Think Wink.

N.T. Wright on Genesis

N.T. Wright on Adam and Eve

N.T. Wright on How Our Worldview Impacts Our Reading of Scripture

Michael Horton’s Review of N.T. Wright

Thoughts on the Endings of Kings and Chronicles

The Faith Of Jesus Christ

Joel Willitts at Euangelion just finished a seven part review of R.T. Frances Matthew commentary in the New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT) series. I found some of the interactions from Willitts to be very helpful and informative in how to read Matthew. I hadn’t really considered reading that gospel in such a blatantly obvious way before. Shame on me I have to say. I feel like a dunce after reading Willitts review (yes that’s right, I said dunce).

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7

Martin Luther and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Quick Links

Movie Script Review of Green Lantern

My Translation
16 Do not be deceived my dear brothers and sisters. 17 All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or hint of change. 18 By his will he gave us life through the word of truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all his creatures. 19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters. Everyone must be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger 20 for a person’s wrath does not produce God’s righteousness. 21 Therefore, put away all filthiness and evil excess and in meekness take up the word that has been implanted within you, that word which is able to save your souls. 22 And be doers of this word and not just hearers of it, thus deceiving yourselves. 23 The one who only hears the word but does not do it is like a man who beholds his own face in the mirror 24 He looks at himself and goes away and immediately forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who carefully inspects the perfect law that brings freedom and continues to do so is not one who forgets what he hears but rather lives it out–and he will be blessed in living out the law. 26 If someone seems to be religious, but not bridling his tongue and so deceiving his heart, his religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God the Father considers to be pure and undefiled is this: to care for the orphans and widows during their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world. Read more

Faith, Works, Amen

James White on John 3:16-17

James White on Steve Gregg

My Translation
1 From James, a slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the Twelve Tribes in the Diaspora: Greetings. 2 My brothers and sisters, consider it pure joy when you fall into various kinds of temptations, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 And let patience have its full effect in order that you will be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 And if any of you are lacking in wisdom, ask God who gives generously to everyone and does not reprimand, it will be given to him. 6 And he must ask with faith, not doubting, because the one who doubts is like a wave on the sea being blown and tossed about by the wind. 7 For that person must not think that he will receive anything from the Lord. 8 The man is double-minded, unstable in all his ways. 9 Let the humble brother boast in his exulted position. 10 And let the rich boast in his low estate because he will pass away like a flower in the meadow. 11 For the sun rises with the scorching heat and burns the meadow. The flower wilts and its beauty if gone forever. So also the rich man in his many pursuits will fade away. 12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation because having been approved he will receive the crown of life, which God promised to those who love him. 13 When tempted, don’t say, “I am tempted by God.” For God is not tempted by evil and he tempts no one. 14 But everyone is tempted by his own desires when they draw him out and entice him. 15. After desire conceives it gives birth to sin, and when sin has been accomplished it produces death. Read more

James White on John 3:16-17

James White on Steve Gregg

Compactness-ism-tion

I really do love the NIV and have come to deeply like the TNIV, as well as other dynamic equivalence translations of the Bible. I really do and have. But there are times when only reading dynamic equivalence translations without utilizing formal equivalence translations (ESV, NASB etc.) can hinder a person’s understanding of a text. John Piper explains in this video as he talks about where translations like the NIV and the TNIV fail.

Read more

My New Word

All of the Bible

John 3:16 Part 4

Michael Bird posted an interview with C. Kavin Rowe and his thoughts on Acts. I really enjoyed this interview and Rowe’s thoughts on Luke and Acts. I really enjoyed what was said in questions 3 and 5, very enlightening. Here’s the interview, enjoy.

Cap #38 Interview

Andreas J. Köstenberger on 1 Timothy 2:9-15

With All His Warts

The little geeky nerd in me would really, really love to have this bed.

Long debated is the question of whether Paul is speaking of a pre-convert or post-convert “I” in Romans 7. Michael Bird has posted his arguments for why he believes Paul is speaking of a pre-Christian “I.” Bird raises some interesting questions but I’m not certain where I stand on that issue. I just haven’t had time to think on it. I’d like to read some thoughts from the the other side that Bird takes before I come to any opinion.

Finally here is a video from Con Campbell about how his book on verbal aspect complements both Mounce’s and Wallace’s own Greek grammars.

An Interesting Question

Augustine

Thoughts on the Endings of Kings and Chronicles

Here is a blog post that details why the second edition of the NET has decided to change its translation of Romans 2:27 (NET) from,

And will not the physically uncircumcised man who keeps the law judge you who, despite the written code and circumcision, transgress the law?

to something like,

The physically uncircumcised man, by keeping the law, will judge you to be the transgressor of the law, even though you have the letter and circumcision!

Dan Wallace gets into some of the fun textual issues that come up in translating a text of Scripture from its original language (Greek in this case) into English. It always baffles me to see how a minute change in how one reads a single term can change the entire English translation, for example the change of a participle from adjectival (”the one who keeps”) to adverbial (”by keeping”). While the meaning doesn’t really change, I still enjoy the discussion.

I Really Like This One

The Newest Imler

One More Question

The following link is to a free on-line Reader’s Version of the Greek and Hebrew text of the Bible. The site seems quite amazing and I really can’t wait to use it. I love my Reader’s Greek New Testament and want a Reader’s Hebrew Old Testament. This solves the problem as long as I have an internet connection. This is just awesome. I really love that it has the Hebrew, I haven’t seen a site that helps study the Hebrew…until now.

Reader’s Version of Greek and Hebrew Bible

H/T: Between Two Worlds

I Really Like This One

My New Favorite Site

Greek Resources for Translation

One of the most important things I have learned in my studies of the Biblical languages is that one of the most dangerous persons on earth is one with a little knowledge of the languages. Here is a blog post that shows just how true that is when Rob Bell employs some Greek to shore up his point about anger. In the most simple terms I’ll explain what he does that is so wrong. Take the following sentence

I read the red book.

What Bell does is the same thing as calling “red” a past tense verb when it is clearly an adjective. Except what Bell does is call wrath an aorist verb when it is the object of an adverbial prepositional phrase that modifies an aorist verb in Mark 3:5,

After looking around [περιβλεψάμενος; nominative aorist middle participle] at them in anger [μετ' ὀργῆς; genetive singular feminine noun], grieved by the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

Like I said, a little knowledge of Greek/Hebrew/Aramaic can kill a soul real fast. What is worse is that this kind of “exegesis” really undercuts the credibility and trustworthiness of the point Bell was making. I don’t watch Bell’s Nooma vids so I don’t know the point he made about anger. The blog post seems to look favorably on it and that is what hurts so much. A good point cut down by sloppy exegesis. Hopefully Bell can fix his misunderstanding of the languages and not undercut what he is saying.

The Post: Greek 101 with Rob Bell. This comment and this comment do a good job of putting out the nuance of the Greek in Mark 3:5 if your interested.

H/T: Ancient Hebrew Poetry

Movie Script Review of Green Lantern

Balancing the Argument

Spurgeon and Arminian Prayer