Last week I did a live “TV” interview with Ratio Christi on the topic, “Can We Trust the New Testament?” The interview covered a wide range of topics from textual criticism to bible contradictions to the development of the NT Canon. Here it is:
Did the Gospel Authors Think They Were Writing Scripture?
One of the most common misconceptions about the New Testament canon is that the authors of these writings had no idea that they were writing Scripture-like books. I dealt with this misconception on a general level here, showing that there was a clear apostolic self-awareness amongst the New Testament authors.
While this apostolic self-awareness may be easy to show for authors like Paul, what about the gospels which, technically speaking, are formally anonymous? Do their authors exhibit awareness that they were writing something like Scripture? To explore this further, let us just consider just one of our gospels, namely the Gospel of Matthew.
The first step is to get our expectations clear. We should not expect that Matthew would say something like, “I, Matthew, am writing Scripture as I write this book.” Gospels are a very different genre than epistles, and we would not expect the authors to provide the same type of direct and explicit statements about their own authority as Paul does in his letters. Indeed, the gospel authors are decidedly behind the scenes and only rarely make appearances within the flow of the story. [Read more…]
Are Christians Arrogant? Rethinking the Definition of Humility
One of the most common objections made to the absolute claims of Christianity is that Christians are arrogant. Christians are arrogant to claim that they are right; arrogant to claim others are wrong; arrogant to claim that truth can be known.
Unfortunately, in the midst of such accusations, no one bothers to ask which definition of humility is being used.
Over the years, the definition of humility has undergone a gradual but nonetheless profound change. Especially in the intellectual community. In the modern day, humility has basically become synonymous with another word: uncertainty.
To be uncertain is to be humble. To be certain is to be arrogant. Thus, the cardinal sin in the intellectual world is to claim to know anything for sure.
Of course, this shift presents a real problem for Christianity. Christians believe that God has revealed himself clearly in his Word. Thus, when it comes to key historical questions (Who was Jesus? What did he say? What did he do?) or key theological questions (Who is God? What is Heaven? How does one get there?), Christians believe they have a basis on which they can claim certainty: God’s revelation. [Read more…]
In Honor of Thomas Oden: Seven Essential Lessons Learned from an Evangelical Scholar in the Secular Academy
I just learned here that the well-known evangelical scholar Thomas Oden has passed away. Oden was known for starting out as a classic liberal scholar and later becoming orthodox–a rare feat in today’s world.
A number of years ago, I had the joy of meeting Tom when he came to RTS Charlotte to speak at our Harold O.J. Brown Lecture series. He was a delight. In honor of his passing, I republish below an article I did in 2015 on his book, A Change of Heart.
I think that book (and the summary below) captures the essence of his life’s story. And it has a number of things to teach evangelical scholars in the academy today. If you have a scholar in your life, and are looking for a good Christmas gift, buy them Oden’s book.
When I originally published the article (see here), I received a kind email from Tom saying how much he appreciated it. That was encouraging to me. So, I publish the article again here and hope it is encouraging to you: [Read more…]
Does the Bible Have Mistakes?
One of the most common questions I get from people when I travel and speak is “Does the Bible have mistakes?” People are concerned about contradictions, problems, and inconsistencies.
I can’t address that issue fully in one blog post, but here is a brief video I did for the RTS “Wisdom Wednesdays” series that at least offers an overview of the issue:
For the many other excellent “Wisdom Wednesday” videos from RTS faculty, see here.
