The Problem with the Islamic View of Paul (Qureshi)

Nabeel Qureshi's soon-to-be released book, No God But One: A Former Muslim Investigates the Evidence for Islam and Christianity, has an excellent section where Qureshi discusses the relationships between Paul and Christianity, Paul and Jesus, and Paul and the apostles.  Many critics of the NT - including Muslim scholars - say that Paul was the …

The Old Testament in the New Testament

There are several helpful articles in volume one of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (ed. Frank Gaebelein).  One of them that stands out is Roger Nicole’s “The Old Testament in the New Testament.”  Here is Nicole’s introduction and his main points (edited and summarized). “One very notable feature of the NT is the extent to which …

A Review of Hamilton’s Biblical Theology

I (Shane) have been working through some OT theology books lately – one of them being God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment by James Hamilton.  This book is a 550+ page discussion of Hamilton’s thesis, namely, that the main theme of the Bible is “God’s glory in salvation through judgment.”  Hamilton says that this is …

Great is Artemis of the Epheisans! (Acts 19:34)

Clinton Arnold’s ECNT (Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) on Ephesians is one of my favorite newer commentaries on this epistle of Paul.  It is laid out well, easy to read and follow, and it has great features (i.e. outlines, historical context sections, etc.) that make it a useful tool for studies in Ephesians.  In …

Ehrman’s Unhistorical Standard

Bart Ehrman argues that since there is much diversity in early religious texts, no version of Christianity is the right one (so he talks about “lost Christianities”).  Michael Kruger and Andreas Kostenberger counter Ehrman’s logic quite well in The Heresy of Orthodoxy.  Here’s one section of this book that tackles Ehrman’s (over)emphasis on diversity. “In …