Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

D. A. Carson

Carson: “Mystery and Fulfillment”

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I just read s-l-o-w-l-y through a 44-page article for the third time. (The last time I read it was fall 2006.) In my view this is the most brilliant academic article that D. A. Carson has written:

D. A. Carson. “Mystery and Fulfillment: Toward a More Comprehensive Paradigm of Paul’s Understanding of the Old and New.” Pages 393–436 in The Paradoxes of Paul. Vol. 2 of Justification and Variegated Nomism. Edited by D. A. Carson, Peter T. O’Brien, and Mark A. Seifrid. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 181. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004.

It richly repays repeated, thorough readings. But be warned: it’s dense. What follows is an uneven summary that doesn’t do it justice. (Read the whole thing. It’s worth the price of the book, which amount to a little less than $1 per page.) Understanding this article will help one make connections between the OT and the NT more richly.

Note: Italics in quotations are in the original. [Read more…] about Carson: “Mystery and Fulfillment”

Carson and Moo’s Dates for the NT Books

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The below list does not reproduce a particular chart from D. A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo’s Introduction to the New Testament (2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), but it is based on the text. They roughly date the twenty-seven New Testament books as follows (though the exact order of the twenty-seven books is fuzzy, e.g., re the prison epistles):

  1. James: around 46–48 (just before the Jerusalem Council)
  2. Galatians: 48 (just prior to the Jerusalem Council)
  3. 1 Thessalonians: 50
  4. 2 Thessalonians: either in late 50 or early 51
  5. 1 Corinthians: probably early in 55
  6. 2 Corinthians: 56 (i.e., within the next year or so of 1 Corinthians)
  7. Romans: 57
  8. Philippians: mid–50s to early 60s if written from Ephesus (61–62 if written from Rome)
  9. Mark: sometime in the late 50s or the 60s
  10. Philemon: probably Rome in the early 60s
  11. Colossians: early 60s, probably 61
  12. Ephesians: the early 60s
  13. 1 Peter: almost surely in 62–63
  14. Titus: probably not later than the mid-60s
  15. 1 Timothy: early to mid-60s
  16. 2 Timothy: early or mid-60s (about 64 or 65)
  17. 2 Peter: likely shortly before 65
  18. Acts: mid-60s
  19. Jude: middle-to-late 60s
  20. Luke: mid or late 60s
  21. Hebrews: before 70
  22. Matthew: not long before 70
  23. John: tentatively 80–85
  24. 1 John: early 90s
  25. 2 John: early 90s
  26. 3 John: early 90s
  27. Revelation: 95–96 (at the end of the Emperor Domitian’s reign)

“Forgiving oneself is, quite frankly, incoherent.”

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And what biblical warrant is there for this easy way many have of talking about “forgiving myself”? In the domain of pop psych, we all know, more or less, what we mean. But in the matrix of Wright’s discussion of what forgiveness is and entails, you have to have two parties to talk about forgiveness: the offender and the offended. Forgiving oneself is, quite frankly, incoherent. One can accept God’s forgiveness, and the forgiveness of others, and press on in various ways. But talk of forgiving oneself merely has the effect of muddying the crispness of the earlier discussion.

-D. A. Carson, review of N. T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God, RBL (April 23, 2007): 7-8 (emphasis added).

Ossified Orthodoxy

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Although I think it extremely dangerous to pursue a second blessing attested by tongues, I think it no less dangerous not to pant after God at all, and to be satisfied with a merely creedal Christianity that is kosher but complacent, orthodox but ossified, sound but soundly asleep.

-D. A. Carson, Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12–14 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987), 160.

D. A. Carson on Logical Fallacies

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D. A. Carson opens his chapter entitled “Logical Fallacies” in Exegetical Fallacies (2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996; pp. 87–123) with this:

Why Are Fire Engines Red?

They have four wheels and eight men;
four plus eight is twelve;
twelve inches make a ruler;
a ruler is Queen Elizabeth;
Queen Elizabeth sails the seven seas;
the seven seas have fish;
the fish have fins;
the Finns hate the Russians;
the Russians are red;
fire engines are always rushin’;
so they’re red.

