ETS day 2

Busy day, not for sales, which were a bit less than yesterday, but for interaction with people. Really, that's why we do conferences; sales are nice because they pay for the conference, but the real reason we do them is so we can interact with people. I can't even begin to remember all that stopped by, so I won't even start (I know, a cop-out).

I managed to get around to a few other vendor's booths today. There's some good stuff out there. I grabbed a copy of The Faith of Jesus Christ: at the Hendrickson booth. It was just published, even though our website says January. It looks very good; I can't wait to read it. While at the Hendrickson booth, I got a copy of another Michael Bird book, also just published: Crossing Over Sea and Land:. Good reading ahead!

Well, tomorrow I head over to SBL right across the street for setup. The FAA mess this AM really has caused problems for us. Marti got stuck in Indianapolis until 6 AM tomorrow. At least Gina got out; she just arrived about an hour ago. If Dave hadn't come yesterday, it would be a real mess; Dave will man the ETS booth while Gina and I do setup and pray that Marti gets in on time!

OK, time for dinner. I'm getting hungry.

Just live, will ya...

“It’s frustrating to operate under a counterfeit belief system and not know why it fails you. I know, because I’ve been there. But the message of “Christ in you” is the real thing — the word of God in its fullness.

“Today’s alternative is a message that’s an inaccurate part of the whole. All around us, we’re inundated with a lackluster gospel that advocates partial forgiveness, a pressure-filled motivation for behavior change, and the promise of earned rewards in heaven or a cash return while on earth. This counterfeit is the reason that the church sometimes doesn’t appear much different from the world. It’s time for us to start over, if necessary, and seek the real thing.

“Jesus Christ in us as our resource for everyday life is our only hope for any real change.”—The Naked Gospel, page 192

“Of course, sometimes we still turn dependency on the indwelling Christ into an opportunity to self-examine and introspect. And this isn’t any better than any other religious move: 'Am I abiding? What do I need to do to abide better?'

“The term abide, I’ve noticed, is often used by those who seek something to do in order to maintain the reality of Christ living through them. The word abide simply means “to live,” and Christ already lives in Christians! Some have made it out to be something beyond what Jesus intended it to be. Christ abiding in us is a truth, not a command for us to keep up our end of some bargain. Of course there are moment-by-moment choices to walk by faith, but the religion of “I must get Christ to abide in me” is a self-focus that is not the intention of the New.”—The Naked Gospel, page 193

Yep, he's right

Who? Why David Ker, of course:

...since Americans don’t really believe the Bible, oh, they say they do, but they don’t lay hands on the sick or cast out demons or any of that other stuff that Jesus was always telling his disciples to do, so they get these weird peripheral applications out of Bible texts.

<idle musing>
Read the whole thing for the context, otherwise you will miss the whole point. He isn't talking about charismata, he is talking about worldview. And, he's right.
</idle musing>

What is in that box?

We are staying at the Hampton Inn in New Orleans. It's about 3 blocks from the conferences and about a block from Bourbon Street. As many of you know, I judge a hotel on two things: the exercise room and the breakfast they offer. Well, this hotel has an adequate exercise room: two treadmills, two ellipticals, and one stationary recumbent bicycle; it also has free weights, if you're into that kind of thing.

The breakfast is sorta ok. The eggs are powdered, the potatoes are reconstituted—fairly typical hotel fair. They do have fresh fruit, bagels, yogurt, juice, etc. So, you can get a decent breakfast; it's just that the hot part is disgusting :(

But, that is all an aside from the point of this post. For the last two mornings, as is my wont, I went up to the exercise room at about 6:00 AM for my morning 1/2 hour of cycling. Both mornings, there was another gentleman there before me. Yesterday he was finishing up his run on the treadmill, after which he went over to the weight machine. Only, he didn't do anything except sit there with his eyes glued to a box that was elevated about 6 feet off the floor. He sat that way, as if transfixed, for about 20 minutes, occasionally lifting a few weights. Then, he suddenly got up, as if released from a trance, and left the room.

This morning, he was already done with the treadmill and was sitting by the weight machine already. Again, he was sitting, as if spellbound, looking at that same box, elevated about 6 feet above the ground. And, just like yesterday, after about 20 minutes he suddenly got up and left the room.

