Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Con Campbell’s Book on Verbal Aspect Released in Carson’s SBG Series

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A couple weeks ago I enjoyed working through a good portion of 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 (ed. D. A. Carson; Studies in Biblical Greek 13; New York: Lang, 2007), xxi + 285 pp.

  • See here for the text that appears on the book’s back cover, including a brief summary and recommendations by Peter T. O’Brien (Campbell’s colleague at Moore Theological College) and Moisés Silva.
  • Campbell explains in his preface, “This book is a lightly revised version of my doctoral thesis, which was submitted to Macquarie University in July 2006. I am grateful to Professor D. A. Carson, Dr Moisés Silva, and Dr. Anssi Voitila, who examined the thesis, for their suggestions that have improved the work” (p. xv).
  • When I took Dr. Carson’s Advanced Greek Grammar course at TEDS last year, he referred positively to Campbell’s work several times. Carson writes in the series preface (pp. xiii-xiv),

The last two or three decades have witnessed an impressive growth in the application of linguistic theory to the study of Hellenistic Greek. Nowhere has this work been more intense than in debates over the relevance of aspect theory to our understanding of the Greek verbal system. Dr Campbell’s book carefully weighs in on some of these debates, focusing on the narrative literature of the Gospels (primarily the Synoptic Gospels) and on several extra-biblical narrative sources. One of the great strengths of his research is the limpid clarity of his prose. It is always a bit disconcerting to discover how much work on aspect theory has been done, and how little of it has crossed into the world of New Testament Scholarship. Because of its clarity and excellent illustrations, Campbell’s volume has the potential for mediating between the two fields. Scarcely less important is the fact that Campbell puts forth some fresh suggestions as to how to understand the perfect and pluperfect. On any theory of the Greek verb—the time-based system of the Rationalist period, the more recent variations of Aktionsart theory, and now aspect theory—the perfect tense has proven notoriously difficult to handle. Campbell provides fresh food for thought–certainly not the last word, but an intriguing suggestion that may well point the way ahead.

  • I dutifully incorporated a bit of Campbell’s work into a journal article I wrote this summer on verbal aspect theory.
  • It was a bit relieving to hear Campbell thank his children “for constantly reminding me that there is a lot more to life than the Greek verb” (p. xvi). :-)
  • Cf. Campbell’s academic background and recent talks available as MP3s. His personal site about his “evangelistic jazz ministry” certainly raised my eyebrows!
  • For more information on the SBG series, click here and then click the PDF icon near the top of the page; this PDF gives a description of each book in the series as you’d find on each book’s back cover.
  • Cf. my post on another SBG volume: “John Lee on NT Lexicography“

Update:

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

Rick Phillips & Carl Trueman on BJU and Fundamentalism

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Here are links to some fascinating recent blog posts:

  1. Rick Phillips: “Fundamentalism, Christian Schooling, and the Antithesis”
  2. Rick Phillips: “The Price Is Not Right”
  3. Rick Phillips: clarification in comment 2 on my post “Rick Phillips on Bob Jones Academy and Fundamentalism“
  4. Rick Phillips: “More on Bob Jones”
  5. Carl Trueman: “Cheese in an Aerosol Can“
  6. Rick Phillips: “In Praise of Aerosol Cheese“
  7. Chris Anderson: “Wowzers. Rick Phillips Defends BJU, Fundamentalists“
  8. Sean Michael Lucas: “Cheese, Fundamentalism, and the Antithesis, no. 1“
  9. Sean Michael Lucas: “Cheese, Fundamentalism, and the Antithesis, no. 2“
  10. Bob Bixby: “The ‘Emerging Middle’“
  11. Rick Phillips: “Some Good Cheese“

Rick Phillips on Bob Jones Academy and Fundamentalism

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Update: See Rick Phillips’s gracious reply below (comment #2) and clarification on his blog entitled “More on Bob Jones.” He’s a gentleman.

Rick Phillips, who recently became a PCA pastor at Second Presbyterian Church just a few minutes down the road from Bob Jones University, shares his evolving thoughts on fundamentalists after deciding to enroll his children at Bob Jones Elementary School. See his blog post “Fundamentalism, Christian Schooling, and the Antithesis.” (Cf. his follow-up post “The Price Is Not Right.”)

A few thoughts in reply:

  1. I’m delighted to hear Phillips’s thoughts. BJ often gets an unnecessarily bad rap. Phillips is right that (1) BJ is culturally conservative and upholds some relatively strict rules and (2) BJ is straight on what matters most: the gospel.
  2. For what it’s worth, I’d like to point out that BJ is not an Arminian institution. I can see how someone might get this impression based on some of their history (e.g., Bob Jones Sr. was a Methodist), methodology, chapel speakers, and administrators over the years, but I’m not aware of a single Arminian professor who currently teaches on the their undergraduate or graduate Bible faculty; most (or at least many) of the Bible professors are Calvinists of the Amyraldian variety. (I don’t pretend to be an official spokesperson for BJU, but both my wife and I are somewhat familiar with the BJ system. We both earned degrees at BJU, and my wife also attended BJ through seventh grade. For the first two years of our marriage, we lived right next to BJES and passed it nearly every day either in a car or on foot. We each have many friends and family members who have attended BJ ranging from nursery-age up through Ph.D. studies, and I still keep in touch with several of the professors.)

D. A. Carson on “The Gospel of Jesus Christ”

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An edited manuscript of D. A. Carson‘s “The Gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-19)” is now available at The Gospel Coalition site. Carson preached this message in May at The Gospel Coalition’s first conference: video | audio.

Other resources at TGC site: articles (including an RSS feed for new articles), audio & video (including interviews), foundational documents.

The Gospel Coalition Interviews

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The Gospel Coalition now has dozens of short video interview clips available. Four men, at least in the interviews posted so far, answer various questions: D. A. Carson, Tim Keller, John Piper, and Mark Driscoll. I reserved a few hours today to watch these, and it was well worth the time—regardless of whether one completely agrees with every viewpoint expressed. Some of the clips are especially thoughtful and moving, especially those by Carson and Piper. (Cf. TGC’s articles, audio & video, foundational documents, and stakeholders.)

John Glynn’s “Commentary and Reference Survey”

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Last night I finished reading an excellent resource: John Glynn, Commentary and Reference Survey: A Comprehensive Guide to Biblical Studies and Theological Resources (10th ed.; revised and updated; with a foreword by Darrell L. Bock; Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2007), 380 pp. (See also Glynn’s website, which includes a couple reviews of his book.) Glynn’s Survey is a superb source for tracking what works are available for biblical studies. Glynn is a bit thin on evaluation (Other than occasional interjections, about the extent of his evaluations is bolding his most recommended resources.), and nearly everyone will have some quibbles with his judgments. The book, however, is primarily a compilation of resources, not a commentary on resources. It it not, therefore, in the same category as, say, D. A. Carson’s New Testament Commentary Survey. Glynn lists the options for biblical studies in general, but Carson analyzes specific NT commentaries. Glynn devotes only one chapter (pp. 145-201) to NT commentaries, but Carson’s whole book is devoted to it. I’m grateful for Glynn’s useful tool.