Koinonia

The Digital Dead Sea Scrolls

Have an interest in original languages and Second Temple history? Check out The Digital Dead Sea Scrolls, now available online. 

A project of The Israel Museum and Google, five of the Dead Sea Scrolls have been digitized, and can be viewed for free as searchable high resolution images, along with short explanatory videos and background information on the texts and their history.

“The Dead Sea Scrolls, which include the oldest known biblical manuscripts in existence, offer critical insight into Jewish society in the Land of Israel during the Second Temple Period, the time of the birth of Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism.”

Read more about the project here.

 

The King Jesus Gospel - Blog Tour

*The blog tour has filled up. Thanks to all who entered, we look forward to reading your reviews.

If you did not get a chance to enter the tour you can pre-order The King Jesus Gospel here, and if you write a review we can link to it when the tour runs.*

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Yesterday we premiered the video for Scot McKnight's new book, The King Jesus Gospel. Today we are pleased to announce The King Jesus Gospel blog tour.

Scot's latest work has already caught the attention of many prominent authors, bloggers, and scholars, including N.T. Wright who wrote the forward.

“The revolution Scot is proposing is massive – so massive that I doubt whether any of his colleagues, and certainly not this writer, will at once agree with every detail... But we all urgently need to allow this deeply biblical vision of ‘the gospel’ to challenge the less-than-completely-biblical visions we have cherished for too long, around which we have built a good deal of church life and practice. This book could be one of God’s ways of reminding the new generation of Christians that it has to grow up, to take responsibility for thinking things through afresh, to look back to the large world of the full first-century gospel in order then to look out on the equally large world of twenty-first century gospel opportunity.”– N.T. Wright (excerpt from the forward)

You can learn more about The King Jesus Gospel here, and read chapter one here.

Reviews for the blog tour will need to be posted September 19th - 23rd, and all applicants to the tour must have a blog of their own and be willing to post their review on the online retailer of their choice (Amazon, CBD, B&N, etc.).

If you are interested in joining the tour, and are able to post both reviews during the week in question, you can sign up here.

Thank you for your interest in The King Jesus Gospel! 

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*Due to high demand, the blog tour will be capped at 50 entries.*

Wallace and Ehrman debate the reliability of the New Testament Text

The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) is proud to announce the SMU Debate between two noted New Testament scholars, Dr. Bart D. Ehrman and Dr. Daniel B. Wallace. The debate will be held on Saturday, October 1, 2011 at 7 PM in the McFarlin Memorial Auditorium at Southern Methodist University.

Ehrman and Wallace will debate the reliability of the text of the New Testament, with a focus on providing a general audience with insider information regarding one of the most significant pieces of literature ever written. 

Dr. Ehrman, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, is a New York Times bestselling author who has published over 20 books. His book, Misquoting Jesus: The Story behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, questioned the reliability of the New Testament text, arguing that Christian scribes have corrupted it beyond repair.

Dr. Wallace, is the director of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts and New Testament Professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. He has authored and edited numerous books; including Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament: Manuscript, Patristic, and Apocryphal Evidence. He asserts that we have good reason to believe that the New Testament text is reliable.

If you are interested in the New Testament and its reliability, this is sure to be an event you will not want to miss. For more information on the debate and to purchase tickets, please visit www.smudebate.com.

 

Acton Institute interviews Wayne Grudem about "Politics According to the Bible"

Recently the Acton Institute interviewed Wayne Grudem about his latest book, Politics According to the Bible. In the interview they cover issues ranging from the five mistakes evangelicals make when approaching politics, to how we might address the plight of the unemployed.

You can read an excerpt below.

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R&L: Why did you write Politics According to the Bible and how will it help Christians engage the political culture?

Grudem: I found that there were many Christians concerned about the direction of our nation. But they were unsure what the Bible taught about various political topics. I had taught ethics for nearly 30 years at the seminary level, and I realized that many of the topics that I was teaching had direct implications for political questions. I taught material related to abortion, euthanasia, just war theory, capital punishment, the rich and the poor, the role of government, and environmental stewardship. The more I thought about these things, the more I realized that there were very sound biblical principles that had direct implications for political questions.

Another reason is that I realized that many Christians thought it was unspiritual to get involved in politics and government. However, I found that in the Bible there were many examples of God's people influencing secular governments. I am arguing in the book that it is a spiritually good thing and it is pleasing to God when Christians can influence government for good.

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Click here to read the rest of the interview.

Science, Creationism, and Seven Days

Andrew, from our sister blog Engaging Church, sent along an interesting interview with Oxford Professor John Lennox.

Lennox wrote the book Seven Days that Divide the World, which will be released later this year. In it he wrestles with the tension we often create between faith and science.

You can read an excerpt of the article below and find the rest here. 

“‘I think that sometimes people have been taught there are only two possibilities: Possibility one is that if you are being faithful to Scripture, you have to be a young earth creationist. Otherwise you're an evolutionist or a theistic evolutionist, and you're not faithful to Scripture," he explained to the Christian Post. ‘I don't think that is the case ... the whole point of the book is to explain that in some detail.’ 

Lennox writes that all the wonders of the universe affirm the existence of the God of the Bible.

Therefore, he told CP, ‘it's not a quest of trying to keep up [with science], but it's a quest of looking at what God has revealed of Himself in nature, and looking at what God has revealed of Himself in the Bible and trying to make sense of those two.’

