Scriptural Repertoires - Gaining an Appreciation for a Broader Range of Scriptures

When I was in high school I had an English teacher who was preparing us for the AP English examination. She would teach us about essay writing and literature and would say, “Put this in your repertoire.” She would constantly give us handouts and I finally got a manila folder and labeled it “Repertoire Incarnate” [...]

Are the Red Letters Any More Important Than the Black Letters?

If scripture is inspired and from God are the words of Jesus any more or less important than all the rest of the Old and New Testament? And for a related brain teaser - who is speaking in John 3:16? Does John the apostle begin to narrate his own commentary about the events or is [...]

Putting God in the Box of Logic

I think we have all figured out by now that you cannot put God in a box. Have you ever thought about the fact that out of the 13 or so billion people who have ever lived over thousands and thousands of years of human history less than 1 billion of them were influenced by [...]

N.T. Wright on Attempting to Restore New Testament Christianity

“Many writers…have seen the religious experience of the early Christians…as the normative element within Christianity. This has the apparent advantage that it enables one to conduct the ’scientific’, supposedly ‘objective’ study of early Christian religion and theology, with the knowledge that when one has found them one is in touch with the real model of [...]

Bible Study - Seeing the Big Picture

I have always been one for details. When I study a passage I tend to break things down as small as possible. When you do that there is only so much information you can handle at a time. What is the background? Who is speaking? Where are they located and how might that affect the [...]

John’s Chronology of The Woman Caught in Adultery - John 7:53-8:11

Many contend that the story of the woman caught in adultery found in John 7:53-8:11 was not written by John. Several of the earliest manuscripts do not contain it. It does not seem to fit well in the narrative of John 7-8. It is abrupt, out of place, and is sandwiched between two important symbols [...]

What Does it Mean to Turn the Other Cheek?

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says these familiar words, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Mtt 5:38-39)
Honor and Shame in the [...]

What Does Paul refer to as “Scripture” in 2 Timothy 3:14-17

I recently received this email from a friend of mine,
Matt,
I have a question about 2 Timothy 3:14-17, which reads:
“14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become
convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and
how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able [...]

How Archaeology Helps Us Understand Scripture

Archaeology plays a major role in how we understand the Bible. It is more than Indiana Jones style trips to far away lands in search of lost treasures or the holy grail. In a practical way, archaeology illuminates scripture as we come to understand the culture and language of the time in more precise ways. [...]

Familiarizing Ourselves with Biblical Culture

The following quote is from Peter C. Craigie in Ugarit and the Old Testament,

“The Bible in not a difficult [book] to read…It was written for the ordinary person. But the modern reader faces a problem unknown to the original readers and hearers of the biblical message: the passage of time has imposed the gulf of [...]