Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Andy Naselli

Walter Hansen on Philippians

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The latest volume in D. A. Carson’s Pillar New Testament Commentary series is now available:

G. Walter Hansen. The Letter to the Philippians. Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009. Available from Amazon and WTSBooks, which has a 70-page sample PDF.

From Carson’s preface (pp. ix–x):

Casual readers of the letter to the Philippians might think that it is one of the slighter contributions penned by Paul. Here one does not find, say, the massive theological reasoning of Romans, the emotional intensity of 2 Corinthians, or the contentious apologetic of Galatians. Some might almost find it bland. Yet those who have probed this letter more closely know that the first chapter finds Paul in one of his most reflective moods as, toward the end of his life, he contemplates the benefits of “departing” and “being with Christ” over against living on in this world to bring further gospel blessing to the churches for which he is responsible; that the second chapter includes one of the high points of New Testament Christology, the third is embroiled in contemporary debates about the New Perspective on Paul, and the fourth contains one of the most revealing pictures of the relationship between Paul and a supporting church. In all of this, the letter sings with the theme of joy and appeals to the Philippians to learn to “think the same thing.” Small wonder that this letter is so embracing when all along it keeps trumpeting the gospel.

With themes and emotions so varied, the letter to the Philippians needs a commentator with a sure grasp and a warm heart. It helps that Dr Hansen writes with admirable clarity and simplicity, even when he is unpacking notoriously complex matters. Perhaps he brings so many qualifications to the table because he himself has not only served as a pastor and a seminary professor, but as a missionary in another cultural context. Certain it is that this commentary will become “must” reading for many pastors, students, and scholars as they try to think Paul’s thoughts after him while reading this letter.

Hansen also authored Galatians in the IVP NT Commentary series.

Full disclosure: I’m grateful for Hansen’s scholarly contributions, but I have an even more personal reason to be grateful since I’m a Hansen fellow (2008–2010)!

Related: Cf. my review of the Pillar NT Commentary series.

The Prodigal God

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Last May I listened to seven short sermons by Tim Keller on Luke 15 that convey the message of this book:

Timothy Keller. The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith. New York: Dutton, 2008.

This weekend I read the book and watched the corresponding DVD. The main feature of the DVD is Keller’s creative 40-minute readers-theater-style summary of the book. Both the book and DVD are first-class. And convicting.

Update: Cf. my brief review.

Collision

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collisionLast night Jenni and I watched Collision: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson (DVD | stream), an 87-minute film in which two witty public intellectuals debate whether Christianity is good for the world.

As we expected, the debate is fascinating, fast-paced, evenhanded, and edifying. The creative camera angles and other non-verbal aspects of the film make it even more provocative (and kind of strange).

Related:

  1. The film is based on the book Is Christianity Good for the World? A Debate (Moscow, ID: Canon, 2008).
  2. The book grew out of a six-part exchange in Christianity Today.
  3. Justin Taylor shared some thoughts after viewing the film in March.
  4. John Piper interviewed Doug Wilson for 16 minutes after showing the film at the Desiring God conference last weekend. One of Piper’s questions goes like this: “In the video you speak about having ‘copiousness.’ Describe what that is and whether you think it is important for pastors to cultivate.” I think Wilson personifies these two proverbs: “To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, / and a word in season, how good it is!” (Proverbs 15:23). “A word fitly spoken / is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (Proverbs 25:11). Wilson’s copiousness is inspiring.

Updates:

1. John Piper evaluates Doug Wilson in the first 15.5 minutes of this video (early 2013, I think).

2. Doug Wilson reviewed Larry Alex Taunton’s The Faith of Christopher Hitchens: The Restless Soul of the World’s Most Notorious Atheist (Nashville: Nelson, 2016). Superlative review.

Scenes from the Life of Christ

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I just enjoyed listening to “Scenes from the Life of Christ,” a creative, soothing, meditative CD composed and produced by Tom Howard and Ligonier Ministries.

Nine of the ten tracks begin with a Scripture reading from the ESV by a well-known Bible expositor and end with music reflecting the passage.

  1. The Annunciation | Scripture Reading by Alistair Begg (Luke 1:26–38)
  2. Feeding of the 5,000 | Scripture reading by D. A. Carson (John 6:1–15)
  3. Cleansing of the Temple | Scripture reading by John MacArthur (Mark 11:15–19)
  4. The Transfiguration | Scripture reading by Sinclair Ferguson (Luke 9:28–36)
  5. Temptation in the Wilderness | Scripture reading by R. C. Sproul (Matthew 4:1–11)
  6. Jesus, the Healer [no Scripture reading]
  7. The Raising of Lazarus | Scripture reading by John Piper (John 11:1–6, 17, 32–33, 38–44)
  8. Parable of the Shrewd Manager | Scripture reading by Albert Mohler (Luke 16:1–13)
  9. The Last Supper | Scripture reading by Ligon Duncan (Luke 22:14–23)
  10. Gethsemane | Scripture reading by Derek Thomas (Matthew 26:36–46)

You can listen to samples and view the CD-liner as a PDF. The inside part of the liner directly opposite the CD says this:

scenes

The Annunciation
Scripture Reading by Alistair Begg
Luke 1:26–38

Did Jesus Believe in the Bible’s Inerrancy?

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WTS Books just stocked this book:

John Wenham. Christ and the Bible. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994. Repr., Wipf and Stock, 2009.

Here’s what Mark Dever says about it in the last paragraph of his essay “Inerrancy of the Bible: An Annotated Bibliography“:

I’ve saved the best for last. If I could just recommend one book on the inerrancy of the Bible it would undoubtedly be this one—John Wenham, Christ and the Bible (Tyndale Press, 1972 [UK]; IVP, 1973 [US]). Wenham’s book has been through three editions and makes the simple point that our trust in Scripture is to be a part of our following Christ, because that is the way that He treated Scripture—as true, and therefore authoritative. (Robert Lightner, a professor of Systematic Theology at Dallas Seminary published a similar book a few years later, A Biblical Case for Total Inerrancy: How Jesus Viewed the Old Testament [Kregel, 1978].) Wenham had first put these ideas in print with a little Tyndale pamphlet in 1953 called Our Lord’s View of the Old Testament. In Christ and the Bible, Wenham, who taught Greek for many years at Oxford, an Anglican evangelical, has done us all a great service in providing us with a book which understands that we do not come by our adherence to Scripture fundamentally from the inductive resolutions of discrepancies, but from the teaching of the Lord Jesus. Only because of the Living Word may we finally know to trust the Written Word. May God use these resources of those who’ve gone before us to equip and encourage us in so trusting.

Dever concludes by giving Wenham his top recommendation:

To get up to speed on this issue, and to help you with your ministry, consider the following recommendations.

MUST READ: Wenham

SHOULD READ: Warfield, Packer’s “Fundamentalism” and the Word of God, Lindsell [The Battle for the Bible and The Bible in the Balance], any one of the edited volumes of your choosing!

Rod Decker on Hebrews 7-10

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New Testament scholar Rodney J. Decker presented a thoughtful paper yesterday at the second annual Council on Dispensational Hermeneutics:

“The Law, the New Covenant, and the Christian: Studies in Hebrew 7–10” (32-page PDF)

HT: Rod Decker

Decker

Related:

  1. “Second Dispensational Conference Meets” (a report by GARB’s Regular Baptist Press in The Baptist Bulletin)
  2. Photo gallery
http://www.baptistbulletin.org/?p=5104