Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

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Matt Harmon’s Commentary on Philippians

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HarmonThis new commentary is one that preachers and other Bible interpreters will want to add to their library:

Matthew S. Harmon. Philippians: A Mentor Commentary. Fearn, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2015.

My endorsement:

Matt Harmon explains Paul’s letter clause by clause, traces Paul’s argument, reads Paul’s argument in light of the rest of the Bible, and applies the letter to people today. He reminds me of two of his professors when he was working on his PhD at Wheaton: Doug Moo and Greg Beale.

Zombie Nouns and Verbs: Why Nominalizations and Passives May Be Killing Your Writing

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Cannibals eat the flesh of fellow human beings.

And words can eat fellow words.

It depends on how you string them together.

How do you prefer to communicate with words: to clarify or to convolute, clutter, and confuse? To reveal or conceal?

That’s why Helen Sword, author of Stylish Academic Writing (Harvard University Press, 2012), refers to one type of words as zombie nouns.

Zombie Nouns: Nominalizations

Watch this five-minute video that Helen Sword narrates (based on her article “Zombie Nouns,” New York Times, July 23, 2012):

So as a general rule, use verbs instead of the related nouns when possible.

For example, [Read more…] about Zombie Nouns and Verbs: Why Nominalizations and Passives May Be Killing Your Writing

David Platt’s New Book: Counter Culture

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PlattWhen I read this book on an airplane last fall, parts of it made me cry. All of it fired me up.

David Platt. Counter Culture: A Compassionate Call to Counter Culture in a World of Poverty, Same-Sex Marriage, Racism, Sex Slavery, Immigration, Persecution, Abortion, Orphans, and Pornography. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2015. 34-page sample PDF.

Platt_toc

[Read more…] about David Platt’s New Book: Counter Culture

2015 EFCA Theology Conference: The Doctrine of the Scriptures

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Greg Strand has organized another outstanding theology conference for the Evangelical Free Church of America on the campus of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. This one is on the doctrine of the Scriptures (Jan 28–30, 2015). Speakers include Don Carson, Graham Cole, Phil Long, Doug Moo, Kevin Vanhoozer, and John Woodbridge.

More info here.

Update on 2/19/2015: Conference audio is available here.

A Theology of Sleep

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Sweet sleep is a gift from God: “when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet” (Proverbs 3:24b).

I agree with John Piper and Don Carson on sleep:

  1. John Piper: “For me, adequate sleep is not just a matter of staying healthy. It’s a matter of staying in the ministry” (p. 189).
  2. Don Carson: “Doubt may be fostered by sleep deprivation. If you keep burning the candle at both ends, sooner or later you will indulge in more and more mean cynicism—and the line between cynicism and doubt is a very thin one. Of course, different individuals require different numbers of hours of sleep: moreover, some cope with a bit of tiredness better than others. Nevertheless, if you are among those who become nasty, cynical, or even full of doubt when you are missing your sleep, you are morally obligated to try to get the sleep you need. We are whole, complicated beings; our physical existence is tied to our spiritual well-being, to our mental outlook, to our relationships with others, including our relationship with God. Sometimes the godliest thing you can do in the universe is get a good night’s sleep—not pray all night, but sleep. I’m certainly not denying that there may be a place for praying all night; I’m merely insisting that in the normal course of things, spiritual discipline obligates you get the sleep your body need” (p. 147)

sleepSo I was delighted to read this book: [Read more…] about A Theology of Sleep

Free PDFs of Dissertations at Southern Seminary

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libraryI recently discovered that Southern Seminary makes available free PDFs of many of the PhD dissertations (and some ThM theses) that students have successfully defended there.

These students have spent years working on these treatises, and some of the theses are outstanding (e.g., David Schrock’s on definite atonement).

I wish more schools did this. I just added over 70 of these PDFs to my Zotero library.

Summer Break

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I’m taking a little blogging break in July and early August so that I can focus on some other projects. God-willing, I’ll be back by mid-August.

The archives are open.

