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The Logos Academic Blog

The One Conference You Cannot Miss This Summer

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Caravaggio, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas

What if you could attend any or all of the conferences that we’ve been posting recaps about here on the Academic Blog? And what if you could do that without having to pay for hotels, airfare, taxi, and food? The Mobile Ed Christology Conference is your chance to attend a stimulating conference this summer at a fraction of the cost of a typical conference. It happens online August 20–25 2018, and tomorrow is your last chance to take advantage of early bird pricing. [Read more…]

Class is Over, but Keep Studying with a Tough Topics Bundle

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Source: Wikimedia Commons

It’s that time in the academic year when professors emerge from marking papers and exams looking like they’ve been released from prison. It’s also that time when high-strung undergraduates and seminary students suddenly seem to float off the ground as the burden of classwork and final exam prep slides off their aching shoulders. But it’s also that time of the year when students of the Bible ask themselves, “What now?” [Read more…]

Why the Apostles Rarely Mention the Kingdom

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Why the Apostles Rarely Mention the Kingdom

You may have noticed that “kingdom” language is frequent in the Gospels and in Jesus’ teaching particularly, but that it almost disappears in the rest of the NT. After examining every instance of βασιλεία in the NT, I compiled the following data. [Read more…]

Christotelic Hermeneutics and Typology: What the Church Needs to Know

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The following post is by Dr. Dale Brueggemann, Contributing Editor at Faithlife Corporation. 

Christ in the OT

Do we know for certain that Jesus can be found in the OT? In our efforts to “read backwards,” are we finding Christ where perhaps he should not be found? Or do we have license as Spirit-led interpreters of Scripture to allegorize as we see fit, and as it benefits our listeners?

In this post I’m going to address these questions by discussing the biblical mandate for a method of interpretation called “Christotelic” hermeneutics. Look with me first at the evidence from the NT directing the church to engage in Christ-centered exegesis of the OT. [Read more…]

The Fight for the Trinity: Michael Bird explains the Eternal Subordination debate (Part 1)

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The doctrine of the Trinity came under intense scrutiny last summer (2016), but it wasn’t from unbelieving philosophers or Jehovah’s Witnesses. A debate raged for the better part of three months amongst evangelical theologians, concentrating within the complementarian camp. This intramural controversy seriously threatened to dissolve the unity of complementarians and evangelicalism as a whole. [Read more…]

How to Avoid the One-Meaning Fallacy

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The one-meaning fallacy assumes that every Greek or Hebrew word has only one meaning. Basic translation theory tells us that this is not the case. However, even if you’re aware of this fallacy, you may be using resources that are steering you in the wrong direction.

In this segment from Learn to Use Biblical Greek and Hebrew with Logos 6, Johnny Cisneros shows you how the one-meaning fallacy can sneak up on you when using Strong’s numbers and how you can avoid it by using additional lexicons. He walks you through each step, using the word kosmos in John 3:16 and 1 John 2:15 as an example.

 

Learn more about this Mobile Ed course and pre-order today to save 57%. Don’t wait—the course is shipping November 19!

Ben Witherington on Jesus’ Encounter with the Samaritan Woman

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Ben Witherington quote about the Samaritan woman at the wellShare quote on Facebook

“Nowhere in the Gospel of John, perhaps, is context more important than this story,” says Dr. Ben Witherington III in reference to Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan Woman. That’s a bold statement. But it makes sense once you discover how many cultural taboos Jesus was actually committing. We’ll let Dr. Witherington explain the details but let’s just say it was a lot…

This lecture comes from Dr. Witherington’s course NT221 The Wisdom of John: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on Johannine Literature.

Quit Hiding, It’s Just the Apocrypha

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hiding_1024x512“There is still quite a perception of extra-canonical literature as not just non-canonical but somehow dangerous,” says Dr. David deSilva in an interview for the Mobile Ed Conversations podcast. “And that’s a prejudice I have worked long and hard to combat.”

Dr. deSilva goes on to explain the importance of extra-canonical literature—how students in his classroom receive it, and why he’s so passionate about it. He also provides some tips on where to start if you’re interested in studying apocryphal texts for the first time.

Dr. David A. deSilva is the trustees’ distinguished professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary. He’s written over 20 books in the areas of New Testament and Second Temple Judaism and is a leading expert on the cultural world of the New Testament.

Earn a Graduate Diploma in New Testament

ATS-Logo-RGB Dr. deSilva’s Mobile Ed courseware on the Apocrypha (BI291) and The Cultural World of the New Testament (NT201) are being included in Ashland Seminary’s new online Graduate Diploma in New Testament. This enables students to learn remotely and earn graduate-level credit they can use toward a master’s degree.

The program consists of five master’s-level courses incorporating presentations by Ashland faculty, group discussions, webinars, course readings, and assessments while also utilizing Mobile Ed courseware and the Logos Bible Software Gold base package.

The courses focus on engaging the texts and contexts of Scripture, developing a solid foundation in New Testament studies, and encountering the words behind our English translations. Students will also have the opportunity to explore specific topics of interest by choosing from a list of electives.

Register Today

The Graduate Diploma in New Testament program begins October 3, 2015. Visit Ashland’s website to learn more and register today!

The Purpose of Luke–Acts: Paul’s Exoneration

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Andrew Pitt’s course NT316 Book Study: The Gospel of Luke is shipping on August 27. In the course, Dr. Pitts examines in detail the genre and purpose of Luke’s Gospel. He argues that Luke writes his Gospel, along with the book of Acts, as a political document meant to exonerate Paul who was imprisoned in Rome at the time. In the segment below, Dr. Pitts provides some evidence for this position:

NT316 Book Study: The Gospel of Luke is part of the 9-course Studies in the Gospels Bundle. This bundle is shipping on August 27, so order it today at the Pre-Pub price for 41% off!