As detailed in the previous post, we at Kenwood made a fresh English translation of the Nicene Creed for use in worship in 2018. We recited the Apostles’ Creed in 2019 and 2020, and we decided to return to the Nicene for 2021. When we did our translation, we initially decided not to include the …
Category Archives: Bible and Theology
A Fresh Translation of the Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed (Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan) We believe in one God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten son of God: the one begotten from the Father before all the ages, light of light, true God of true God, begotten not …
The Nicene Creed: A Not Too Difficult Greek Challenge
The Nicene Creed is pretty easy to read for anyone who has had a bit of Greek. Why not try to read it? Here you go: Πιστεύομεν εἰς ἕνα ΘΕΟΝ ΠΑΤΕΡΑ παντοκράτορα, ποιητὴν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς, ὁρατῶν τε πάντων καὶ ἀοράτων. Καὶ εἰς ἕνα κύριον ἸΗΣΟΥΝ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΝ, τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ, τὸν ἐκ …
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Is Biblical Faith a Kierkegaardian Leap?
These reflections were prompted by the first chapter of David Crump’s Encountering Jesus, Encountering Scripture: Reading the Bible Critically in Faith. In his introduction, Crump is very clear that his understanding of faith has been heavily influenced by Soren Kierkegaard. Crump explains, “Arriving at faith in the Word incarnate is not the inevitable result of a …
What Does It Mean That We’re Made in God’s Image?
Here’s the opening of a piece I wrote for InTouch Magazine: Sometimes a counterfeit helps us understand the purpose of the genuine object. People produce counterfeit money, for example, not to hoard but to exchange for things of value. And that should remind us money is not to be treasured for its own sake but …
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Can We Arrive at a Young Earth and 24-Hour Period Days in Genesis One from Scripture Alone? A Guest Post by Steve Ham
Steve Ham is the Senior Director of International Outreach at Answers in Genesis. It has been a privilege to get to know him and to enjoy his friendship. — I do believe the Bible gives ample justification for calculating the age of the earth at around 6,000 years and for seeing six normal 24-hour days …
Anachronistic Assumptions and the Documentary Hypothesis
David M. Carr opens his book, Writing on the Tablet of the Heart: Origins of Scripture and Literature, as follows: In her book Oral World and Written Word, Susan Niditch vividly illustrates the problems with contemporary assumptions about ancient textuality, as she outlines the picture many biblical scholars often assume in their discussions of biblical formation. Critiquing …
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The Days of Creation and Exodus 20:11
Justin Taylor has caused quite a stir with his post on “Biblical Reasons to Doubt the Creation Days Were 24-Hour Periods.” The decisive factor for me is how earlier biblical statements are interpreted by later ones, so Exodus 20:11 is BeastMode (a.k.a. Marshawn Lynch) on the goal line in this argument. Re-reading the Van Pelt quote JT gives on …
The Days of Creation and Death Before the Fall
What follows is my response to Gavin Ortlund‘s response to Douglas Wilson. Check them out for context on this conversation that plunges right in mid-stream. Gavin tries to deal with death before the fall, but I don’t think we can retroject onto the pre-fall situation what “must” have been the case given the way things …
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Read the Bible: Kindle Reading Plan
Chris Dendy came up with the idea for the God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment Bible Reading Plan, and Lindsey Jacobs designed it. The plan pairs daily Bible readings with relevant sections from God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment, and you can read more about it here. A number of folks requested that the plan be made available …
Asia Reformed Ministries
I am thrilled to have the opportunity to draw your attention to the relatively new website for Asia Reformed Ministries. I have twice been with them to teach pastors, and the work they are doing is cause for great rejoicing. The darkness stands no chance against the one they proclaim. I would encourage you to …
Deuteronomy Section of GGSTJ Online
The section on Deuteronomy from God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology has been excerpted and published in the latest issue of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology (SBJT). If you’re considering doing the GGSTJ Bible Reading Plan and want to sample the book, click on over and check it out. This is an excellent issue …
Review of Timothy Stone’s Book on the Five Small Scrolls
A version of this review was published in the most recent issue of Themelios. — Timothy J. Stone, The Compilational History of the Megilloth. Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2. Reihe 59. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013. 258pp. Paper. $94. What is the Megilloth and what difference does the history of its compilation make? The Megilloth are the “five …
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SBTS Publications in 2014
Here are some ideas for Christmas and/or birthday gifts for the pastor, theologian, missionary, evangelist, seminarian, or teacher/student of the Bible in your life. Last year I posted a list of books from the SBTS Faculty in 2013, and I’m following it up with this list of books from the SBTS Faculty in 2014. I …
Read the Bible
Are you planning to read through the Bible in a year? Have you felt lost in the vast architecture and artistry of the Bible’s massive spaces and intricate designs? One of my motivations in writing God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology was to provide a resource people could use alongside their daily Bible …
Thanks for Supporting SBTS
When I pray at the beginning of class, I often thank God for all the people who make it possible for us to sit in that classroom and devote ourselves to the study of God’s Word. Praise God for the parents, spouses, friends, and family members, and praise God for everyone who gives so that …
Idiot’s Guides: The Bible
Before we had kids, my sweet wife and I got a dog. I knew I didn’t know anything about how to train a dog, so I bought Dogs for Dummies, and set to work. The book was entertaining, brief, and insightful. It advocated concentrated, reinforced, rewarding (as in, give the dog treats when he does what …
Is This What You Mean by “Church Growth”?
“to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer …
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God Created Man . . . Male and Female
Louis Markos makes an important point against the use of gender-neutral language in Bible translations: Over the last several decades, this postmodern deconstruction of masculinity and femininity has, I believe, been fostered by the widespread acceptance of gender-neutral language. Many recent Bible translations (NRSV, NLT, CEV, NIV 2011) have adopted such language, despite the fact that …
Rob Plummer’s Daily Dose of Greek
My esteemed colleague Dr. Rob Plummer writes: For years, I watched many of our formerly zealous Greek students slowly apostatizing from the language they once loved. Partial solution….. www.dailydoseofgreek.com. On October 1, I will start a daily email service, delivering a link to a free 2-minute video of me reading/translating from the GNT. I’ve made these videos …