Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Paul’s New Perspective

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This is a humbling reminder:

[I]t was his [i.e, Paul’s] conversion on the Damascus road that enabled him to see many things in a new perspective. . . . Even though he knows full well that he came to his Christian understanding via the Damascus road experience, and not in classes on exegesis, he also argues that what he, as a Christian and an apostle, finds in the Scriptures is actually there, and the reason unconverted Jews do not see it is because “to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it take [sic] away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts” (2 Cor 3:14–15). In other words, as far as Paul is concerned, conversion to Christ removes the veil to enable the reader to see what is actually there. Judging by his passionate handling of Scripture in Galatians, and in his slightly less passionate but scarcely less intense handling of Scripture in Romans, Paul is concerned to show that the gospel he preaches has in fact actually been announced by what we now refer to as the Old Testament: the δικαιοσύνη [i.e., righteousness] he announces is that “to which the Law and the Prophets testify” (Rom 3:21).

–D. A. Carson, “Mystery and Fulfillment: Toward a More Comprehensive Paradigm of Paul’s Understanding of the Old and New,” in The Paradoxes of Paul. Vol. 2 of Justification and Variegated Nomism (ed. D. A. Carson, Peter T. O’Brien, and Mark A. Seifrid; Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 181; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004), pp. 410–11.

Mark Farnham Interview on Fundamentalism

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This morning I listened to Jason Janz (Sharper Iron profile) interview Mark J. Farnham, assistant professor of theology and NT as well as chaplain at Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary:

  1. “Four Historical Stages of Fundamentalism” (32:17 min.)
  2. “Current Issues Within Fundamentalism” (22:10 min.)
  3. “Trends in Evangelicalism” (30:07 min.)

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The interview is not filled with energy and humor like the recent Mahaney-Dever interview; Farnham, in comparison, is calm and perhaps a bit monotone. I’d take issue with some of his comments here and there, but I realize that it is very challenging to nuance complex historical and theological issues in an interview like this. If you have been exposed only to the worst forms of fundamentalism or to caricatures of such, you may be surprised to listen to a fundamentalist who doesn’t sound like a belligerent anti-intellectual. Check it out.

“Explosion of Biblical Knowledge”

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This is both exciting and daunting:

“We are part of the greatest explosion of biblical knowledge in history. Never before has so much been discovered and published in the same generation. For virtually every book of the Bible major projects are coming to light, and commentaries benefiting from them are being written.”

– Grant R. Osborne, “Recent Trends in the Study of the Apocalypse,” in The Face of New Testament Studies: A Survey of Recent Research (ed. Scot McKnight and Grant R. Osborne; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004), p. 473.

This is exciting because there are so many fresh advances in biblical studies, yet this is daunting because it seems impossible to master all aspects of biblical studies, let alone one of them! Biblical scholars and scholars-in-training, however, need not get discouraged. Their responsibility is to be faithful stewards of God’s manifold grace in order to glorify Him. Cf. 1 Peter 4:10–11 (NET):

“Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God. Whoever speaks, let it be with God’s words. Whoever serves, do so with the strength that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.”

CBMW Site Updated

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I just updated the entries for the Council of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood in my recommended resources.

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1. “MP3s” page:

2. “Theological writings” page:

3. I added their “Gender Blog” to my blogroll.

HT: Justin Taylor

Related: “Carolyn Mahaney on Biblical Womanhood (by Jenni Naselli)“

Rod Decker Reviews Con Campbell’s Book on Verbal Aspect

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Rodney Decker informally reviews the latest volume in D. A. Carson’s SBG series: Constantine R. Campbell, Verbal Aspect, the Indicative Mood, and Narrative: Soundings in the Greek of the New Testament [paperback forthcoming] (ed. D. A. Carson; Studies in Biblical Greek 13; New York: Lang, 2007), xxi + 285 pp.

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Cf. my earlier post on Campbell’s book.

Related: Andrew David Naselli, “A Brief Introduction to Verbal Aspect in New Testament Greek,” Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 12 (2007): 17–28.

Mid-America Conference on Preaching: Oct. 18-19, 2007

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The annual Mid-America Conference on Preaching, hosted by Inter-City Baptist Church and Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, October 18–19, 2007. Dr. Claude Wiggins just emailed this (pasted below with his permission; hyperlinks added):

“We would love to have you join us for the 2007 Mid-America Conference on Preaching. Our theme for this year, ‘Learning from the Past, Pressing toward the Future,’ is a reminder that we are runners in a relay race that began with the Apostles and will continue until our Lord returns. We can’t live looking backward, but if we don’t understand what has happened before us, we’re surely headed for trouble.

“This year’s speakers include Doug McLachlan, Mark Minnick, Sam Horn, David Saxon, David Doran, and the faculty of DBTS. The schedule includes eight general sessions and opportunity to choose from two dozen workshops. Complete conference information, including workshop list, schedule and registration form, is available at http://www.dbts.edu/1-4/1-41.asp. For additional information please email macp@dbts.edu or call (313) 381-0111.”

Workshops include the following:

  • Essential Qualities of God-Honoring Worship Songs
  • A Model for Developing A God-Centered Ministry
  • Shades of Evangelicals: Recognizing the Differences
  • Conservative Evangelicals and Fundamentalists: Recognizing the Differences
  • Are We Worried about Holiness or How We Look?
  • Expositional Preaching from the Parables
  • Designing Sermons for Effective Communication
  • Weakness or Wisdom? Fundamentalism and Romans 14:1–15:13
  • Are Baptists Protestants?
  • In Defense of Penal-Substitutionary Atonement
  • Evangelistic Calvinists Past and Present: Being What We Were Chosen to Become
  • Is There a Present Form of The Kingdom of God/Heaven: A Case Study in Hermeneutics and Theology
  • Meaning of Fellowship in 1 John
  • An Overview of Ecclesiastes
  • Local Church Membership and the Practice of the Ordinances

“Losing Faith”: B. Erhman, J. F. Strange, L. H. Schiffman, and W. G. Dever

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Larry Rogier (pastor of Grace Baptist Church; M.Div. and Th.M. from Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary) thoughtfully reflects on “Losing Faith: How Scholarship Affects Scholars” (Biblical Archeology Review [March/April 2007]: 50–57). The BAR article interacts with Bart Erhman, James F. Strange, Lawrence H. Schiffman, and William G. Dever. Larry Rogier concludes with four thoughts:

  1. “All these men allowed their experience to dictate their approach to God.”
  2. “These men believe that true scholarship lead them away from the God who is the fountain of knowledge.”
  3. “These men, perhaps because of their rejection of inerrancy, fail to recognize” that the reason for suffering and evil is the sinfulness of humanity.
  4. “The hope of these men, as with all men—whether the most educated and studied or the least educated and knowledgeable—is that the hope of life lies with God alone. One reason I am a Calvinist in my soteriology is because of situations like this.”

Read the whole article.