John H Stek on the Literary Artistry of Judges Chapter 4

Thanks to the kind permission of Moody Press I have just uploaded John H. Stek's fascinating article in PDF format:

John H. Stek, "The Bee and the Mountain Goat: A Literary Reading of Judges 4," Walter C. Kaiser & Ronald F. Youngblood, eds., A Tribute to Gleason Archer. Essays on the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody Press, 1986. Hbk. ISBN: 0802487807. pp.53-86.

Articles from Themelios Vol. 31 issue 1

The latest edition of Themelios has just arrived. Here are the details of the 3 main articles. I may add some comments when I get a chance to read them.

Julie Woods, "The West as Nineveh: Hows Does Nahum’s Message of Judgement Apply to Today?" Themelios 31.1 (October 2005): 7-37.

Bruce W. Winter, "Introducing the Athenians to God: Paul’s failed apologetic in Acts 17?" Themelios 31.1 (October 2005): 38-59.

Stephen E. Witner, "The Lost Message of the Lost Message of Jesus," Themelios 31.1 (October 2005): 60-74..

Kenneth Kitchen's "Old Testament in Its Context" on-line

Thanks to the kind permission of Professor Kenneth Kitchen and the hard work of Michael Farmery I have just uploaded the 6-part series from 1971-2 on The Old Testament in its Context in PDF format:

Kenneth A. Kitchen, "The Old Testament in Its Context: Part 1," Theological Students' Fellowship Bulletin 59 (Spring 1971).

Kenneth A. Kitchen, "The Old Testament in Its Context: Part 2," Theological Students' Fellowship Bulletin 60 (Spring 1971).

Kenneth A. Kitchen, "The Old Testament in Its Context: Part 3," Theological Students' Fellowship Bulletin 61 (Summer 1971).

Kenneth A. Kitchen, "The Old Testament in Its Context: Part 4," Theological Students' Fellowship Bulletin 62 (Autumn 1971).

Kenneth A. Kitchen, "The Old Testament in Its Context: Part 5," Theological Students' Fellowship Bulletin 63 (Summer 1972).

Kenneth A. Kitchen, "The Old Testament in Its Context: Part 6," Theological Students' Fellowship Bulletin 64 (Autumn 1972).

Changing the law of copyright?

In the light of recent reports regarding the efforts of various search engines to digitise in-copyright books I was very interested to read a thought-provoking article on copyright and copying by Vern Sheridan Poythress. Dr Poythress makes some good points, but I was particularly encouraged to read this paragraph:

Similar observations go for book publishers. I know for a fact that some copyrighted books are available on the web (including one for which I was a joint author). Their availability actually increases the publisher's sales of hard copies. People may read a little on the internet. But then, if they like what they read, they want to have a bound copy rather thansomething that costs $5 in ink to print out on their home computer. Thus,even when access to informationis free, there remains a demand--even sometimes an increased demand--for traditionally bound books.

Over the last four years I have corresponded extensively with authors and publishers. The overwhelming majority have been more than happy to allow their work to be reproduced on-line at no charge. Personally I would welcome a change in the law along the lines that Dr Poythress is advocating. I too think that having found a good book or article on-line most people would wish to obtain a bound copy for themselves. Google are using the same argument in support of their digitisation project.

Microsoft Announces MSN Book Search and Joins Open Content Alliance

Microsoft has followed the lead of Google and Yahoo in announcing its own plans fund the digitisation of 150,000 books. Like Google it hopes to digitise in-copyright books and journals. There is hope that these journals - currently available through institutional subscriptions - will eventually be accessible in local libraries. As the writer of the articles says, we will see...

New blog launched on Medieval Church History

I have just launched another blog to document the development of my site on the Medieval Church. I hope to add some more material to the site over the coming months as other major digitisation projects on BiblicalStudies.org.uk are now almost complete.

Google runs into more trouble with its digitisation plans

Internet search engine Google has had a second lawsuit launched against it by publishers who are trying to force it obtain permission before scanning in-copyright books. Read the full article here.

Geeknews.com has the same story but with the addition of some interesting feedback.

Expository Times November 1 2005, Volume 117, No. 2 available

The table of contents for the latest edition of Expository Times plus abstracts is now on-line.

A second edition for Ancient Orient and Old Testament

Yesterday I received a letter from Professor Kenneth Kitchen regarding his book Ancient Orient and Old Testament that I now have on-line here. Prof. Kitchen is planning a second edition to bring this useful volume up-to-date and include the benefits of a further 40 years of research. I will keep you posted when it appears.

In the meantime I would recommend his latest book:

Kenneth A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003. Hbk. ISBN: 0802849601. pp.662.

Persecution of Christians in Iraq

Jim West flags up and important story about the persecution of Christians in Iraq. The Barnabas Fund catalogues more news articles on this subject here.

Two more articles by Professor Alan R Millard

I have just uploaded the following articles:

Alan R Millard, "Texts and Archaeology: Weighing The Evidence. The Case for King Solomon," Palestine Exploration Quarterly (January-June 1991): 19-27.

Alan R Millard, "Solomon: Text and Archaeology," Palestine Exploration Quarterly (July-December 1991): 117-118.

More from Dr Terence Mitchell

A few weeks ago I made contact with Dr T C Michell in order to get his permission to use his contribution to Notes on Some Problems in the Book of Daniel. Dr Mitchell kindly gave me permission to use that article, and added that he would be happy for me to reproduce his 1992 article in which he updated his earlier work on the basis of 25 years further research:

T.C. Mitchell, "The Music of the Old Testament Reconsidered," Palestine Exploration Quarterly 124 (1992): 124-143.

Approaching the Old Testament by Alan R. Millard

I have just uploaded Alan R. Millard's article:

"Approaching the Old Testament," Themelios 2.2 (January 1977): 34-39.

A Christian Viewpoint on Halloween

My wife brought James B Jordan's article Concerning Halloween to my attention and I can warmly recommend it as the 31st of the month approaches.