This box has noise coming out of it, and characters that look like people moving around on it. I think some people call it a television. So, what is in that box that kept him so mesmerized?

WWJD?

“If we approach the Christian life in a mechanical way, trying to imitate the actions of Jesus in the gospels, we’ll inevitably fail. The “What would Jesus do?” philosophy is not the same as the “Christ in you” approach. We’re called to look within, to discover the life that is instinctive to us as new creations, and to live from that life. Imitating the actions of others, even the Jesus of the gospels, is nothing but a shallow, mechanical act that is not reliable under pressure.”—The Naked Gospel, pages 190-191

<idle musing>
Live what you already are in Christ. Don't wait for death to experience the rest of God.
</idle musing>

ETS day one

We got into New Orleans yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon. Setup for ETS started at 5:00 PM, so Jim and I headed over to the Sheraton to set up. I brought too many books to use all my nice bookstands and risers—as usual. So, after setting up all the risers and putting out bookstands, I had to tear them all down again. Lost about 1.5 hours on that...

We had sent a backup shipment of newly published books to the hotel, so I had to run back and forth with a two-wheeler from one hotel to the other. It was a beautiful night, so that wasn't too burdensome. But, UPS managed to misplace 3 boxes. Unfortunately those boxes contained Siphrut 1 & (A Severe Mercy and Chosen and Unchosen). Not a good thing :(

The day started out slow, but got busier as it went on. In the end, we had a good day actually selling out of a few titles. Here's a picture or two:

and they're off!

At least some of us are, anyway. Jim, Merna, and I are on our way to New Orleans. In fact, as you read this (due to the power of scheduled posts), we are somewhere between Indianapolis and Atlanta. The rest of the gang who will be there for SBL are leaving either Wednesday or Thursday.

I am attending ETS; Jim and Merna are taking care of ASOR. So, if you are attending either one of those, come by and see us. We won't even make you buy a book! But, I bet you will; we have some great titles this year and, as always, some great deals. I will be posting pictures tomorrow, as well as commentary on the conferences.

Priorities

“'To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain' (Philippians 1:21).

“Notice that the apostle doesn’t say that Christ is important to him. He says that “to live is Christ.” Paul is not trying to give Christ a proper place among other things. Instead, he is recognizing the fact that Christ is everything to him. We may nod our heads in agreement, saying, “Yes, Christ is everything to me.” But do we grasp the truth that Christ resides just beneath our humanity? That he is actually fused to our own person? Here Paul captures our attention with some radical statements:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

“Paul claims that he participated in a crucifixion of sorts, and as a result Christ now lives in him. Many people make this claim out to be either symbolic if true or insane and untrue. But to claim anything short of this is to adopt a partial gospel. The very core of the New is that through Christ we receive what we lost through Adam, namely, the literal presence of the divine.

“This is real Christianity. A promise of heaven is not restoration of life. Studying a book written by God himself is still not restoration of life. Attending weekly gatherings in a building is not restoration of life. Even changing one’s behavior in dramatic ways is not restoration of life. Of course, these things may result from restoration of life. But they’re certainly not the means to life, nor are they a confirmation of the experience of life. Restoration of life occurs when God himself, through the person of Christ, resides within us.

“Anything short of this is weak religiosity.”—The Naked Gospel, page 189

<idle musing>
Yes! Real-life Christianity today! Not just in the future, but now! Life that is alive and moment-by-moment dependence on Christ via the Holy Spirit. No more partial gospel (Debbie calls it a decapitated gospel), but full restoration in Christ.
</idle musing>

Rye-cornbread?

As you probably have guessed by now if you follow this blog much, I enjoy experimenting in baking. This weekend was no exception, with various experiments that failed spectacularly or turned out nicely.

