Thoughts on Theology
This book came out in 2010:
Robert L. Plummer. 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible. 40 Questions Series. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2010. 
Rob has prepared two short, lay-friendly booklets (under 100 pages) that derive from his 40 Questions book:
1. The Story of Scripture: How We Got Our Bible and Why We Can Trust It. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2013. Continue Reading…
Five months ago I highlighted Don Carson’s critique of William Webb’s trajectory hermeneutic (copied at the end of this post).
Now there’s a more comprehensive, book-length critique:
Benjamin Reaoch. Women, Slaves, and the Gender Debate: A Complementarian Response to the Redemptive-Movement Hermeneutic. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed, 2012.
It revises Reaoch’s PhD dissertation at Southern Seminary under Tom Schreiner, who writes the foreword.
Reaoch makes several arguments:
Jonathan T. Pennington, Reading the Gospels Wisely: A Narrative and Theological Introduction (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2012), 152:
I argue in the final chapter of this book that this diminished role for the Gospels is unfounded in light of church history and many theological considerations. But for now we can address this issue through an informative illustration of my experience with the Kentucky Derby. Rather than being merely foundational, past-era historical data, the Gospels are more like a television viewing of the annual Kentucky Derby horse race. Continue Reading…
Good article:
Daniel L. Akin, Craig L. Blomberg, Paul Copan, Michael J. Kruger, Michael R. Licona, and Charles L. Quarles. “A Roundtable Discussion with Michael Licona on The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach.” Southeastern Theological Review 3 (2012): 71–98.
Some context:
This round-table discussion exemplifies how to directly address controversy in an edifying way.
Another helpful debate-book:
Stanley E. Porter and Beth M. Stovell, eds. Biblical Hermeneutics: Five Views. Spectrum Multiview Books. Downers Grove: IVP, 2012. 224 pp. 20-page sample PDF.
It’s not a typical debate-book format because the five views are not mutually exclusive. They overlap. Thus, Craig Blomberg writes,
As I suspected when I saw the lineup of contributors and viewpoints for this book, I found much more to agree with than to disagree with in these chapters. As I noted in my position essay, I do not wish to argue for a historical-critical/grammatical approach to the exclusion of all other approaches but for the historical-critical/grammatical approach as the necessary foundation for these other approaches. Various comments each of the other four contributions makes suggest that they either agree or should agree with this assertion, if they are consistent with what they have written. I can happily support much of what each additional perspective contributes on top of this foundation, although there are a few places where I must demur. (p. 133) Continue Reading…
Last week I finished plowing through this ambitious 848-page book:
Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum. Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012.
The book argues for a via media between covenant theology and dispensationalism that the authors call progressive covenantalism (similar to new covenant theology).
Wellum and Gentry routinely distinguish their view from each of the two major systems in a distinctive way: Continue Reading…
I’ve been dipping in and out of this book for the last few weeks, and I’m impressed:
Michael Williams. How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens: A Guide to Christ-Focused Reading of Scripture. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.
It’s concisely lists four items for each book of the Bible:
Williams adds,
Available spring of 2012! The course from which this book arose will be available online to visitors at https://www.calvinseminary.edu/continuingEd/openCourse.php. Enjoy a video presentation of the details of each biblical book with music, images, author narration, and in-depth analysis. (p. 10)