I do not remember where I learned this little gem, but it raises in an extreme form the subject of logic. We see the argument is ridiculous; but why is it ridiculous? What is the nature of the breaches as we move from line to line, or even within one line? Why should we not accept this argument as a valid answer to the question, “Why are fire engines red?”

Carson proceeds to discuss “The Nature and Universality of Logic” followed by “A Select List of Logical Fallacies” (with explanations and illustrations):

  1. False disjunctions: an improper appeal to the law of the excluded middle
  2. Failure to recognize distinctions
  3. Appeal to selective evidence
  4. Improperly handled syllogisms
  5. Negative inferences
  6. World–view confusion
  7. Fallacies of question–framing
  8. Unwarranted confusion of truth and precision
  9. Purely emotive appeals
  10. Unwarranted generalization and overspecification
  11. Unwarranted associative jumps
  12. False statements
  13. The non sequitur
  14. Cavalier dismissal
  15. Fallacies based on equivocal argumentation
  16. Inadequate analogies
  17. Abuse of “obviously” and similar expressions
  18. Simplistic appeals to authority

Carson concludes,

These are certainly not the only logical fallacies than can trip up those of us who are intimately involved in the exegesis of the Bible; but they are among the most common. All of us will fall afoul of one or more of these fallacies at some time or another; but alert awareness of their prevalence and nature may help us escape their clutches more frequently than would otherwise be the case.

Like the other chapters of this book, this one is more negative than positive; but if it results in interpreters who are marginally more self–critical in their handling of Scripture, and in readers who are somewhat more discerning when they devour commentaries, expositions, and other studies, this sustained critique will be amply rewarded (p. 123).

Carson and Piper on Training the Next Generation of Evangelical Scholars and Pastors

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On November 20, 1998 in Orlando, Florida at the annual meeting and fiftieth anniversary of the Evangelical Theological Society, D. A. Carson and John Piper gave back-to-back hour-long plenary addresses to about 1,000 ETS members (mostly college and seminary professors):

  1. D. A. Carson, “Training the Next Generation of Evangelical Scholars” (MP3)
  2. John Piper, “Training the Next Generation of Evangelical Pastors and Missionaries” (MP3 | manuscript)

James A. Borland reported this in the next issue of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society:

On Friday afternoon, two plenary sessions were held. In Don Carson’s message, “Training the Next Generation of Evangelical Scholars,” he painted the landscape of the future for Christian higher academics. John Piper then addressed the subject of “Training the Next Generation of Evangelical Pastors and Missionaries.” He pointed out that one may learn much, but if the main thing is ignored or missing, all is lost. That one thing is to know God and to delight in him above everything else. Several questions succeeded Carson’s speech, but a holy hush of meditation followed Piper’s challenge before the large audience began to sing “Fairest Lord Jesus,” a capella (JETS 42 [1999]: 175).

On April 23, 2009 (over ten years later), D. A. Carson and John Piper will once again give back-to-back hour-long addresses on the same topic, only more focused: “The Pastor as Scholar, and the Scholar as Pastor: Reflections on Life and Ministry with John Piper and D.A. Carson.”

Update: Mike Bird reflects on DAC’s lecture.

Carson’s 7-Minute Extemporaneous Overview of The Gospel Coalition

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In my recent post “D. A. Carson: ‘Making Sense of Suffering,'” I wrote this:

DAC also led a pastor’s session on “Preaching and Biblical Theology.”

After his hour-long address on biblical theology, DAC was asked to “say something about The Gospel Coalition” (59:24 to 1:06:10 in the MP3). Since people often ask, “What exactly is The Gospel Coalition?”, I turned DAC’s useful extemporaneous overview of TGC into this 7-minute MP3.

Related:

  1. from my recommended theological writings page: *The Gospel Coalition (D. A. Carson, Tim Keller, et al.): “Who We Are,” council members, foundational docs (preamble, confessional statement, theological vision for ministry), resources (including video interviews and video Q&A), and Themelios
  2. from my post “TGC Videos“: Introduction to The Gospel Coalition (In order of appearance: Carson, Dever, Ryken, Keller, Harris, Anyabwile, Mahaney, Carson, Keller, Piper)