I am always trying to get more whole grains into my baked goods, so back in January I tried substituting whole wheat flour for the unbleached flour in cornbread. It was a failure; the taste of the whole wheat overpowered the cornmeal—yes, this is about successes, hold on :) Well, Saturday, I decided to try dark rye flour instead of unbleached flour. It looked pretty strange going into the pan; it was very dark and almost playdough™-ish in texture. I wasn't too hopeful...25 minutes later, out comes this nicely dark, slightly risen pan of batter bread. I put the knife in to cut it, pulled out a piece, letting it cool for a few seconds before tasting it. Hey! It was pretty good; in fact it was so good that I'm going to make it that way all the time. Well, for visitors I might make it with unbleached flour so they don't freak out at the dark color :)

Second experiment: I thought that since that turned out, maybe I could go with a rye only rye bread. I know, there isn't much gluten in rye flour, almost none, in fact. But, maybe...well, I should have stopped at the kneading stage. It had a very strange texture and didn't get springy at all. But, hey, what have I got to lose? I let it rise, and rise, and rise. Right, it didn't! Oh well, maybe it will still make a loaf that is edible. So, I formed the loaf and let it rise, only it didn't. That's all right, I'll bake it anyway. It might make a nice solid loaf, sort of like a cracker. Thirty-five minutes later, not done. Let's give it another 10 minutes. OK, the edges are starting to burn, better take it out. This, my dear reader, was a complete flop. It is finding its way into the compost pile.

Somewhat discouraged, but not to be deterred, I decided to use whole wheat flour instead of the unbleached flour in the rye bread. Hmm, it feels more normal as I knead it. It actually rose, although not as much as normal. It formed a nice loaf, and then rose again. Thirty-five minutes later and I had a very nice, although dense, loaf of rye bread. Ah, but will it taste like rye bread? Nope! It tasted like whole wheat bread. But wait! As it cooled, it began to taste like rye bread. Maybe there's hope...sure enough. Once it was cool it tasted like rye bread, just very dark. Success! But a few hours later...how much fiber is in that monster? Too much! Intestinal problems...I don't think I'll try that one again!

Oh, did I mention that I had just eaten whole wheat waffles an hour before the rye bread? Maybe it isn't the rye bread alone...

Hippo hunting?

David Ker has been musing this month on his life as a missionary. Very honest, but with a good sense of humor. If you have been missing the fun up until today, you can catch-up by going here. It is definitely worth your time.

The advantages of being chosen

Somehow this missed being posted last week, so enjoy it today, instead:

“To be sure, there are benefits to being specially loved and blessed by God, yet it becomes clear throughout the biblical story that the people of Israel are often less than excited about their special relationship to YHWH. They are led into a wilderness, encounter lack of water and food, and often complain that it was better to be slaves under Pharaoh. While we might be quick to condemn Israel in this, it may also be instructive simply to allow the story to communicate what it does. Israel did not find it being a possession of YHWH particularly easy or advantageous. By and large, the people of Israel do not seem to recognize the gift that YHWH is giving to them because their life now has very high expectations...Life would probably be easier without such obligations. To maintain otherwise reads against the thrust of the story as the Bible presents it.”—Chosen and Unchosen, page 173

<idle musing>
Sounds only too familiar, doesn't it? As long as we think we have to maintain the obligations, it is way too difficult.
</idle musing>

Performance-based faith

“The message of “Jesus plus nothing” from start to finish is often too humbling for us to swallow. Instead, we opt for performance hoops to jump through in order to impress God. Sure, we trust him alone for salvation and a place in heaven. But when it comes to daily living, it’s difficult to fathom that he wants to be our resource and carry the load.

“Growth doesn’t happen by trying harder. It doesn’t occur by a “two steps forward and one step back” approach. Genuine growth occurs as we absorb truth about who we already are and what we already possess in Christ.

“Believers shouldn’t passively sit around waiting to receive something new — more cleansing, more of the Holy Spirit, or more of whatever popular teaching says is lacking in us. We have everything we need for a godly life. We have an unshakable kingdom, an eternal covenant, and every spiritual blessing. We are complete and lack nothing. The only logical response is to spend our lives reminding each other of these extraordinary truths and giving thanks to our God.

“Requesting and possessing are polar opposites. Once a person is in Christ, they are a possessor, not a requester. We see this point illustrated in the Lord’s Supper. We shouldn’t participate in this celebration in order to obtain something. Instead, we are to celebrate the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of Jesus Christ. Just as this celebration is based solely on the work of Christ, we should conduct all of our business in the light of what he has already done.

