Ben Witheringtonhas made the switch to Beleifnet with his new blog, “Bible and Culture” (I had heard a rumour he wanted Scripture, Ministry and the People of God but it was taken ). More than a few people have been nervous about the move however, I am sure Ben will take care of his readers. As someone mentioned previously only the first few lines of the post is published in the RSS feed – Personally I find this annoying but it isn’t a deal breaker.
In Ben’s first official post (after his welcome post) he has listed his rules for commenting. I would like to think they are his rules, and I am sure most of them are, however, I can’t help but think that Beleifnet has added a few as well. Rules include; No anonymous posts, Try and be concise and clear, Normal discussions on a particular topic will run for 3-4 days, or possibly a week and one that I think is very important for Christian bloggers, “Before posting say this “may the words of my mouth (or fingers) and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord.” In other words, do this assuming God cares and is paying attention”.
One of the things I love about Ben’s blog posts is he has a good mix of personal and academic. He hasn’t been afraid to share his love of Rock’n'Roll and enjoy the occasional laugh at himself. He has also been very generous with his writing and responses (which a lot of bloggers could learn from) and has posted whole chapters of new books for his readers. So check it out and let me know what you think.
ME! Simon from Reflective Praxis recently held a competition to find the best Luke/Acts commentaries for the coming liturgical year. I suggested Joel Green’s 1 Volume Commentary in the NICNT series. It is a brilliant work. And, because I suggested the book Simon eventually ordered I won a copy of Luke Timothy Johnson’s Commentary on the Gospel of Luke in the Sacra Pagina series. I look forward to receiving the book and will post a book review in due time. I would be interested in hearing if any one has used the Sacra Pagina series?
In the spirit of Jim’s post I thought I would share with you all the special place Bultmann has in my world. I know in the past I have been irreverent and even unkind to the great German scholar. So I recant and apologise for the false front I have portrayed to the blogging world in regards to the late great Rudolf Bultmann. Sorry Jim!
And, to that end I now share with you some pictures of where I keep the few books of the NT scholar I have. It is a special little bookshelf dedicated to Bultmann himself!
And here is the the “special room” where the books are held. It is a climate controlled vault that allows for the books to be kept at a constant temperature. It was also felt that the room itself reflected the nature of Bultmann’s work
(Note: This “reading room” is not at home – it is at the church. Which means everyone in the congregation can share in Bultmann’s profound wisdom. I know his words have helped me when I have been straining for an answer )
Many thanks to Phil Gons of Logos Bible Software for review copies of a number of titles in the Word Biblical Commentary Series for Libronix. The titles I received as downloads (A blessing for those people like me who do not live in the USA) are:
This year I am preaching on these 4 books as a way of helping our congregation engage with the different genres of the Bible and understand how they might be read faithfully! Over the next few weeks I will begin posting a series of reviews on both the WBC and Logos. I will also be able to announce a sizable discount on base packages and the above mentioned titles for readers of Scripture, Ministry and the People of God!
In relation to the authorship of the Pastoral Epistles the issues are not only contextual and literary, they are, as Witherington notes, ethical. Do these letters address an actual historical situation, as the content of the letter suggests, or do they address broader ecclesial matters within the early church in the form of narrative? It is easy to argue for non-Pauline authorship on the basis of grammar and style however, consideration must be given to the much broader issues of Sitz im Leben, and who the letters claim to written to and by.
Previously I discussed how the issue of pseudepigrapha makes a difference to how one reconstructs the context of early Christianity (as highlighted by DeSilva in Witherington, 2006, p.23). Furthermore, consideration must be given to the question: If the author of the letters is not Paul are the letters deceptive? This issue may easily be dismissed as irrelevant to the discussion because it is a case of overlaying modern categories of authorship and copyright onto ancient texts. However, as Witherington notes, “Our concern is with documents that could be called forgeries because there was some attempt to deceive some audience, near or far” (2006, p.29). Therefore, he asks, by including historical information, names, and places are the letters themselves deceptive? Perhaps if the audience knew the letter was pseudonymous this issue become irrelevant? However, we cannot be sure that the audience didn’t know that Paul was not the author. What we do know is that the letter claims Pauline authorship.
As Dunn states, the main argument for pseudonymity of the Pastorals is literary and not historical citing the different vocab and style as being at least one step removed from Paul and that the “hapax legomena” (words occurring only once or only in the Pastorals) is much higher than writings accepted as being Pauline. Furthermore, issues of style and structure cannot be simply explained by mood or subject (2000, p.778). As I stated previously Witherington argues, “[The] real dividing line between a genuine letter and a pseudepigraphon is whether the material comes from the mind of a particular person, not whether it fully reflects that person’s grammar and syntax” (Witherington, 2006, p.26).
