Sigurd Grindheim's "The Law Kills, but the Gospel Give Life" article online

Dr Sigurd Grindheim's article:

Journal for the Study of the New Testament 24.2 (2001): 97-115.

is now available on his website as a PDF document.

A significant collection of online books and articles

I recently discovered Ted Hildebrandt's extensive collection of on-line books and articles in HTML, PDF and Word format. His site also includes a 147 page bibliography on Genesis - probably the most extensive available on-line. In my opinion the collection is so valuable that it deserves a website of its own.

Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus 1 January 2006; Vol. 4, No. 1

Here is the lastest Table of Contents for the Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus:

Editorial Foreword: Robert L. Webb, pp.5-6.

Paul Foster, Educating Jesus: The Search for a Plausible Context, pp.7-33.

Craig A. Evans, Assessing Progress in the Third Quest of the Historical Jesus, pp.35-54.

Michael F. Bird, Criterion of Greek Language and Context: A response to Stanley E. Porter, pp. 55-67.

Stanley E. Porter, The Criterion of Greek Language and its Context: A Further Response, pp.69-74.

John S. Kloppenborg, Holtzmann's Life of Jesus according to the 'A' Source: Part 1, pp.75-108.

The Messianic Idea in the Old Testament

I have just uploaded:

H.L. Ellison, The Centrality of the Messianic Idea For the Old Testament. London: The Tyndale Press, 1953. Pbk. pp.23.

I have a couple more of the Tyndale monographs to do, which should appear in the next few months. If anyone know of any that are not listed I will try and trace them.

C S Lewis 1st editions for sale

I have just uploaded the following auctions to ebay.co.uk. These books are being sold on behalf of Book Aid. Overseas bidders are welcome on the Lewis books.

History of Phoenecia by George Rawlinson, M.A.

Till We Have Faces - C S Lewis - 1st edition

Miracles - A Preliminary Study - C S Lewis - 1st edn.

Two entries on Women's Role in the Church

David Gibson provides a positive review of Women in the Church: An Analysis and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9-15 by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Thomas R. Schreiner (eds.) (Baker Books: 2nd Edition, 2005) on the Beginning With Moses blog. I will be adding this title to my wish list shortly.

Meanwhile, over on Blog and Mablog, Doug Wilson has given a fascinating analysis of NT Wright's egalitarian argument. It seems, from his description, that Wright has imbibed much of Katherine Kroeger's arguments that kephale means "source" rather than "head" (see Wayne Grudem's refutation here) and that the priesthood at the temple of Artemis in Ephesus was female (see S.M. Baugh, "A Foreign World: Ephesus in the First Century," Andreas J. Köstenberger, Thomas R. Schreiner & H. Scott Baldwin, eds. Women in the Church: A Fresh Analysis of 1 Timothy 2:9-15. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995. Pbk. ISBN: 0801020204. pp.13-52. and "Cult Prostitution In New Testament Ephesus: A Reappraisal," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 42.3 (1999): 443-460.) On many points Wright's exegetical honesty appears to defeat his purpose. I too can see which way the wind is blowing and am glad to share the windbreak with Doug.

De Wit's monograph on the Date and Route of the Exodus on-line

I have just uploaded C. De Wit's 1960 monograph:

C. De Wit, The Date And Route of The Exodus. London: The Tyndale Press, 1960. Pbk. pp.20.

De Wit argues for a late date for the exodus and a southern route. I have been unable to trace the current copyright holder of this work.

When Even the Pope has to Whisper

Thanks to Robert Spencer for pointing out this article on attempts being made to reform the teachings of Islam. This article by the same author is also worth reading.

In the same vein Mark Steyn paints a rather pessismistic picture of the future in his article It's the Demography, Stupid in Opinion Journal. Steyn's conclusion that Europe is likely to become prodominantly Islamic within the next 30 years is rather depressing. In such circumstances it is essential to remember that God is in control. What should the Christian response be then?

1) Prayer.
2) Preparation - the mission field is coming to us, so start learning how to reach Muslims for Christ. Visit the Answering Islam website, read Don Richardson's book The Secrets of the Koran (ISBN: 0830731237) and find out what Islam really teaches.
3) Support ministries to Muslims financially and in prayer. Two ministries come to mind - and there are many others - The Barnabas Fund and Radio Voice of Christ.
4) Reach out to your Muslim neighbours and work colleagues.

Assumed evangelicalism: Some reflections en route to denying the gospel

David Gibson, one of the people behind the excellent Beginning With Moses site, has written an inciteful article for Evangelicals Now: Assumed evangelicalism: Some reflections en route to denying the gospel. My thanks to Rob Wilkerson for blogging this.

A new way of reading books

I was very interested to read in the Telegraph yesterday of the launch of Sony's new book reader which allows users to download and read books - presumably in PDF format. Although initially the hardware will be rather expensive I am sure that other companies will quickly respond with cheaper versions. Although I don't believe that it will replace the printed book, but I hope that it will mean that publishers might begin to allow those who purchase their books to download a PDF version of the copy they own, or to offer separate e-book versions for those who want them, or some combination of the above. If it catches on I will consider making more of the articles on my site available as PDF files.

Resources for Learning Latin and Classical Greek

Thanks to Matt Colvin's blog for pointing out an excellent resource for those wishing to learn Classical Greek or Latin.

Linking to blog entries

I have started to add links to relevant blog entries on biblicalstudies.org.uk. These are indicated by this image to the left of the entry.
A complete key to the images used to classify entries can be found on the home page.

My most popular article

I wondered which of the many articles on my site is consistently downloaded most often. I was surprised to find that it was my article on Figures of Speech in the Bible, which I wrote a few years ago. Perhaps this indicates that there is very little material on the web on this subject.

Review of Dale Allison's book, Resurrecting Jesus

Michael Pahl has a very helpful review of Dale Allison's book Resurrecting Jesus: The Earliest Christian Tradition and Its Interpreters (Pbk - ISBN: 0567029107), which includes a long (book-length) chapter on the resurrection.

Audio teaching material available on-line

The Christian Institute have made available an excellent collection of audio material on their website. These range from a survey of the Bible in 8 hours by David Jackman, to studies on significant Christian leaders and contemporary issues, such as the Daniel Scot case in Australia. I will be adding links to some of these lectures on my sites shortly.

Bible.org has a course of lectures on Bibliology & Hermeneutics that I hope to listen to shortly. These are available to registered users of their Theology Program only (and so I can't provide direct links to the individual lectures) - but registration is free. With the advent of mobile MP3 players this kind of material will be increasingly useful, so recommendations for on-line teaching (as opposed to devotional) material in MP3 format are very welcome.

Couple quizzed by police for complaining about 'gay rights'

The Christian Institute have highlighted the case of a retired couple who were questioned by Police after complaining about their Council's 'gay rights' policy. It appears that in doing so the Police exceeded their authority and violated European legislation allowing freedom of speech. Read the full press release here.