“To thank God for every spiritual blessing and then to ask him for more patience, for example, is to ignore Christ within us. Isn’t patience part of what we need for a godly life? Do we have all the patience we need already implanted within us or don’t we? Through the Scriptures, God answers this question with a resounding yes. Because we possess Christ himself, and since Christ is not lacking in patience, we already have all we need.”—The Naked Gospel, pages 187-188

<idle musing>
Amen!
</idle musing>

Review of Chosen and Unchosen

Chosen and Unchosen
Conceptions of Election in the Pentateuch and Jewish-Christian Interpretation
Siphrut: Literature and Theology of the Hebrew Scriptures 2
by Joel N. Lohr
Eisenbrauns, 2009
xviii + 254 pages, English
Cloth, 6 x 9 inches
ISBN: 9781575061719
List Price: $39.50
Your Price: $35.55
www.eisenbrauns.com/item/LOHCHOSEN

Chosen and Unchosen is the second book in the new Eisenbrauns series Siphrut: Literature and Theology of the Hebrew Scriptures. The book is a revision of Lohr's doctoral dissertation, but it doesn't suffer from dissertationitis—the tendency to footnote every other word and repeat the same thing 27 times. Indeed, it is a good read, although slow going at times because of the content.

The book is divided into two sections: section one (about 1/3 of the book) is devoted to an overview of Christian and Jewish work on election in the last 50 years. The second section is a close reading of four sections of the Pentateuch where the chosen encounter the unchosen. Lohr chose the Abimelech/Abraham story, Pharaoh's daughter, Balaam, and Deuteronomy 4, 7, and 10, which features the herem, or ban.

The section on Pharaoh's daughter saving Moses is a textbook example of what a close reading should look like. Lohr picks up details that most interpreters miss; the story is richer after reading Lohr's exposition.

Balaam has suffered some bad press in the history of interpretation, including inner-biblical interpretation. Lohr seeks to read the Numbers account of Balaam on it's own terms, ignoring the later interpretation as much as possible. The result is a prophet who knew and feared God; a prophet who dared to stand up against a king and bless Israel when he had every reason not to. If we did not know the later history of Balaam, how he ended up betraying Israel into sin, we would never guess that he would die the death he did at the hands of Israel. I would say that this is the strongest section of the book and worth the cost of the book by itself. I will never read the Balaam story in Numbers the same.

Turning to Deuteronomy, Lohr confronts the issue of herem head-on. While you have to admire someone who is willing to take on the challenge of explaining herem (the ban) and trying to understand it, it still is less than satisfying. Despite an excursus and an appendix, I felt like he could have said more. Lohr himself admits that herem makes no sense to the modern mind. In my opinion, this is the weakest chapter. I would like to have seen him develop Deuteronomy 10 further, with the stranger dwelling among Israel and how that affects the unchosen theme. But, in the introduction he said this was but a first step in exploring the ramifications of being chosen and unchosen. As a first step, it is admirable.

On the whole, this book is well worth reading, especially the chapters on Pharaoh's daughter and Balaam. The weakest chapter, Deuteronomy, perhaps couldn't have been written any other way; there is just too much happening in Deuteronomy 10 to easily distill it down. Indeed, whole books have been written, and even they fail to do it justice.

Raised with Christ

“The Bible talks about considering ourselves dead to sin and realizing that God has raised us up and seated us with him (Romans 6:11; Ephesians 2:6). In light of these truths about our nature, we’re told to not let sin reign and to set our minds on things above (Romans 6:12; Colossians 3:2). This is not nurture talk; this is nature talk!

“Too often, I see the church today functioning like any other morality-focused social group. It’s time for us to wake up and realize that being born of the Spirit means we possess an amazing life within us. Because we’re already different on the inside, we can live differently on the outside.”—The Naked Gospel, page 186

<idle musing>
Yep. Dead, buried, raised, seated. I like that.
</idle musing>

Balaam

“Balaam, a foreign prophet, clearly knew the God of Israel, and the text reveals no discomfort with such an idea. Perhaps this is instructive for contemporary life when one encounters people outside the 'chosen'—outside one's community of faith.”—Chosen and Unchosen , page 199

<idle musing>
Interesting thought, isn't it? "The text" can be dangerous to our preconceptions, can't it?
</idle musing>

Slaves to whom?

“The Israelites are not 'freed' in the exodus, but in a sense, simply change ownership: they become 'slaves of God.'”—Chosen and Unchosen, page 76

<idle musing>
I think this is something we forget; Paul talks about the same thing in the New Testament. We are not our own; we were bought with a price.

