Phrasing: My Favorite Way to Trace an Argument

February 19, 2015 by Andy Naselli

The best part about knowing the biblical languages is tracing the argument.

The main tool we use for this at Bethlehem College & Seminary is Biblearc.

Biblearc initially focused exclusively on tracing the argument by a method called arcing. It is a method that John Piper and Tom Steller developed after learning it from Dan Fuller.

Last year Biblearc added bracketing.

And this year it added phrasing. Phrasing is my favorite method for tracing the argument because it’s so intuitive and clear.

Phrasing goes by many names:

block diagramming
causal layout
grammatical diagramming
phrase diagramming
propositional displays
propositional outlines
sentence flow
text hierarchy
thought-flow diagramming

Phrasing is a flexible and easy-to-use Bible study tool that allows you to visually trace a passage’s argument: simply indent to subordinate. The Biblearc phrasing feature has all sorts of mark-up features from arrows to relationship comments to Dot Notes.

My colleagues Jason DeRouchie and Brian Tabb teamed up with Andy Hubert to show how it works in these five videos:

1. Introduction to Biblearc’s Phrasing Module

Announcing the NIV Zondervan Study Bible

February 17, 2015 by Andy Naselli

I say this in my recent essay “Three Reflections on Evangelical Academic Publishing”:

After finishing my PhD at Trinity, I had some options to teach full-time. But instead I spent four years working full-time on the NIV Zondervan Study Bible. [Read more…] about Announcing the NIV Zondervan Study Bible

Why Bible Typography Matters

February 14, 2015 by Andy Naselli

My friend Mark Ward shrewdly explains why Bible typography matters (video | audio):

CC: Publishers of the ESV, NIV, HCSB, NLT, etc.

Three Tips for Better Bible Reading
Re 3 Unusual Tips for Better Bible Reading (see especially the short video there)

Update on 9/11/2015: Mark Ward now works for Faithlife, and his first blog post is titled “Why Bible Typography Matters.”

Perspectives on the Extent of the Atonement: 3 Views

February 11, 2015 by Andy Naselli

My most recent book, another debate-book, just released:

Andrew David Naselli and Mark A. Snoeberger, eds. Perspectives on the Extent of the Atonement: 3 Views. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2015.

31-page sample PDF (front matter + introduction)

I explain more about the book in this 5-minute video:

This book presents a point-counterpoint exchange concerning God’s intention in sending Christ to die on the cross. All of the contributors recognize a substitutionary element in the atoning work of Christ, but they disagree over the nature and objects of that substitution. [Read more…] about Perspectives on the Extent of the Atonement: 3 Views

Toolbox for Skillful Shepherding

February 8, 2015 by Andy Naselli

Andrew M. Davis, “The Practical Issues of Church Discipline,” in Those Who Must Give an Account: A Study of Church Membership and Church Discipline, ed. John S. Hammett and Benjamin L. Merkle (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2012), 172:

Andy Davis writes about the amazing story of his church in this 9Marks article and tells Mark Dever about it in this 9Marks interview.
Seven Essential Elements of an Effective Shepherding Ministry
22 Mistakes Pastors Make in Practicing Church Discipline (an excerpt from probably the single most helpful accessible book on church discipline)

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

February 3, 2015 by Andy Naselli

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

January 27, 2015 by Andy Naselli

When 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.

Beer and Bacon: Christian Hedonism 2.0

January 20, 2015 by Andy Naselli

That’s not the title of Joe Rigney‘s next book, but it could be:

Joe Rigney. The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015.

The four men who have most influenced Joe’s thinking on this subject are Jonathan Edwards, John Piper, C. S. Lewis, and Doug Wilson. Wilson quipped a while back that Piper’s Christian hedonism could use a little more “beer and bacon.” Joe has fleshed that out, and this book is the result.

Check out the contents in this 48-page sample PDF, including a foreword by John Piper. I’m not sure I’ve read a more glowing foreword. [Read more…] about Beer and Bacon: Christian Hedonism 2.0