippets that happened to be about Genesis 1, I think I’m going to have plenty to disagree with here. It should definitely be an interesting read, and will probably need multiple posts to review in detail (which I plan on).

In any case, these should definitely scratch my “Reformed” itch for awhile. I’m looking forward to getting into them.

Martin Hengel on the Preaching of the Cross in Corinth

…For Paul and his contemporaries the cross of Jesus was not a didactic, symbolic, or speculative element, but a very specific and highly offensive matter which imposed a burden on the earliest Christian missionary preaching. No wonder that the young community in Corinth sought to escape from the crucified Christ into the enthusiastic life of the spirit, the enjoyment of heavenly revelations and an assurance of salvation connected with mysteries and sacraments. When in the face of this Paul pointed out to the community which he founded that his preaching of the crucified messiah is a religious ’stumbling block’ for the Jews and ‘madness’ for his Greek hearers, we are hearing in his confession not least the twenty-year experience of the greatest Christian missionary, who had often reaped no more than mockery and bitter rejection with his message of the Lord Jesus, who had died a criminal’s death on the tree of shame.

-Crucifixion in the Ancient World & the Folly of the Message of the Cross, p.18

We Believe in One God (Ancient Christian Doctrine, vol. 1)

Gerald Bray (ed.), Thomas Oden (series ed.). We Believe in One God (Ancient Christian Doctrine volume 1). Downers Grove, IL. IVP Press, 2009

Thank you very much to Adrianna Wright at Intervarsity Press for the review copy.

We Believe in One God is the first of five volumes in the Ancient Christian Doctrine Series from Intervarsity Press. Those who have read any of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture will be familiar with the format, as this series is basically an expansion of that series to provide commentary on the Nicene Creed.

First things first, the book is absolutely beautiful. It is hardcover, the paper is high-quality stock, and Albrecht Durer’s Adoration of the Trinity is the cover image. If they were to release the whole series as one volume edition (which would be really cool) with the same cover and binding, I dare say it would be worth buying just to gawk at it on your bookshelf.

Moving on to the content of the book, simply stated, it is a commentary culled completely from the works of the fathers of the early church on the first stanza of the Nicene Creed:

We Believe in One God,

the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is, seen and unseen

Two introductions,  by Thomas Oden and Gerald Bray, respectively, lay out the series and the aims of the commentary and are good reading in themselves. Oden’s contribution is particularly interesting as he lays out what he sees as some of the reasons for the renewed interest in history and tradition among evangelicals. I found myself relating to much of what he had to say, and can agree with his sentiments.

The commentary itself splits the creed into small sections (such as “We Believe” and “Maker”) and then provides small sections of commentary from the fathers. The strength of this approach is that it allows the editor some room for movement as far as what is actually discussed, rather than the entire book being on “God the Father”. For instance, in “We Believe”, scripture is discussed as it is a large part of why “we believe”. In “Maker”, creation is discussed, etc. If you haven’t been introduced to the thought of Tertullian, Origen, Augustine, et al, then you will learn much from this volume, as it touches on so many subjects.

This is not meant to be a gripe, but it should be noted that the quotations are of very short length. Rarely is anyone quoted for more than two to three sentences at a time. Like criticisms I have read of The Justification Reader (also by Oden), this opens the book up to the charge that with such short excerpts, freed from their original context, they can almost mean whatever the editor (or reader) thinks they mean. I don’t actually think that this should be seen as a negative, so much as a warning to potential readers that book is very high level introduction to the thought of the fathers of the early church, not a systematic treatment. For that, one should go to the fathers themselves (such as the Ancient Christian Texts series, which also looks very promising).  Again, this is not a criticism, just an observation of what to expect if you’re thinking of buying the book. The format works very well for devotional type reading also, which may be the best use of the book. I certainly found much to reflect on.

If there was one thing that became apparent to me as I read the book, it was that it is a testament to the writings of the early church and the content of the book that it can withstand such fragmented treatment and still be interesting, fresh, and readable. Can you imagine a compilation consisting of two or three line quotations of modern theologians? Would you want to imagine that?