Americans don't like that kind of talk! We're "the land of the free" after all! Right...free to sin; free to be moody and mean; free to gossip and talk behind each others backs. Oops, that isn't sin anymore; we've defined it away—of course, that also means we don't need repentance anymore, nor a savior. Kinda lonely out there, isn't it, being your own savior and all?
</idle musing>

Rewards or relationship?

“Sometimes we attempt to live a godly life in the hope of earning rewards in heaven. But it’s very difficult, if not totally unrealistic, to live for something far off in the future. Although the idea of living to earn future rewards might sound practical from a natural perspective, it’s simply not rooted in God’s Word. The motivation for daily living within the New Testament centers around acting like the person you truly are and benefiting from Christ’s life in the here and now.

“Paul urges believers to walk in a manner worthy of their calling (Ephesians 4:1). In Romans, he highlights the teaching that there’s no benefit to sin and that the outcome of those things is death (Romans 6:21 – 23). At no time are we told to live an upright life in order to garner a more righteous standing or to collect prizes in heaven. Quite the opposite! We’re urged to grasp an important spiritual truth: when we come to Jesus Christ, we receive his life. Through our expression of him, we find fulfillment.”—The Naked Gospel, page 182

Universalism

“...motivating much of the contemporary discussion and the underlying phobia of God's particularism in choosing Israel is a fundamental assumption that universalism is inherently good, while particularism is inferior, deficient, or just plain bad...the modern preference for universalism as well as the widespread belief that universalistic texts are somehow superior to others is the result not of biblical teaching but of Enlightenment ideals, particularly in the writings of Kant.”—Chosen and Unchosen, page 34

<idle musing>
Hmmm...something to think about, isn't it? How much of our interpretation is based on modernist (and post-modernist), Aristotelian logic? Too much, I wager.
</idle musing>

Chosen and Unchosen

“The basic premise that election entails nonelection is undoubtedly true. Difficulty arises when adding additional premises. Clines [in The Bible and the Modern World, pages 100-101] seems to add the premise that being unchosen means experiencing the opposite of God's love or election; namely rejection, humiliation, destruction or being beyond the pale of God's workings. The problem with models of this sort, I think, is that often the focus is on biblical examples that are easy to assemble and then to criticize...the result is a picture of God that resembles more a devil than a deity, a God who shows love to his people while slaughtering others, simply because they are not elected.”—Chosen and Unchosen, page x

<idle musing>
I will be excerpting from Chosen and Unchosen this week and then post a brief (maybe!) review at the end.
</idle musing>

Review of ZIBBCOT

I recently received a set of Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary on the Old Testament from Zondervan via Emily Varner (thanks Emily!). First off, let me say that I can't begin to do this set justice in a short (or long!) post. When they say illustrated, they mean illustrated. I don't think I have found a two page spread that doesn't have at least one photo, map, or drawing on it—and they are relevant to the text's discussion, not just filler. (OK, I just did: the endnotes don't have any pictures.) On some pages, the photos take up over half the spread; it's a feast for the eyes. And, they even have a picture index, topical at that! Oh my, the picture index also includes an index of texts, sorted by region of origin. Did you know that they even include the Tel Zayit abecedary? This is definitely up-to-date.

The first thing I do when I get something like this is check the abbreviations section. That alone tells you a whole lot about what you will find in the text. The abbreviation section is 9 pages long, and covers just about every major journal and reference work in the field, not just English ones, either. Next, I checked the bibliography, or rather, bibliographies. There is a general bibliography, and each biblical book has an annotated bibliography at the end, before the endnotes for that section.

Having been thoroughly encouraged by what I found so far, I began looking over the individual sections. There is a main text, but also sidebars and charts. The sidebars highlight items in the main text that may need a bit more explanation or are translations of ANE texts that relate; they have their own set of endnotes. The main text follows a traditional commentary approach in that there are section headings with verse numbers. The difference is that, unlike a traditional commentary, the notes relate to cultural background—this is a Bible backgrounds commentary, after all :)

I have looked through Genesis quite closely, and some sections of Jeremiah. I have to say that this commentary is high quality. The contributors are first-rate scholars, and the sections they were assigned play to their strengths. For example, Leviticus is done by Roy Gane; if you can't get Milgrom (and he's Jewish, so you can't!), then the next best person is Gane. In fact, I think Gane is right in his correction of Milgrom's atonement theology.

