Larry W. Hurtado, Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003. xxii + 746pp. $55.00. Hardcover. Published in The Southwestern Journal of Theology 46.3 (2004), 99-100 Larry Hurtado, professor of New Testament at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, is well known for his many fine contributions to scholarship, and this …
Author Archives: JMH
Why Didn’t Calvin Preach Revelation?
The reason Calvin didn’t preach Revelation isn’t exactly what Gerald Bray addresses on pages 51–52 in God Is Love, but what he says there probably takes us into the vicinity of the answer to that question: The book of Revelation is in a category all its own and has frequently been misunderstood. One of the …
Review of Mikra
Martin Jan Mulder and Harry Sysling, eds., Mikra: Text, Translation, Reading and Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2004. xxvi + 929pp. $49.95, paper. [Originally published in 1988 by Van Gorcum and Fortress as part of the series Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum (2.1)]. Review Published …
Beckwith on the Relationship between the Testaments
In his magnificent book, The Old Testament Canon of the New Testament Church, Roger Beckwith writes (408): The church was, of course, given its own authoritative interpretation of the Old Testament by Jesus and the apostles, but since Christianity was a thorough-going prophetic movement, claiming a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit, withdrawn when prophecy …
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Review of Nickelsburg and VanderKam’s Translation of 1 Enoch
1 Enoch. A New Translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James C. VanderKam. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2004. 170pp. Paper, $16.00. Published in The Southwestern Journal of Theology 46.3 (2004), 101-102 George W. E. Nickelsburg and James C. VanderKam have produced a fresh translation of 1 Enoch, perhaps the most important of the extra-canonical Jewish Apocalypses. …
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Review of Keener’s 2 vol. Commentary on John
Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of John: A Commentary, 2 vols., Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2003. xlviii + 1636pp. $79.95. Cloth. Published in The Southwestern Journal of Theology 46.3 (2004), 102-103 Craig Keener teaches NT at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He has also written commentaries on Matthew and Revelation, and this two volume commentary …
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Review of N. T. Wright’s The Resurrection of the Son of God
N. T. Wright. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Christian Origins and the Question of God, Vol. 3. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003. xxi + 817 pp. $49.00 hardcover; $39.00 paper. Published in Trinity Journal 26 (2005) 140–43 N. T. Wright was recently consecrated as the Bishop of Durham, the fourth highest post in the Anglican …
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What about the Covenant?
Since the appearance of Kingdom through Covenant, some have raised questions about how I do or don’t deal with the covenant concept in God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology. Here are some thoughts on the issue, as they come to me (this is, after all, a blog post): 1. I like the …
Spanish Translation of “The Center of Biblical Theology in Acts”
Saul Sarabia Lopez has served his fellow Spanish speakers by translating this essay into Spanish: “The Center of Biblical Theology in Acts: Deliverance and Damnation Display the Divine,” Themelios 33.3 (2008), 34–47. If you know Spanish speakers who might benefit from Saul’s efforts, please do make this available to them: El Centro de la Teología …
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Review of Martin Hengel’s The Septuagint as Christian Scripture
Martin Hengel, The Septuagint as Christian Scripture: Its Prehistory and the Problem of Its Canon, trans. Mark E. Biddle. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004 [previously published in 2002 by T & T Clark]. xvi + 153 pp. $24.99, paper. Published in The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 9.1 (2005) 102–104 The renowned Tübingen scholar Martin Hengel …
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How to Read through Shakespeare in a Year
Have you ever read The Complete Works of Shakespeare? Seeing the film Lincoln inspired me to set an informal goal of reading all Shakespeare’s plays and poetry this year, and then I came across this quote in Another Sort of Learning: Not too long ago, I heard a tape of the memorial service held at Stanford …
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Review of James D. G. Dunn’s Jesus Remembered
James D. G. Dunn, Jesus Remembered, Christianity in the Making, Vol. 1. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003. xvii+ 1019 pp. $55.00, hardcover. Published in The Southwestern Journal of Theology 46.2 (2004) 61–64 James D. G. Dunn, Lightfoot Professor of Divinity at the University of Durham, England, has embarked upon a three volume project titled “Christianity in …
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Review of Zimmerli, The Fiery Throne
Walther Zimmerli, The Fiery Throne: The Prophets and Old Testament Theology, Fortress Classics in Biblical Studies. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003. 179pp. $16.00, paper. Published in The Southwestern Journal of Theology 46.2 (2004): 82–83 Born in Switzerland in 1907, Walther Zimmerli was a pastor and prolific scholar who died in 1983. Through the course of his life, …
Review of Gorman’s Apostle of the Crucified Lord
Michael J. Gorman, Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul and His Letters, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004. 618pp. $39.00, paper. Published in The Southwestern Journal of Theology 46.3 (2004), 97-99 Michael Gorman teaches New Testament at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, Maryland, where he is also dean of the Ecumenical …
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Mere Christianity’s Arguments in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
A few years back I read The Chronicles of Narnia aloud to my oldest two sons (we read them in the right order). The third-born is now 5 years old, and it’s his turn. The older boys are listening in, and we’re doing our best to keep them from revealing story-spoilers. I’m also trying to …
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Literary Horse Puckey
My friend Jason Duesing sent me a link to an insightful essay by Kathryn Schulz, “Why I despise The Great Gatsby,” where she points out Fitzgerald’s lack of humor in Gatsby, lack of empathy for his characters, and lack of real moral power. It’s a great essay, and it reminded me of a crisp scene …
“A City Radiant as a Bride,” by Timothy Dudley-Smith
Revelation 21:9–11, “Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy …
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Remus Lupin, Werewolf
I love the Harry Potter stories. My first trip through them was an audio excursion guided by the talented Jim Dale. Enthusiasm for the books swept me right into reading them aloud to my children, and we’re almost finished with the series. I am thrilled that J. K. Rowling’s next book, The Casual Vacancy, is …
The Kingdom of God
What is the kingdom of God? The answer cannot be reduced to a word study of the term kingdom. That would be a helpful exercise, but the Bible describes the kingdom even when the word is not used. Any kingdom will consist of a king, his realm, its citizens, and the law that regulates their lives. …
My Take on Dumbledore’s Orientation
Christianity.com has posted my thoughts on “What Rowling Said about Dumbledore.” Here’s the postscript: I haven’t read Jerram Barrs’ book yet, but I just saw on Justin Taylor’s blog that Barrs has an appendix in his forthcoming Echoes of Eden entitled “The Outing of Dumbledore.” I’ve been thinking about what Rowling said about Dumbledore since …