With that thought, Lennox convinces Christians they should not be afraid to explore the Bible for openings where God's account of the world's creation and modern scientific discoveries can intersect.

In his book, Lennox first suggests that Genesis teaches readers the possibility that the seven days are suggestive of a more complex process.”

Wednesday Giveaway - Moral Choices

In our age of ever-present media, we can hardly go a day without hearing of the latest moral failings of our celebrities, politicians, or other prominent figures. 

Closer to home, we are faced with our own moral dilemmas each day, from business practices to questions about bioengineering. 

How do we respond, and in particular how do we craft a response which is Biblically sound?

This week’s giveaway, Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics, attempts to answer that question and provide a model for making ethical decisions. 

Written by Scott Rae, Moral Choices is now in its third edition, and has been used in ethics classes around the world. You can read a review by Denver Seminary here for example, which states “Rae has done a commendable service to Christian educators and ethicists.”

There are two copies of Moral Choices up for grabs, and the giveaway will run through Thursday.

To enter simply comment below with your answer to this question: What ethical dilemma do you see as most pressing in today’s world?

 

The Next Story

Yesterday I got the chance to meet blogger Tim Challies and join in a discussion about his new book The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion.

Essentially, The Next Story is an attempt to think theologically about our use of technology and how it impacts our culture. 

We take the relentless progression from one breakthrough to the next as a given, but what does it all mean for our life, family, and faith? 

Tim looks at these questions, and addresses issues such as,

- How has life—and faith—changed now that everyone is available all the time through mobile phones? 

- How does our constant connection to these digital devices affect our families and our church communities?

- What does it mean that almost two billion humans are connected by the Internet … with hundreds of millions more coming online each year?

In our digital world these are questions which must be asked, and The Next Story provides a good place to start thinking theologically about iPods, cell phones, and the internet. 

Wednesday Giveaway - Hell Under Fire

Last week we shared an interview with Chris Morgan, editor and contributor to Hell Under Fire (you can read part 1 of the interview here and part 2 here). 

As the debate around our interpretations of the doctrine of hell continues it seemed fitting to offer Hell Under Fire as this week’s giveaway.

Hell Under Fire defends a traditional understanding of hell against Universalism and Annihilationism, and features contrubutions from Gregory Beale, Daniel Block, Sinclair Ferguson, Albert Mohler, Douglas Moo, Chris Morgan, J.I. Packer, Robert Peterson, and Robert Yarbrough.

The giveaway will run through Thursday, and there are two copies up for grabs.

To enter simply comment below with your answer to this question: Do you understand Hades, Gehenna, the Lake of Fire, etc., to be different things or simply varied terms for the same reality?

Hell Under Fire: Part 2 of our Interview with Christopher Morgan

As the discussion around the doctine of hell continues, Chris Morgan was kind enough to take time out of his schedule to do an interview about the current controversy and the book Hell Under Fire.

This is Part 2 of our interview with Chris, you can read Part 1 here.

Q: What questions are behind the questions? Is there something deeper driving this discussion?

Great question! Yes, the foundational doctrines that shape one’s theology of hell especially include the love of God, the justice of God, the nature of God’s victory, and sin (guilt and corruption in Adam).  

For those who reject the historic doctrine of hell, certain core questions/objections are often raised, especially: Would a loving God really send good people to hell? And wouldn’t the existence of hell throughout eternity mar God’s ultimate victory? 

While those questions are sincere and understandable, the more I study the Bible, the more I am finding them to be the wrong questions. I am finding that they are frequently rooted in inadequate assumptions. 

Take, for example, “would a loving God really send good people to hell?” The question is loaded. It defines God only in terms of love, does not give significant attention to the radical guilt of the sinner, and makes it sound as if God is thrilled to have people reject him and go to hell. A better question, and a question central for Paul in Romans, is “how can the biblical God (who is just, loving, holy, and so forth) forgive the guilty and allow them into his presence?”

Hell Under Fire: Part 1 of our Interview with Christopher Morgan

As the discussion around the doctine of hell continues, Chris Morgan was kind enough to take time out of his schedule to do an interview about the current controversy and the book Hell Under Fire.

Our thanks go out to Chris for his willingness to share these words with all of us here at Koinonia.

Q: First of all could you give us a little of your own background and your experience working on Hell Under Fire?

I am 39 years old and have been blessed beyond measure to be married to Shelley and raise our daughter Chelsey. I serve as a dean and professor of theology at California Baptist University in Riverside, California, where I have had the privilege to learn theology alongside 18-22 year-old college students since 1999. I have also served as a senior pastor for more than 12 years and currently share the preaching responsibilities at Helendale Community Church (SBC) in Helendale, California.

Regarding hell, I have been thinking about hell and issues surrounding it since seminary. I found two of my favorite writers and heroes—Jonathan Edwards and John Stott—at odds over the aspects of the doctrine of hell. So I sought to understand why.

This led me to present papers on hell, write a Ph.D. dissertation on the subject, and then later author Jonathan Edwards and Hell (2004). I also saw the need for this important issue to be addressed by an array of biblical scholars, theologians, and pastors, so my friend Robert Peterson and I assembled a team of first-rate contributors to honestly examine the biblical teaching related to hell.