While the commentary is unabashedly conservative Evangelical, it presents multiple sides to issues in a fair and balanced manner. The authors make their preferences known, but do so in a way that doesn't demean the other opinions—a definite plus, in my book.

So, what don't I like about the set? Basically, one thing. Endnotes. With modern typesetting/prepress software, there is no reason that endnotes should exist. I understand that in a work like this, which is aimed at multiple markets, the scholar and the interested lay person, that footnotes could be distracting. But, don't you think that people could ignore them if they don't want to read them? I hate having to keep a marker at the end of a book to flip back and forth all the time. Usually, what I do in a case like this is pre-read the endnotes; it isn't great, but at least I know when I hit a note what it is about. (Yes, I pre-read endnotes; I read dictionaries of the fun of it. I even read grammars of dead languages as a recreational activity! There's no hope for me...)

This is definitely a set worth owning if you are interested in the ancient Near East and how it intersects the biblical world. John Walton and all the contributors should be proud of the results. Now, excuse me, I'm going to go read some more in it...

Update, November 10: After an exchange of e-mails with John Walton, I have to agree with Zondervan's decision to go with endnotes. John's argument was that if they had used footnotes, on some pages over half would be notes. This would result in people being intimidated by it; they would think it was written strictly for a scholarly audience when it isn't. Consequently, they would put the book back on the shelf and walk away.

It's too bad this is true, but it is. As a marketer, I understand. As a (wanna be) scholar, it bothers me. But, the book is eminently readable and deserves to be read and used. I would have made the same decision, although reluctantly.

Mondays

This has been an interesting Monday; I feel like I haven't gotten anything done. But, I have. The SBL shipment left; the ancient Near Eastern catalog came in. And, I spent 2 hours at the dentist's office getting prepped for a crown. That's got to be why. Taking 2 hours out of a day is bad enough, but then having someone pound on your jaw with a sledgehammer for those 2 hours...ok, it isn't that bad, but now that the Novocaine has worn off it almost feels that way. The tooth doesn't hurt, but the jaw is sore, if you know what I mean.

OK, I still have to put together a new 10-day sale and try to figure out why the Deal-of-the-day isn't coming out correctly...

Eternal life

“Who is the only person whose life had no beginning? Then if you have eternal life, whose life do you possess? Eternal life doesn’t primarily involve heaven, church services, or even the Bible. Eternal life is not merely a better life or a better purpose for life. It’s an altogether different life. It’s God’s life. Here we don’t reference religious notions. Instead, we’re discussing Eden matters.

“If there were no church buildings, no Bible studies, and no other saints on the planet, you’d still need eternal life. If you were stranded on a deserted island, you’d still need eternal life. The essence of the gospel meets that basic need. The fundamental promise within the New is divine life restored within humanity.”—The Naked Gospel, page 174

“Eternal life is Jesus’ life. Jesus declared himself to be “the resurrection and the life” and “the way and the truth and the life” (John 11:25; 14:6). He also stated, “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19). Clearly, our eternal life is tied up in him. Our new spiritual life is actually his life.

“So we don’t have a spiritual gift package awaiting us in heaven. We have Jesus Christ in us right now. In fact, it’s his life that saves us. We recognize the importance of Jesus’ blood for our forgiveness. But Jesus’ death alone isn’t sufficient to save us! His death on the cross doesn’t provide the life we need. It is actually Jesus’ resurrection that saves us...

“The life we possess within us is not Jesus the Man who lived, taught, and died after thirty-three years on earth. Sure, that’s part of his track record. But the life housed within us is the risen Christ, who now sits right beside God. Hence, we’re not being asked to imitate the recorded actions of Jesus of Nazareth. Instead, we’re invited to allow Jesus to do what he has always done — be himself. The risen Christ wants to do this through our unique personalities in every moment of every day.”—The Naked Gospel, pages 177, 178

<idle musings>
I like that; it is very freeing. Just let Jesus live through you; forget the guilt trips, the performance based stuff, all the σκυβαλα, as Paul called it. Just hang on to Jesus and let him live through you.
</idle musings>

Last minute details

It's that time of the year when all the last minute details jump out at you. I'm getting our shipment ready to go to SBL; it has to leave Monday in order to get there without a penalty—and the last thing I need is a penalty! They already charge an arm and a leg for drayage! So, my time today has been spent building the skid of display material, making the pick-up appointment, running to the print shop to get the order forms, on and on the list goes...all the last minute stuff.

