"Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Heb. 12:1-3).
Remembering Billy Graham, the Modesto Manifesto 70 Years Later
As an aspiring scholar at Taylor Seminary (Canada) more than a decade ago, I vividly remember my enthusiasm in writing a biographical-paper assignment on Billy Graham—I greatly admired Billy, and it was an opportunity for me to know more about him...
Remembering Billy Graham and Evangelical Christianity
We will always remember Billy as one of the great historical figures of evangelical Christianity. Indeed, America has never seen a religious icon of such influence and authority as Billy. He served the American people and many other people in the world in various ways...
Which languages did Jesus speak? On what occasions were Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin spoken in that ancient community? Was Jesus multilingual? These questions have had biblical scholars searching for answers since the sixteenth century until today...
Modern Linguistic Theories and Modeling Biblical Language (Brill, 2016)
Modern linguistic theories have not been a popular interpretive tool in biblical studies up until perhaps recently. In fact, it is fair to say that many biblical scholars are still ignorant of them or at least hesitant to use them in studying the text of the Bible...
“Did Jesus Really Exist?” and Social Memory (co-authored with S.E. Porter)
Brian Bethune, in a recent article, “Did Jesus Really Exist,” published in Maclean’s Magazine(28 March/4 April 2016), writes, “The reason Biblical historians cannot find even the outline of a historical Jesus, argues an increasingly persuasive chorus of challengers, is that there is nothing to find: Jesus Christ never lived at all” (39). Here we go again...
Commemorating the 200th Birthday of Constantine Tischendorf
This article might have come a bit late for its stated title, but it is nevertheless never late for commemorating the life and work of this important, but perhaps much neglected, scholar who was responsible for providing the primary manuscript basis of the Greek New Testament Bible scholars use today...
New Book: The Multilingual Jesus and the Sociolinguistic World of the NT (Brill, 2015)
This book is my very first monograph that has just been published recently. It is broadly a study of the sociolinguistic contexts of the speech communities of first-century Palestine and, more specifically, a study of the use of the languages of those speech communities and of Jesus...
Good Scholars Cite Their Sources and Cite Them Well! Or Do They?
In my previous post, I talked about what it takes or what it means to be a good scholar. I thought that that post was an important reflection upon what good scholarship should be, especially from someone who has just finished his PhD degree and assumed his first career job. I particularly listed in that post five essential criteria of good scholarship...
Is the Gospel Good News? The 2015 Bingham Colloquium
I recently (June 4–5) attended the 2015 Bingham Colloquium at McMaster Divinity College (MDC), Hamilton, ON, Canada...
Blessed Be the Pastor that Gives!
It can be hard to fathom that this dominical saying, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’, is actually directed to pastors—the guardians and overseers of the church of God. But the context of Acts 20:17–38...