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(how to tell the biblical story in a way that makes a difference)

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The biblical story, part two

Peter replied to Chris I think Holland would have little interest in trying to figure out if ancient prophecies about God’s kingdom were partially fulfilled, fulfilled at the time of Constantine, or were yet to be... (Sun, 22/07/2018 - 16:45)
Chris replied to James Mercer Not wanting to be too tangential with this, but listening to the much more revealing full conversation here: https://tinyurl.com/yalg8vef it occurs to me to wonder if Holland might not find Andrew’s... (Sun, 22/07/2018 - 16:29)
James Mercer Hi Andrew. I am enjoying your telling of the biblical story from a narrative perspective. Thank you. Have you seen Tom Holland’s conversation with Tom Wright re Paul’s as the inspiration and... (Fri, 20/07/2018 - 17:57)

Why did Jesus instruct his disciples not to preach the kingdom of God to Gentiles and Samaritans?

Philip Ledgerwood replied to Andrew Inns I’m kind of afraid to ask, but what’s your historical basis for claiming that Jews actually ran the Roman Empire and was the dominant religion in it, Empire-wide? (Fri, 13/07/2018 - 03:31)
Andrew Inns John 3:16 tells us that God loves all of the world both Jews and Gentiles. At the first advent of Jesus, Judaism was the one world religion. The Romans worshiped various Gods but the Jews managed the... (Thu, 12/07/2018 - 00:01)

The biblical story, part one

Peter replied to Rich Hi Rich, I used to believe that too. I also believed the kingdom came (metaphorically) in 70AD a la partial preterism. I now realize I took that position because as weak as it was, I thought there... (Thu, 12/07/2018 - 14:55)
Rich replied to Peter Peter, I think John and whoever wrote the Isaiah passage are talking about the same thing as well, but it did happen in the 1st century. (Thu, 12/07/2018 - 14:13)
Peter Hi Andrew, I like all of it except this: “When God restores Jerusalem after the devastation of the Babylonian invasion and the exile, he “makes her wilderness like Eden”, he creates “new heavens... (Thu, 12/07/2018 - 03:58)
Philip Ledgerwood Very excited about this mini-series. (Wed, 11/07/2018 - 19:25)

Does Jesus reveal to us what it means to be perfectly human?

Peter replied to Roger Sacco Presumably, he could get that info. from God or the angels, or maybe he can know as a result of his special resurrected body. (Mon, 09/07/2018 - 12:59)
Roger Sacco replied to Peter If Jesus is in heaven does he know what’s going on here today? (Mon, 09/07/2018 - 11:04)
Peter replied to Roger Sacco Roger, wouldn’t it be cool if we had some way of knowing what Jesus has been thinking for the past 2000 years?! I suspect if he weren’t in heaven, depression would have destroyed him long ago. (Sun, 08/07/2018 - 02:25)
Roger Sacco If Jesus brain was resurrected hasn’t he been thinking new thoughts about God and His purposes for the past 2000 years? (Sat, 07/07/2018 - 11:12)
Peter replied to Peter “feel” :) (Fri, 06/07/2018 - 01:34)
Peter Good post! I fell like this perfect human/fully human concept is something NT Wright started pushing pretty hard several years back. (Thu, 05/07/2018 - 13:43)

The “Christ hymn”: true humanity or true kingship?

Andrew replied to Alex The problem is working out what “signet in likeness” means. The prince of Tyre is portrayed as being like Adam, but does the phrase refer back to God—the signet bears the likeness of God (cf. Gen 1:... (Mon, 02/07/2018 - 19:22)
Alex Andrew, do you think the Σὺ ἀποσφράγισμα ὁμοιώσεως of Ezekiel 28:12 provides any additional context for ὃς ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχων in Philippians 2? (Sun, 01/07/2018 - 06:21)

Who is Daniel’s son of man?

Andrew replied to Jason Cline Is there really such a problem with saying that Daniel applied the symbolism of a son of man figure to one historical context, but Jesus saw the potential of reapplying it, to even greater effect, in... (Thu, 28/06/2018 - 09:47)
Jason Cline Reading backwards? Do you think the prophets were reading backwards? Do you think Jesus himself was reading backwards when he quoted from the Old Testament books? Let those who have ears to hear... (Thu, 28/06/2018 - 02:10)

Blessed are those who mourn in Western Europe

Philip Ledgerwood Andrew, This is a great article and very timely concerning some of the discussions I’m having in my own church, which is sort of struggling around inward/outward foci and what you do around that. The... (Tue, 26/06/2018 - 14:40)

Does Daniel say that the nations will “worship” the one like a son of man?

Kaleef K. Karim Hi, thanks for this article. You made some great points. I wrote an article years back, I don’t know it if will be of any benefit, please do read it. I provided many sources that the “pelach” cannot... (Wed, 20/06/2018 - 14:12)
Marc Taylor replied to Marc Taylor New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis (NIDOTTE): His kingdom embraces all the powers of heaven and earth (4:35), yet never ending dominion is given to a human figure,... (Sat, 16/06/2018 - 23:57)

The history of biblical interpretation—a tale of two cities

Michael replied to Philip Ledgerwood Check out almost anything in the last 25-30 years in patristic scholarship but especially Lewis Ayres, Frances Young, John O’Keefe, Michel Barnes, Donald Fairbairn, etc. and they will show that the... (Fri, 15/06/2018 - 18:08)
Andrew replied to Michael Michael, thank you for your interesting and provocative comments. I’ve tried to address the basic question in this post.You are certainly right to point out that the Alexandria-Antioch model has been... (Thu, 14/06/2018 - 19:24)
Philip Ledgerwood replied to Michael The biblical writings are pretty diverse and the Bible is much more like an anthology than a book, but in broad brush strokes, I’d say the writings are primarily narrative and narrative-adjacent. In... (Thu, 14/06/2018 - 14:37)
Michael replied to Philip Ledgerwood Hi Philip,THe issue is that historical scholars are saying it’s anachronistic and unhelpful to even try to apply those categories. The whole dichotomy of allegorical vs literal in the question is an... (Thu, 14/06/2018 - 08:12)
Philip Ledgerwood replied to Michael Ok, I understand your objection is that these schools don’t fit neatly into those categories, but that’s not what I asked. I asked if you thought those categories led generally to those conclusions... (Wed, 13/06/2018 - 15:03)
Michael replied to Philip Ledgerwood Thanks for your reply Philip. “do you also disagree with the trajectory - that a roughly allegorical way of looking at the Scriptures tends to generate an abstract theological outlook while a more... (Wed, 13/06/2018 - 08:06)

Noah—the guy who saved humanity by making wine

peter wilkinson replied to Andrew Banquo’s ghost again. Didn’t Paul introduce a theological reading of Genesis 3 in Romans 5? Should we not be guided by that? Otherwise, clearly you’re right: not an inkling of original or inherited... (Thu, 14/06/2018 - 16:49)

Should we “water down” the doctrine of the Second Coming?

Andrew replied to Jim Poulos Hi, Jim, thanks for this. Have a look at this post specifically on France’s argument and if it doesn’t answer your question, let me know. (Tue, 12/06/2018 - 18:56)