Witherington has good reasons for making this point and time and space do not allow for further interaction with his argument (For more on this subject listen here). Personally, I have always liked the idea that Paul was the author of the Pastoral Epistles. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. Does it change anything? Does the message of the letters remain the same if the author isn’t Paul? Do they still speak a word into the Pastoral vocation even if they were constructed as a teaching narrative and not situational letters? Whatever our answers to these questions are more consideration must be given, I believe, to the ethics of pseudonymous writings in the canon.
Even Jim West would agree with the great Bishop on this point! Tom Wright was recently asked what is the most important thing the current generation of leaders can do to invest in next generation? To which he responded:
“What I’d really want to do is say to the next generation, I want you to know your Bibles inside out and upside down in the original languages as thoroughly as you can. I also want you to get on your knees and learn how to pray and not just 5 minutes here and there but serious prayer for God’s world, God’s people, for anything and everything that’s going onwards. And the third thing is I want you to learn how to love people. Some people are naturally loving and they may need to learn other dimensions, some people are a bit shy and don’t quite know how to do it or they don’t terribly like people that much & if you’re going to be a Christian leader the bible, prayer and loving people.“
Sadly, more and more ministry students here in Australia are ignoring the importance of Biblical languages in their preparation for Ministry. I can only shake my head and ask why?
I rarely make social comment on this blog. I leave it for the experts. However, this one time I make an exception.
I ask; is there anything wrong with this? Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made the comments about his “daily devotions” to the Salvation Army’s War Cry magazine and provoked quite a response from political bloggers. It is unusual, in Australian politics, that such statements were made by a left leaning Prime Minister.
I heard the journalist interviewed on the radio this morning and she was quite perplexed as to why our Prime Minister would feel the need to spend time reading the Bible and praying. As a Prime Minister he may not, but as a Christian it is nice to know he worships in this way (as it would be for any other person). Personally I do not expect our political leaders to be Christian. As recent history reminds us those world leaders who have claimed to be Christian have perhaps been the worst leaders ethically and morally of this generation. What I do expect is our PM to be good at what he or she does. I do not pray for leadership that would impose a particular Christian ideology onto our nation, rather, I petition God that our Prime Minister and Government would act with wisdom and grace, in the countries best interests, and that they might remember the poor regardless of ethnicity or geographical proximity to our country (which might be argues is what christian leadership is in practice). Our PM, whether he is Christian or not, needs to be PM of all Australians; not just those who share his faith. I do realise that this view may upset some of my US friends. The argument in the USA amuses and confounds me at times. In my view, government is the structure put in place to provide a fair and equitable society for all and provide opportunities for people to function with peace under a common rule of law. It is not meant to be Christian, Jewish, Islamic or Agnostic however, it is meant to be inclusive.
What I do admire about Kevin Rudd’s approach to his Christian life is his willingness to partake in the ancient practice of prayer and scripture reading. It is not my place to judge how genuine his claim may be but to thank God that he sees it as important and pray that in doing so he is faithful to the call placed upon his shoulders.
I just noticed that the NICOT & NICNT are available as pre-pub specials on Logos. This is a great commentary series and would be a handy edition to any Logos Library. Although I am not a fan of commentary series (I prefer to purchase them based on the author) this series and the WBC are an exception. At $999 US (the special pre-pub order price) the OT/NT series edited by Hubbard and Fee is a fantastic resource.
The product is currently listed as “in development” so I am assuming it will be some time before it arrives on people’s doorsteps; which is good for those people to whom God speaks to about paying for my copy Although, I might also start working on my “finance manager” (aka my beautiful wife) as part of my back up plan!
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Endorsement
"I am happy to commend Mark Stevens' fine blog which provides resources and discussion on a panoply of things crucial to Christian ministry in the 21rst century. But quite apart from the resources, Mark evinces a mind for what really matters when it comes to the serious study of God's Word--- highly recommended. "
Dr. Ben Witherington, III
Amos Professor of NT for Doctoral Studies
Asbury Theological Seminary
Wilmore Ky.
Doctoral Faculty St. Mary's College, St. Andrews University, Scotland
). More than a few people have been nervous about the move however, I am sure Ben will take care of his readers. As someone mentioned previously only the first few lines of the post is published in the RSS feed – Personally I find this annoying but it isn’t a deal breaker.
Posted by Mark Stevens 
Posted by Mark Stevens 
The Gospel of Mark Volumes 
Posted by Mark Stevens 
I just noticed that the 
And the winner is…
May 29, 2009ME! Simon from Reflective Praxis recently held a competition to find the best Luke/Acts commentaries for the coming liturgical year. I suggested Joel Green’s 1 Volume Commentary in the NICNT series. It is a brilliant work. And, because I suggested the book Simon eventually ordered I won a copy of Luke Timothy Johnson’s Commentary on the Gospel of Luke in the Sacra Pagina series. I look forward to receiving the book and will post a book review in due time. I would be interested in hearing if any one has used the Sacra Pagina series?