Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Other

A Personal Update

by

My last “personal update” was in June 2008. Once again, I’ve lost track of whom I’ve told what at this transitional time, so this post should fill in some gaps.

1. Family

Jenni and Kara (4/23/2010)

Jenni is an outstanding homemaker and mom, and she’s loving it! Shepherding Kara Marie, who turns two in June, has taught Jenni and me a lot about God and ourselves. She lives up to her first name by bringing us joy, and we love watching her develop. God has gifted her with a mind that loves to learn: by the time she was twenty months old, she could recognize 1-10, knew the entire alphabet including the sounds of each letter, and was speaking in four- or five-word sentences. We’re probably typical first-time parents, but we think she’s pretty bright.

And I’m almost officially old. I turn thirty in May.

2. School

I defended my first PhD dissertation on July 17, 2006, and two weeks later Jenni and I moved into a one-bedroom apartment on the campus of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School so I could work on a PhD in New Testament. Nearly four years later, we’re still here. The program is rigorous, but by God’s grace I . . . [Read more…] about A Personal Update

Bible Software for iPhone and iPod Touch: Olive Tree vs. Logos

by

In my post on iPhone Resources, I mention that Logos Bible Software (more info) is one of my favorite apps. Someone asked this in the comments:

Have you had a chance to use the Olive Tree Bible app at all? Any thoughts on comparisons with the Logos app?

I replied,

I haven’t used the various Olive Tree apps because my understanding is that Logos can do everything they can and more (esp. if you use Logos 4) for free. I may be wrong on that.

Well, I was wrong on that—at least for now.

1. What is Olive Tree Bible software?

Here’s how it describes itself:

Olive Tree Bible Software provides mobile Bible versions and study tools for iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Palm OS, Pocket PC, Smartphone and Symbian cell phones. We currently offer over 500 mobile resources including over 100 translations of the Bible as well as commentaries, dictionaries, devotionals, eBooks, and Strong’s numbering system. The Bible is offered in various languages, including German, French, Spanish, Chinese and many others. Original Hebrew and Greek texts are also available. Additionally, we provide online web and cell phone (WAP) Bible search engines.

2. What does Olive Tree Bible software offer for the iPhone and iPod Touch?

  1. Bibles. Hebrew, Greek, LXX, ESV, NIV, NASB, NET, NLT, The Message, and more.
  2. Study Bibles. ESVSB, NET notes, NIVSB, NLTSB, and more. [Read more…] about Bible Software for iPhone and iPod Touch: Olive Tree vs. Logos

iPhone Resources

by

I got an iPhone this month, and it surpassed my high expectations. It’s amazing.

My 3GS model is 16 GB and weighs 4.8 ounces. That means that the little phone I keep in my pocket holds eight times as much space as the laptop I used from college through my first PhD (1998–2006).

If you have an iPhone (or iPod Touch), these resources may help you use the tool more efficiently.

1. iPhone Apps

The iPhone comes with several apps already installed, and over 100,000 apps are available through the iTunes Store.

Here’s a screen-shot of my apps as they appear iTunes (click on the image to enlarge):

Here are some practices I’ve found to be helpful:

[Read more…] about iPhone Resources

Rebuked about Harry Potter

by

HP_booksEarlier this week I mentioned how much Jenni and I enjoyed listening to J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.

Several good-intentioned people rebuked me on the premise that Harry Potter is dark literature that Christians should avoid. I privately asked each person three questions:

  1. Have you read Kevin Bauder’s series on fantasy literature (I link to it in my post)?
  2. Do you have a problem with C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia or J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings?
  3. Have you read any of the Harry Potter books?

Their answers were consistent:

  1. No.
  2. I’m not sure because I haven’t read them. (Some added a comment like this: But I’ve seen The Lord of the Rings movies, and I think Christians should avoid those, too.)
  3. No.

I don’t mind disagreeing on this disputable matter. The underlying desire to glorify God by avoiding worldliness is commendable. But I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask that people be more informed about this issue before admonishing others about it.

Related:

  1. Exulting in Harry Potter
  2. Harry Potter Is Filled with Implicit and Explicit Christian Themes

Update: I try to show how Harry Potter illustrates biblical theology in this 4-minute video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD6LCYLlYpE

Harry Potter

by

HP

Jenni and I just finished listening to the best-selling book series of all time: Harry Potter.

Jim Dale masterfully reads the seven-volume unabridged audiobook. We’ve listened to a lot of audiobooks, and Jim Dale is by far the most gifted reader we’ve ever heard. Incredibly gifted.

The audiobook is 4.8 days long (about 115 hours). We thoroughly enjoyed listening to it on date nights and road trips. We’re sad it’s over.

The series is not without objectionable elements (e.g., the protagonist and his friends tell lies without negative consequences, and some of the language is not appropriate for children’s books), but overall J. K. Rowling’s story is brilliant, creative, intriguing, and entertaining. Its literary quality is not as exquisite as J. R. R. Tolkien or C. S. Lewis, but it isn’t junk food either (cf. Kevin Bauder’s series “The Christian and Fantasy Literature”). (Some of the movies, on the other hand, may qualify as junk food. Don’t judge a book by its movie.)

By the way, this may explain one of my Facebook status updates a couple of months ago:

If I become a professor at a college or seminary, I may suggest a different title than the typical “Professor of New Testament” or “Professor of Systematic Theology.” How about “Professor of Defense against the Dark Arts”?

That’s actually not a bad title. (Cf. my review of Focus on the Family Radio Theatre’s The Screwtape Letters.)

Update:

  1. Follow-up post: “Rebuked about Harry Potter“
  2. Successful Rereading: Maintaining the Magic
  3. Harry Potter Is Filled with Implicit and Explicit Christian Themes
  4. Emotional Intelligence
  5. Exulting in Harry Potter
  6. Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts

You Don’t See This Happen Every Day

by

The latest Themelios issue includes articles by both Ray Ortlund and his son Dane.

  1. Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. | Pastoral Pensées  Power in Preaching: Delight (2 Corinthians 12:1–10), Part 3 of 3
  2. Dane C. Ortlund | Christocentrism: An Asymmetrical Trinitarianism?

How cool is that? If I were Ray, I’d be filled with gratitude to God! (And he is—he told me this morning.)

  • Ray Ortlund (blog) is pastor of Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee. He served as Associate Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois from 1989 to 1998, and he has pastored churches in California, Oregon, and Georgia.
  • Dane Ortlund is a a PhD candidate in New Testament at Wheaton College under Doug Moo.