theLAB

The Logos Academic Blog

Demons, DSS, and Jesus: Psalm 91 and the Need for Text Critical Pastors

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by Donald McIntyre

Textual criticism is a hot topic among biblical scholars. The views on the discipline’s profitability span the extremes of being of crucial importance for serious scholarship and the opposing view of being hostile towards the revered doctrines of inerrancy and the sufficiency of Scripture.

Textual criticism of the Old Testament is perhaps a greater challenge than that of the New Testament due to the distance between the manuscripts extant and the proposed dates of authorship. However, this article seeks to show why text criticism is important for biblical scholars and exegetes of all persuasions.

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Hearing the Scripture Reader’s Voice: Biblical Performance Criticism in the Classroom

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Biblical performance criticism is a methodology based on the assumption that much of the literature collected in the Bible represents oral performances that were at one time either told from memory or presented as prepared readings before audiences.1 The performance critic studies the biblical writings as oral performances with the aim to uncover certain conventions of orally performed texts—features often neglected when employing other biblical critical methodologies.

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Creating an Appetite for Scripture: Interview with Robert Smith Jr.

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Photo credit: Matt Miller/BP

Robert Smith Jr. on Cultivating Imagery to Satisfy the Narrative Mind

In the twenty–first century world of theological education, preaching can seem an antiquated exercise that no longer speaks well to a culture immersed in social media and increasingly skeptical of the role of religious proclamation in the public square. But what is theological teaching without biblical preaching? Enter Robert Smith Jr., the Charles T. Carter Baptist Chair of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School, who has spent a lifetime preaching so as to teach, and teaching so as to help others preach. Smith spoke recently with Didaktikos editor Douglas Estes about visual teaching and the importance of theological conversation partners.

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Preach the OT with Confidence

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David and Goliath, from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. Image Source: Wikipedia.

My greatest privilege as a biblical scholar is being called upon by a local church to come preach a sermon (or a series of them) to fill the pulpit, or as part of my home church’s preaching rota. My greatest frustration is finding the time necessary to adequately prepare those sermons.

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A Bible Scholar’s Guide to Preaching: Theological Resources

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I have already offered thoughts for the preaching scholar concerning first things and meditation, as well as my suggested exegetical resources for preaching (including exegetical commentaries). Here I want to pass on my favorite theological resources to move from biblical text to theology and application.

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A Bible Scholar’s Guide to Preaching: Meditation

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Pastors of different types and in different contexts have varying amounts of time for “sermon prep.” We all know 5 hours is not enough, but most do not have the luxury of 20+ hours.

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A Bible Scholar’s Guide to Preaching: First Things

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Dare I try to talk about the art of preaching when I am not a full-time preacher? I wondered about this before deciding to start a blog series on preaching. Perhaps it does seem a bit audacious. But what else are blogs for? My hope is simply to talk about my approach to preaching, and offer some tips on resources from a Bible scholar.

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