This paper examines the gift of tongues in the New Testament, in both the Book of Acts and First Corinthians, against the background of the story of the tower of Babel. Pentecost does not reverse Babel, but rather transforms it, so that the divided nations are united in prayer and worship of God through their … Read more
Paul’s letter to the Philippians is categorized as a “friendship” or “family” letter. The reciprocity Paul describes in his letter mirrors elements in Aristotle’s discourse in his Nicomachean Ethics, such as focusing on virtue, looking out for the interests of others, providing opportunity for nobility, and not acting out of need. Paul’s writing seems to … Read more
The so-called “Paul within Judaism” perspective—championed in recent years by Mark Nanos, Magnus Zetterholm, Paula Fredriksen, and Matthew Thiessen—has made a significant impact on the modern landscape of Pauline studies by contesting the assumption that Paul ceased to be a Jew upon his becoming a Christ-follower. According to proponents of this perspective, a major consequence … Read more
This paper first presents Luke’s use of “the Way” as deriving from the book of Proverbs, dismantling previous suggestions of the referent as the Dead Sea Scrolls and even the book of Isaiah. Second, the paper discusses how “the Way” is used polemically, utilizing insider and outsider language. In a sense, Luke uses “the Way” … Read more
Pauline Studies has benefitted from the numerous attempts to examine His epistles within a conceptual framework. Given the depth of Paul’s thought, and the theological tensions that have broken out into interpretive camps since Schewitzer’s 1930 publication of The Mysticism of the Apostle Paul, it seems incumbent upon evangelicalism to interact critically with these interpretations. … Read more
It has been suggested that the future of research on the Gospel of John will involve bridging the history-literature divide. This paper presents a constructive proposal on the intended audience of the Fourth Gospel based on both history and literature. A brief overview of previous scholarship reveals that some (such as Martyn) argue that John … Read more
This paper advocates for increased awareness and inclusion of global scholarship in evangelical biblical hermeneutics, using the Letter to the Ephesians as an example. While articles and monographs by soundly evangelical Majority World scholars are increasingly available, to date there is little representation of global perspectives in ‘mainstream’ western evangelical thought such as major commentaries … Read more
In the days of king Jeroboam the son of Joash, 10th Century BC, a prophet name Jonah was sent by the God of Israel on a mission to call the gentiles of Nineveh to repentance. A millennium later, under the rule of the Roman Empire, a Son of Jonah was sent by the Lord on … Read more
Ramabai (1858–1920) was born into a Hindu family in India and became a well-known Sanskrit scholar, acquiring the title of Pandita (a scholar). Her work for the liberation of women and female children was renowned that the Indian government published a stamp with her picture and the description: “Pandita Ramabai, the youngest daughter of Anant … Read more
This paper proposes to compare the most common Western approaches to interpreting the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5–7) with the most common global contextual approaches. Some of the most common Western approaches are: (1) an exposition of the Law of Moses designed to force mankind to look for grace; (2) the eschatology of Jesus … Read more