Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Historical Theology

Evaluating Theological Interpretation of Scripture: An Interview with Brian Collins

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I recently micro-read this revised PhD dissertation:

Brian C. Collins. Scripture, Hermeneutics, and Theology: Evaluating Theological Interpretation of Scripture. Greenville, SC: Exegesis & Theology, 2012.

It’s outstanding. You can download a free PDF of the book here.

Brian Collins and I were PhD students together and were members of the same church. We used to spend the first half of each Saturday morning doing our Hebrew exegesis homework together for the upcoming week. Of all the students I took courses with, Brian is probably the most well-read.

Brian kindly agreed to answer some questions about his PhD dissertation. [Read more…] about Evaluating Theological Interpretation of Scripture: An Interview with Brian Collins

An Interview about Keswick Theology with the Director of Keswick Ministries

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I have spent a lot of time researching Keswick or higher life theology. I wrote a PhD dissertation on it (2006), and I condensed it into an article (2008) and revised it as an academic book (2010), which I recently condensed and updated into a more accessible book (2017).

Here is how I define two key terms in my 2010 book Let Go and Let God?

  1. The “early Keswick movement” refers to a movement from 1875 to 1920 that was (1) conservatively evangelical; (2) based on and distinguished by the belief that the majority of Christians are living in defeat and that the secret to living “the higher life,” “the deeper life,” or “the victorious Christian life” is consecration followed by Spirit-filling; and (3) stimulated by annual conventions at Keswick, England, and literature by its propagators.
  2. Keswick theology refers to the view of sanctification shared by the prominent propagators of the early Keswick movement.

Keswick is a small town in the Lake District in northwest England, and it recently became a World Heritage Site. Since 1875, it has hosted a meeting in July for the Keswick Convention. It started as a small one-week event, but now it runs for three weeks and attracts up to 15,000 adults and children. Its impact has extended all over the UK and the world. From 1875 to about 1920, those meetings featured higher life theology. Beginning in the 1920s, the Keswick Convention’s view of sanctification began to shift from the view that the leaders of the early Keswick Convention promoted from 1875 to 1920. William Graham Scroggie (1877–1958) led that transformation to a view of progressive sanctification closer to the Reformed view. More recently its speakers have included people like Don Carson, Tim Chester, Sinclair Ferguson, and Christopher Ash, whose views on the Christian life differ significantly from the early Keswick movement.

For the first half of 2018, my family lived in Cambridge, England, during my research sabbatical, and in June I was able to visit Keswick for the first time.

I also corresponded with some brothers who work for Keswick Ministries, and the Ministry Director, Dr. James Robson, kindly answered a few of my questions. [Read more…] about An Interview about Keswick Theology with the Director of Keswick Ministries

8 Videos from the Theologians on the Christian Life Conference

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On April 20–21, Bethlehem College & Seminary (my school) and Crossway (my favorite publisher) cohosted the Theologians on the Christian Life Conference.

Steve Nichols and Justin Taylor edit the Theologians on the Christian Life series that Crossway has published since 2012. The series is historically informed and warmly devotional.

Here are eight videos from the conference:

1. Justin Taylor Interviews John Piper

[Read more…] about 8 Videos from the Theologians on the Christian Life Conference

Please No Explanations inside the Church

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Those words appear behind me in this picture:

That picture is about a week old. Rick Segal took it while we were visiting Israel. It made us laugh because directly behind me is a Catholic church building in Jerusalem. You can navigate 360 degrees on Google maps and see that in the above picture my back is to the building’s entrance while I am directly facing the temple mount’s eastern wall.

The authorial intent of the words on the sign are probably to request that tour guides not talk openly inside the church building. But the words made me laugh because in some ways they encapsulate why Protestants are celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation today.

Happy Reformation Day!

Related:

  1. 20 Resources on the Protestant Reformation
  2. “Here I Stand”: Elsa (from Frozen’s “Let It Go”) vs. Luther (at the Diet of Worms)
  3. Reeves Recommends Reformation Reading

Eureka! Discovering Gold in God’s Word

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That was the title of a conference Bethlehem College & Seminary hosted last month. It featured new books on how to read the Bible by three of our professors.

Here are the five videos from the conference (three talks, two Q&As): [Read more…] about Eureka! Discovering Gold in God’s Word

How Should You Pronounce J. Gresham Machen’s Middle Name?

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John Gresham Machen (1881–1937) is a famous NT scholar who departed the theologically liberal Princeton Seminary and took the lead in forming Westminster Theological Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

People often mispronounce Machen’s middle name:

  • Incorrect: GRESH-ahm
  • Correct: GRESS-ahm

Support:

  • Ned Stonehouse’s biography of Machen explains, “The name J. Gresham Machen, and especially the maternal family name Gresham, is frequently mispronounced. At the request of the publisher of The Literary Digest, Machen wrote at some length on the subject, and on the background of this information the magazine in its issue of July 14, 1934 carried the following key over the name of the lexicographer Frank H. Vizetelly: ‘gress’ am, not gresh’ am; may’ chen, not may’ ken.’ The chief pitfall in the pronouncing of the name, as Machen said, is in the drawing of the ‘s‘ and ‘h’ together in Gresham. The ‘h’ is silent as in ‘Markham’ or Badham’” (p. 511).
  • William Edgar and Scott Oliphint, two current Westminster professors, edited a book in which they write, “John Gresham (pronounced ‘Gressam’)” (p. 2:435).

Related: John Piper engagingly tells Machen’s story:

No Quick Fix: Where Higher Life Theology Came From, What It Is, and Why It’s Harmful

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My latest book attempts to survey and analyze “let go and let God” theology:

No Quick Fix

Andrew David Naselli. No Quick Fix: Where Higher Life Theology Came From, What It Is, and Why It’s Harmful. Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2017. xi + 123 pp.

(The book’s “Acknowledgments” page should mention three Faithlife employees: Elliot Ritzema for shepherding the book through the editorial process, Bryan Hintz for designing the clever cover, and my friend Mark Ward for writing the title’s black letters by hand.) [Read more…] about No Quick Fix: Where Higher Life Theology Came From, What It Is, and Why It’s Harmful

Special Discount on the Books “How to Understand and Apply the Old/New Testament”

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P&R Publishing recently released these two books:

P&R Publishing has partnered with Bethlehem College & Seminary to offer a special discount: for a limited time (until August 4), my school’s bookstore is selling these books at 30% off for one or 40% off for both, and all orders contribute proceeds to my school ($11.20 when buying one book and $19.20 when buying both). Details here.