Tavis Bohlingerby Dr. Geoff Chang | Assistant Professor of Church History and Historical Theology and the Curator of the Spurgeon Library. Since the early days of his pastorate, C.H. Spurgeon tutored and trained up gifted young men for the ministry. Over the first...
I asked this very question myself even before completing my PhD in 2019: what’s it all for? Considering the slumping academic job market, and fierce (read, ridiculous) competition for the few jobs in my discipline each year, I wondered what...
by Ryan Lytton Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. Proverbs 4:5. Wisdom and understanding are everywhere available but are nevertheless ostensibly rarely found. A student of the Word must be diligent in...
"Bernard’s brilliance is not his use of so-called critical methods but in the fact that, as a monk, he had prayed, read and studied the Sacred Scriptures so intently that his vocabulary is literally a biblical vocabulary."
One of my warmest memories with Professor Hurtado occurred in 2014 at SBL in San Diego over a meal. We went to lunch at a French café and before we began eating, he paused and said: “Let’s pray over our meal.” He thanked God for the meal, closing...
Faithlife StaffAdded Joshua Washington’s review of Paul’s ‘Works of the Law’ in Second Century Reception by Matthew J. Thomas to the Book Reviews: Around the Web section of The New Perspective on Paul .
What makes a good biblical scholar? Lots of things, many of which have to do with self-awareness. In no particular order:
Added Emma Wasserman’s book Apocalypse as Holy War: Divine Politics and Polemics in the Letters of Paul to the Bibliography of the Paul and Empire section.
Book Review Emma Wasserman, Yale University Press, 2018. 352 pp. Review by Scot Miller. This present era of binary perspectives and hyperbolic representations of conflict or truth finds a convenient source in biblical literary genres. The...
"Good theologians are those who are able to think and speak truthfully about God, to communicate that well and to help others to understand God better through what they do."
Biblical scholarship "is a coram Deo matter that we engage in before God, involving not just our thoughts but our entire selves."
by Chris Porter Coming to biblical studies from prior research in the social sciences I am often asked what makes for good interdisciplinary research. While a valid question, I think the more interesting question is what makes a good...
A good biblical theologian pays attention to what God actually says, like the prophetess Huldah (and unlike Eve).
Added a link to Overthinking Christian‘s interviews of New Testament scholars James Dunn, Scot McKnight, B. J. Oropeza, Mike Bird, Andrew Das, and Kent Yinger, as well as B. J. Oropeza’s review of Garwood P. Anderson’s book...
Honest and humble engagement with the entirety of Christian history.
What makes a good Biblical Scholar? Passion for the subject. If you are going to inspire from the lectern or the pulpit or with the pen, you have to love what you are talking about.
Source: fuller.edu Among those who read the Bible as Christian Scripture, the best biblical scholars genuinely love Scripture, and come to its pages ready to hear God’s address. They exhibit both a certain posture vis-à-vis the text and their own...
Although a tricky question for one primarily self-identifying as an ancient historian or historian of religion at best, my impression of what should qualify a biblical scholar or theologian as good should be what is applicable to what in general...
What makes a good scholar? One’s tendency in answering this question is to describe a scholar in her/his own image, with her/his own particular interests.
If I had to pick a word it would be “imagination.”
Added Paula Gooder’s book Phoebe: A Story to the Bibliography of the New Perspective on Paul section.
Book Review Paula Gooder, IVP Academic, 2018. 316 pp. Review by Reta Finger. I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so that you my welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she...
A good Biblical theologian is a faithful theologian. Whether or not you recognize it, everyone is a theologian of sorts. We all have thoughts about God whether a Christian, an atheist, a Buddhist, or a Muslim. Everyone speaks words about God. Our...
What makes a good scholar-theologian? Here are seven things:
A good biblical scholar is a sane biblical scholar. What I mean by that is, a good biblical scholar takes time for themselves and does not focus on their research every waking moment of the day; you have to have balance. If you don’t do this...
A good biblical scholar is one who approaches the text with a genuine openness to being corrected by it.
As a junior scholar, I don’t consider myself either a good Bible scholar or theologian (yet!) so I can only offer my own expectations based on my encounters with others. I’ve organized these into six key areas:
I have always appreciated reading and listening to those scholars who have both a command over the relevant, classical languages and a direct knowledge of the primary sources in their disciplines.
Although I am presently working as a local pastor, and not doing as much scholarly work right now, I learned a lot from my time at the University of Edinburgh during my PhD. As I reflect back on scholars and peers that I respect and consider what...
What makes a good biblical scholar or theologian? What advice would I give students—or have given myself 10 years ago—looking into advanced degrees? For those who are interested or who just compulsively read this blog, here are five suggestions amid...