I'm teaching my graduate Greek Syntax class this semester through the new intermediate syntax text by Baker (Intermediate Greek Grammar, Mathewson/Emig). I've found it very linguistically careful and a resource that brings together the best of more recent Greek language research. I've also found their "minimalistic" approach to grammar refreshing, forcing readers to think not through isolated syntactical categories, but through larger contextual features. We started working through the Greek verb system this week, and thought it would be helpful to chart out their presentation of each of the Greek tenses. Since I made this for my class, I thought it might be helpful to others as well. Feel free to give feedback!
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I've been working recently through The Apostle Paul and the Christian Life (Baker, eds. Scot McKnight and Joseph B. Modica). I've really enjoyed the essays so far and highly recommend the volume for those interested in Paul, the New Perspective, or Christian spirituality. This is a great example of how New Testament scholarship can bring significant insights to the everyday concerns and needs of Christians everywhere. Thus far I've especially enjoyed the essays by Cohick and Longenecker, and thought I'd share some of the key insights from both. First, from Lynn Cohick. I've been working recently through the short yet very helpful Mark as Story: An Introduction to the Narrative of a Gospel by Rhoads, Dewey, and Michie. While I have quibbles here and there with the assumptions and conclusions of the authors, I've found it overall a very helpful guide to the narrative of Mark and how this Gospel frames its central conflict and characters, as well as how it uses secondary characters to reinforce and shape the narrative. In the concluding chapters, the authors summarize the counter-cultural force which Mark's Gospel
In working at the beginning stages of a new project, I have been spending a bit of time of late in the scholarly literature surrounding the Gospel of Mark. Those familiar with this Gospel know that it has some unusual features which distinguish it from the other Synoptics: the "messianic secret," it's often enigmatic character, and it's strange ending where the women leave the empty tomb in silence (earliest manuscripts have the gospel ending at 16:8). The lack of any "resurrection" appearances in this Gospel, which most New Testament scholars consider the earliest of the four canonical Gospels, has lead some scholars to suggest that the appearance accounts in the other Gospels developed later in Christian thought. The thought goes that since they aren't in Mark (the earliest Gospel), they must not have existed yet, and thus Matthew and Luke either borrow from later traditions or just outright invented them. Some hold that the longer ending of Mark is simply lost, and is possibly reflected in the longer endings which are attested in later manuscript evidence.
It seems Mark's theme of hiddenness, which occurs in various places in the Gospel, particularly in the first half, could have something to do with the presence of this strange ending. Note for example, Mark 4:33-34: "33 And with many parables such as these he was speaking the word to them, as they were able to hear it. 34 And he did not speak to them without a parable, but in private he explained everything to his own disciples." (LEB) Commenting on Mark 4:30-34, Hooker suggests: "Mark does not think of the parables as intended to mystify Jesus’ hearers. Their meaning may not be immediately obvious, but they are a challenge, and they call for a response. To those who are prepared to respond, understanding will be given." (Hooker, The Message of Mark, 56-57) A tension persists throughout the Gospel of Mark between concealing and revealing. There is mystery in Jesus' parables, yet he speaks them not to confuse, but to both veil and unveil. For those who are willing to follow him and open themselves to his message, understanding of his identity eventually comes (even the disciples themselves, who receive explanation of the parables, still don't get it throughout Mark's Gospel - it presumably takes the resurrection for them to understand). So, as we come to Mark's ending, Hooker again notes: "the evidence is there for those who have eyes to see it. It is there - but in order to see it, it is necessary to believe... this is the real beginning of discipleship; and it is the beginning for Mark's own readers, who do not 'see' Jesus in any physical way. The promise is to them, as well as to the eleven frightened disciples. Follow Jesus; that is the only way in which you will find him." (Hooker, The Message of Mark, 121) Rather that evidencing a gap in Mark's historical understanding or in the Christian traditions at the point of his writing, it is possible to see Mark's abrupt ending as consistent with his earlier theme. Those who are open to seeing Jesus for who he is will, and those who are not, like the majority of the religious authorities through his Gospel, will not. Mark's ending thus opens up both possible responses to the good news he has just described, and calls the hearer to respond, either in hopeful trust, or in skeptical rejection. Recently I dialogued with Dr. Ben Witherington at his Bible and Culture blog on the Patheos network chapter-by-chapter through my recently released IVP Academic book entitled The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism. I greatly appreciate his invitation to talk through the book on his blog. Dr. Witherington is a fine New Testament scholar, and his published works have been of great value to me personally. He is also a fine Christian man as I came to learn first hand when he visited our campus last year for a theology conference which we hosted at Liberty. For those interested in the conversation, I've collected the links for all of the posts and linked them below.
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven Part Eight Few issues exist in the interpretation of the New Testament which can become as contentious as questions of "sovereignty" and "free will." Various terms like "election," "predestination," "foreknowledge," etc., get thrown around in these discussions. The influence of (late) Augustine and the Reformers have remained forceful in the history of interpretation. What has been neglected, however, in most discussions is contextualizing the debate as it relates to the New Testament in its ancient context. As I was working through my doctoral program, Summer has come and gone. In the busyness of summer I had dropped this series (and posting altogether) but still have a few more entries I'd like to address. If you haven't seen the previous "cliches" I challenged, head back through the blog archives from earlier this year. This post will address a fairly common cliche which I think also misses the mark a bit, and that is the proposition that "Christianity is not a religion but a relationship." Race-related public events tend to elicit more reaction than reflection. When an act of violence or prejudice occurs, we very naturally interpret the act through our lenses and biases. The danger with this natural reaction is we often jump to a conclusion before carefully examining and reflecting upon the event and its catalysts. I do not claim to be an expert on these issues. What I do think is needed, however, is a change in our posture. Below are some thoughts to that end.
In previous posts, we have addressed the cliches that God has a wonderful plan for your life, God will not put more on you than you can bear, you need to find God's will for your life, we were not made for this world, and God called them home. In this post we will address another common cliche, though one probably more prevalent among high school and college-aged Christians than among Christians in general. This cliche is the declaration
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