Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

What about Free Will? Reconciling Our Choices with God’s Sovereignty

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freeThis book releases next week:

Scott Christensen. What about Free Will? Reconciling Our Choices with God’s Sovereignty. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2016.

My endorsement:

Many think that free will is the silver-bullet answer to some of theology’s most difficult questions. But do we have a free will?

Short answer: It depends on what you mean by free.

Long answer: Read this book. [Read more…] about What about Free Will? Reconciling Our Choices with God’s Sovereignty

An Interpretive Lexicon That Analyzes Greek Connective Words

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lexiconThis book categorizes the connective words that indicate logical relationships between clauses:

G. K. Beale, Daniel J. Brendsel, and William A. Ross. An Interpretive Lexicon of New Testament Greek: Analysis of Prepositions, Adverbs, Particles, Relative Pronouns, and Conjunctions. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014.

It mostly collates information from BDAG, Dan Wallace’s intermediate grammar, and Murray Harris’s book on prepositions. It’s small and short (96 pp.).

Endorsements: [Read more…] about An Interpretive Lexicon That Analyzes Greek Connective Words

David Dorsey on the Mosaic Law and the Christian

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David Dorsey wrote a thoughtful JETS article on the Mosaic law and the Christian in 1991:

Dorsey, David A. “The Law of Moses and the Christian: A Compromise.” JETS 34 (1991): 321–34.

Justin Taylor summarizes that essay in Q&A format here.

In 1999 Dorsey wrote another journal article on the Mosaic law and the Christian. This essay is not as well-known, and it was challenging to track down. I’m uploading an unmarked PDF of the essay here with the publisher’s permission:

Dorsey, David A. “The Use of the OT Law in the Christian Life: A Theocentric Approach.” Evangelical Journal 17, no. 1 (1999): 1–18. [Read more…] about David Dorsey on the Mosaic Law and the Christian

John Frame’s Apologetics: A Justification of Christian Belief

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apologeticsThe second edition of my favorite book on apologetics released last year:

John M. Frame. Apologetics: A Justification of Christian Belief. Edited by Joseph E. Torres. 2nd ed. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2015.  

This 78-page PDF sample includes the front matter, introduction, and chapter 1.

Check out these two interviews:

  1. Justin Taylor interviews John Frame
  2. Fred Zaspel interviews John Frame

And here are John Frame’s top five books on apologetics (HT: Ivan Mesa’s TGC interview):

  1. C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
  2. Cornelius Van Til, Christian Apologetics
  3. Tim Keller, The Reason for God
  4. Vern Poythress, Redeeming Science
  5. William Edgar and Scott Oliphint, eds., Apologetics Past and Present (vol. 1 | vol. 2)

Is “Slave” a Good English Translation?

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I regularly play this 4-minute video in classes I teach because because it illustrates so well how complex it is to translate the Bible into English:

This illustrates how difficult it is to explain the concept of slavery in the OT and NT to people in America today. It also illustrates good translation sense. The committee members are asking exactly the right questions (especially Wayne Grudem here).

The BBC filmed this video when the ESV Translation Oversight Committee met in summer 2010. The committee debated how best to translate the Hebrew word עֶבֶד (‘ebed) and the Greek word δοῦλος (doulos). This video condenses hours of discussion. Members of the committee who speak in this video include Jack Collins, Peter Williams, Gordon Wenham, Paul House, Wayne Grudem, and Lane Dennis.

[Read more…] about Is “Slave” a Good English Translation?

Top Posts in 2014–2015

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At the end of 2011, 2012, and 2013, I shared some of the most popular posts on my site:

Here are the 20 most popular posts from 2014 and 2015:

  1. How I Set Up My Desks: One for Sitting, One for Walking
  2. NIV Zondervan Study Bible
  3. Is It Sinful for Unmarried Couples to Make Out?
  4. Phrasing: My Favorite Way to Trace an Argument
  5. Be More Specific Than “Points” or “Things”
  6. Toolbox for Skillful Shepherding
  7. Doug Wilson’s New Film: The Free Speech Apocalypse
  8. “Here I Stand”: Elsa (from Frozen’s “Let It Go”) vs. Luther (at the Diet of Worms)
  9. Zombie Nouns and Verbs: Why Nominalizations and Passives May Be Killing Your Writing
  10. On Plagiarism: An Interview with Justin Taylor
  11. No Regrets, No Retreat: Episode 8 (China) of Dispatches from the Front DVD Series
  12. 2nd Edition of Gordon Fee’s Commentary on 1 Corinthians
  13. How to Make Your Mac Read Text Aloud
  14. An Interview with Missionary J. D. Crowley on His Commentary on Romans
  15. Re 3 Unusual Tips for Better Bible Reading
  16. Do Complementarians Consistently Apply How Paul Argues from Creation in 1 Cor 11:8–10 and 1 Tim 2:13–14?
  17. Should Christians Drink Alcohol?
  18. Free MP3s: OT Survey by Jason DeRouchie
  19. When You Indulge in Pornography, You Participate in Sex Slavery
  20. Why and How to Memorize an Entire Book of the Bible

Beating the College Debt Trap: Getting a Degree without Going Broke

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debtThis book releases today:

Alex Chediak. Beating the College Debt Trap: Getting a Degree without Going Broke. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015.

90-second promo video:

My endorsement:

Alex Chediak does it again. He gives wise, user-friendly advice for students in high school and college (and their parents) for how to graduate from college without crippling debt. This book makes me even more grateful for colleges that do everything they can to serve students by keeping tuition low.

As I read the book I kept thanking God for my school: Bethlehem College & Seminary. We strategically give every resident student a Serious Joy Scholarship:

God works in the hearts of individual men and women to provide two-thirds of Bethlehem College & Seminary students’ full tuition cost such that they can:

1. Receive a high-value education at an unusually affordable cost.

2. Launch immediately into ministry without student loan debt.

3. Be affordable as staff to churches and ministries that need them.

serious-joy-scholarship