Bottom Line:

We Believe in One God is a very promising introduction to the Ancient Christian Doctrine series. For those (like  myself) who have only read lightly in the early church fathers, it will be a very helpful introduction to their thoughts on God the Father as Creator, the Holy Scriptures, and many other subjects along the way. It is not the sort of book that one sits down and reads through at once, but rather a book that bears repeated reading and reflection on its content. It definitely has staying potential, and I imagine that I will still be reading and reflecting on it for a while to come. I look forward to the other volumes in the series.

Fridays with the Fathers: Hippolytus on the Harmony of God

The Father is one, but there are two persons because there is also the Son, and then again, there is the Holy Spirit too. The Father decrees, the Word executes the decree, and the Son is manifested by the Spirit, through whom we believe in the Father. The dispensation of harmony leads straight back to one God, for God is one. It is the Father who commands, the Son who obeys and the Holy Spirit who gives understanding. The Father is above all, the Son is through all, and the Holy Spirit is in all. We cannot think of God in any other way than as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

-Hippolytus, Against Noetus 14

Thanks to Adrianna Wright at Intervarsity Press, I have really been enjoying We Believe in One God, the first volume in the Ancient Christian Doctrine series. The Book is the first in a series of commentaries on the Nicene Creed, culled entirely from the early church (AD 95 to AD 750). It’s a great resource!

To give an idea of the content of the book, over the next few weeks or so, Fridays will feature a quote (or a few quotes) that seemed particularly insightful, interesting, or even silly, from one  of the fathers of the church.

Jesus: The Final Days

Craig Evans & NT Wright. Jesus: The Final Days. Louisville, KY. Westminster John Knox, 2009

Many thanks to WJK for the review copy.

Simply stated, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are the center of the Christian faith. We are many things as Christians, but I would think it fair to say that we are all that we are chiefly because we follow the Jesus the Messiah, whom we worship as the crucified and risen Lord. As such, the subject of what we can know about these crucial events is very important indeed. Toward that end, Troy Miller (Crichton College) has done us the service of putting into book format the 2003 and 2004 Crichton College Church and Academy lectures, given by NT Wright and Craig Evans, respectably, which detail the historical background of these events.

The book is short and to the point (roughly 100 pages). Being based on lectures, there are no footnotes or endnotes and the only bibliography to speak of consists of two or three references for further reading at the end of each chapter. It is divided into three parts, corresponding to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In Part 1, Craig Evans sets out to paint us a picture of the crucifixion and death of the Messiah. After a quick run through of the historical written affirmations of Jesus’ death (biblical and otherwise), he delves into the reasons why Jesus was crucified in the first place. Evans focuses here on the actual situation “on the ground” in 1^st century Palestine, not on the theological import of the event. The triumphal entry, the cleansing of the temple, and the parables of judgment on the temple establishment are all unpacked and defended historically as plausible and legitimate offenses that could and would have lead to Jesus’ being perceived as a political threat. Evans then argues, based not least on Gethsemane narratives and the death of John the Baptist, that Jesus plausibly could have, in fact, anticipated his own death, and spoken of this to his followers.

From there, Evans discusses in detail Jesus’ trial and mockery. The detail of this section is pretty remarkable, considering the length (15 pages or so). Obviously the gospels get the longest treatment here as sources, but Evans also touches on allusions to the trial in Peter’s sermons in the Book of Acts, as well as Paul’s letters. His contention that Jesus’ drawing together of Daniel 7 and Psalm 110 in his confession before the high priest would have been seen as blasphemous won’t be new to those who have read much in this area, but given the implied audience of a book of this length, it may very well be the first time that some have heard this line of reasoning. Evans then goes on to discuss the Passover pardon of Barabbas, and it is here (the first of many places) that his mastery of the primary sources really shines. Using both Jewish and Roman sources, he shows that criminal pardons (of prisoners sentenced to crucifixion) were a political and historical reality in the 1^st century. I found his quotation of the Mishna (m. Pesahim 8:6) particularly interesting:

“ …they may slaughter (the Passover lamb) for one…whom they have promised to bring out of prison (on the Passover)”

Some discussion of the political situation that Pilate found himself in, and some interesting tidbits regarding the mockery of Jesus round the conversation out, before moving on to the crucifixion itself, where again Evans is masterful in his knowledge of the relevant background material. Lastly, Evans focuses on the theological implications of Jesus’ crucifixion, and the foolishness (if I can use that word) that a crucified messiah would have been seen as in the first century. On the whole, one could think of this last section of Part 1 as a very selective condensation of Martin Hengel’s Crucifixion, boiled down to about three pages (!). Good stuff.