E.g., these two posts from 2014 have received the most views thus far this year:

  1. How I Set Up My Desks: One for Sitting, One for Walking
  2. Be More Specific Than “Points” or “Things”

These posts from 2013 received the most views in 2013 (my favorites are #25 and #29):

  1. Diabolical Ventriloquism: A 1-Sentence Summary of Each of Screwtape’s Letters
  2. How should churches relate to others with same-sex attractions? Read Peter Hubbard.
  3. 3 Reasons I Don’t Enthusiastically Recommend the History Channel’s “The Bible: The Epic Miniseries”
  4. Wayne Grudem on the Jason Bourne Films
  5. Piper Illustrates for Children How Faith Glorifies God
  6. Keller and Carson: Greco-Roman Slavery ≠ Race-Based Slavery
  7. Don Whitney: How Can I Be Sure I’m a Christian?
  8. Top 10 Tips for Being Clearer
  9. How a Recent Thesis Defines the Glory of God
  10. 6 Discontinuities between the Old and New Covenants
  11. Carson: The most painful things I’ve ever borne are betrayals by Christian friends
  12. How to Listen on Double Speed with an iPhone or iPod
  13. How Reliable Is Your Memory? 3 Practical Lessons
  14. Murray Harris’s 6-Page Expanded Paraphrase of Colossians
  15. The Best Book on Sexual Purity
  16. MacArthur: “It’s very easy to be hard to understand”
  17. Ben Witherington: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away” is “not good theology”
  18. What Is the Message of Each Book of the Bible?
  19. Brothers, We Are Not Professionals
  20. How to Disagree with Other Christians about Disputable Matters
  21. Exulting in Harry Potter
  22. How Should Parents Discipline Their Children? Is Spanking Wrong?
  23. An Unmistakable Sign of a Legalistic Spirit
  24. We’re Moving to Minneapolis: 5 Reasons We’re Excited to Serve at Bethlehem College & Seminary
  25. Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts
  26. Why You Should Not Be Dogmatic about All of Your Convictions: Lloyd-Jones on Silk Stockings, Baths, Radios, and More
  27. The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson
  28. Why It’s Important to Understand Direct vs. Mitigated Speech
  29. The 2 Issues I Most Frequently Address When Copy-Editing

These 20 posts from 2012 received the most views in 2012 (my favorite is #20):

  1. John Frame’s Advice: 30 Suggestions for Theological Students and Young Theologians
  2. 3 Ways to Nourish and Cherish Your Wife: Practical Advice C. J. Mahaney Would Give You If He Met with You at Starbucks
  3. Why People Hate the Sermon on the Mount
  4. Don Carson’s Three Secrets of Productivity and Godly Efficiency
  5. HCSB vs. ESV vs. NIV
  6. Ten Narnia Resources
  7. Must a Wife Always Follow Her Husband’s Leadership?
  8. Videos of All 44 Stories in The Jesus Storybook Bible
  9. Ten Resources for Enjoying Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
  10. Covenant Eyes
  11. My New Book: From Typology to Doxology
  12. 22 Mistakes Pastors Make in Practicing Church Discipline
  13. Progressive Covenantalism: A Via Media between Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism
  14. This Is How We Pray for Our Children
  15. A New Systematic Theology by an Eccentric Genius
  16. Falsifying Views on the Extent of the Atonement
  17. Limited Atonement in the Bible, Doctrine, History, and Ministry
  18. Tom Schreiner’s Top Three Commentaries on Each of Paul’s Letters
  19. Critiquing William Webb’s Redemptive-Movement Hermeneutic
  20. Announcing Emma Elyse Naselli

These ten posts from 2011 received the most views in 2011:

  1. Why John Piper Doesn’t Own a TV
  2. iPad Resources
  3. Courageous
  4. How to Manipulate People to Make (Fake) Professions of Faith
  5. Is C. S. Lewis the Patron Saint of American Evangelicalism?
  6. Bible Memory for Young Children
  7. Evernote or OneNote?
  8. The Importance of Dignified Translations
  9. The Myth of Mutual Submission
  10. Mirror Reading