Part Two, also by Evans, looks in some detail at the burial of Jesus. The chapter begins with some background on the history of Jewish burial practices. Again, Evans’ knowledge of 2^nd Temple history and material really shines here. This section was the most interesting for me, and it is short enough that you can read it through a few times to let it all soak in. Moving from Jewish to Roman burial practices at the time of Jesus, Evans devotes a couple of pages to the discovery of a Jewish crucifixion victim’s ossuary (with the nail apparently still in the heel), which is a very good read. Citing Pliny the Elder, Plautus, and various inscriptions, he then discusses Roman tendencies regarding burials for criminals, and responds to those who would argue that the apparently small number of buried crucifixion victims found suggests that Jesus would not have been given a proper burial at all. Lastly, he briefly recounts the gospel accounts of Jesus’ burial, and argues that based on the evidence discussed and the texts themselves, they deserve a fair reading.

The Bishop NT Wright takes up the topic of Jesus’ resurrection for the third and final chapter of the book. The chapter is very good, but this information is so readily available elsewhere, whether in book, essay, or various lectures, that it is hard to be too excited about if you’ve already read or heard Wright on the resurrection (and most probably have). I won’t attempt to sum up his work on the matter in a few words, but it’s widely available in various formats. If somehow you’ve not been exposed to the Bishop’s work on the subject, this is probably a good, if very truncated introduction to it. Just to put this in perspective, Wright’s The Resurrection of the Son of God gave him roughly 700 pages to devote to the topic. A shorter, wonderful treatment of Jesus’ resurrection, along with related topics, can be found in Surprised By Hope, which runs about 300 pages. Here, he gets about 35 pages. As a result, this chapter is basically unnecessary for the reader who has read either of the books above, or heard any of Wright’s many lectures on the subject (available here). The chapter is good for what it is, but why buy the postcard when you could have the full-color painting?

To sum up:

It is hard to imagine a better book if you are looking for a short and informative discussion of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Craig Evan’s two chapters are particularly good, and pack a great deal of information into a small number of pages. Even those who have read other works in this vein will probably learn something here, or at least be given something new to ponder. The final chapter, by Bishop Wright, is good, but is eclipsed by both Surprised By Hope and The Resurrection of the Son of God, both of which are worth buying in their own right, and highly recommended. This doesn’t detract from the value of the book, however, and for the price it is hard to beat.

Fridays with the Fathers – Augustine on Pondering God

As far as we can, we should think of God as good but without quality, great but without quantity, a creator even though he lacks nothing, a ruler with no position, the sustainer of all things without having them, fully present everywhere but with no place of his own, eternal but without time, making things that are changeable but without change or passion within himself.  Anyone who thinks about God like this, even though he cannot discover everything there is to know about him, nevertheless is careful not to think anything about him that is not true.

St. Augustine, On the Trinity

Thanks to Adrianna Wright at Intervarsity Press, I have really been enjoying We Believe in One God, the first volume in the Ancient Christian Doctrine series. The Book is the first in a series of commentaries on the Nicene Creed, culled entirely from the early church (AD 95 to AD 750). It’s a great resource!

To give an idea of the content of the book, over the next few weeks or so, Fridays will feature a quote (or a few quotes) that seemed particularly insightful, interesting, or even silly, from one  of the fathers of the church.

Fridays with the Fathers – Ambrosiaster on Salvation

God wants everyone to be saved, but only if they come to him. He does not want those who are unwilling to be saved, though he wants so save them if they so desire. For the one who gave the Law to everyone has not excluded anyone from salvation. Does not a doctor declare publicly that he is willing to heal everyone, as long as he is asked to do so by those who are sick? For salvation means nothing if it is granted to those who do not want it.

Ambrosiaster, On 1 Timothy 2:4

Thanks to Adrianna Wright at Intervarsity Press, I have really been enjoying We Believe in One God, the first volume in the Ancient Christian Doctrine series. The Book is the first in a series of commentaries on the Nicene Creed, culled entirely from the early church (AD 95 to AD 750). It’s a great resource!

To give an idea of the content of the book, over the next few weeks or so, Fridays will feature a quote (or a few quotes) that seemed particularly insightful, interesting, or even silly, from one  of the fathers of the church.