Don't get me wrong here, I really love this stuff. It just all seems to pile up at the last minute. You seem to be on schedule, everything is ready...then, BOOM something you forgot, or something is late, or... Yep, it's that time of year :)

So, after the SBL shipment goes on Monday, the ASOR shipment goes on Wednesday, and the follow-up ETS shipment goes on Thursday, I have nothing to do about conferences for 2 days. Then, Tuesday morning, November 17, I'm off to the airport and the conferences.

Once I get to New Orleans and get checked into the hotel, I head on over and set up the ETS display. ETS starts on Wednesday at 9:00 AM...I'm tired just thinking about it. I think I'll just live a day at a time. Maybe that's why Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow, eh?

Rewards and behavior

“As humans, we always seem to be looking for a punishment- or reward-based motivation to keep our behavior on track. While we’re more apt to dismiss a blatant guilt motivation, the picture often painted is that God will be doling out mansions of various sizes and other merit-based awards when we hit heaven. Christians have commonly used the term rewards to refer to extra square footage or certificates redeemable for crowns and jewels in heaven’s gift shop.

“In reality, the term rewards does not appear anywhere in the New Testament. The apostle Paul speaks of a “reward” (singular, not plural) or a “prize” in the context of running a race and reaching the end. But Paul also notes that everything else is like garbage next to knowing Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:8). Given this truth, do we really believe that God will be awarding larger homes and nicer jewelry to those who depended on Jesus more?

“God doesn’t want us to think and act in certain ways because we’re seeking to accumulate heavenly merchandise. Just as Paul was willing to lose all things for the sake of knowing Christ, we too should make it our agenda to know him. For more wealth in heaven? No, we want to know him simply because it’s the greatest thing going on planet Earth.”—The Naked Gospel, pages 168-169

<idle musing>
Kind of doesn't sit too well in our over-merchandised society, does it? Kingdom values usually don't!
</idle musing>

More new books

We unloaded the last of the pre-SBL books that will be published by Eisenbrauns this year; four books came in the last 7 days:

Last Friday:

Law from the Tigris to the Tiber
The Writings of Raymond Westbrook
Vol. 1: The Shared Tradition
Vol. 2: Cuneiform and Biblical Sources
EIS - Eisenbrauns
by Raymond Westbrook
Edited by Bruce Wells and F. Rachel Magdalene
Eisenbrauns, 2009
2 vols.; Vol. 1: xx + 512; Vol. 2: xx + 556, English
Cloth, 6 x 9 inches
ISBN: 9781575061771
List Price: $119.50
Your Price: $107.55
www.eisenbrauns.com/item/WESLAWFRO

Monday:

A Syriac Lexicon
A Translation from the Latin, Correction, Expansion, and Update of C. Brockelmann's Lexicon Syriacum
This book is heavy and may incur additional shipping charges.
EIS - Eisenbrauns
by Michael Sokoloff
Eisenbrauns, 2009
Pp. l + 1,684, English and Syriac
Cloth, 7 x 10 inches
ISBN: 9781575061808
Your Price: $149.50
www.eisenbrauns.com/item/SOKSYRIAC

and two yesterday:

A Manual of Ugaritic
Linguistic Studies in Ancient West Semitic - LSAWS 3
by Pierre Bordreuil and Dennis Pardee
Eisenbrauns, 2009
xii + 355 pages + CD with PDF and photos, English
Cloth, 6 x 9 inches
ISBN: 9781575061535
List Price: $69.50
Your Price: $62.55
www.eisenbrauns.com/item/BORMANUAL

The Retelling of Chronicles in Jewish Tradition and Literature
A Historical Journey
EIS - Eisenbrauns
by Isaac Kalimi
Eisenbrauns, 2009
xx + 395 pages, English
Cloth, 6 x 9
ISBN: 9781575061498
List Price: $59.50
Your Price: $53.55
www.eisenbrauns.com/item/KALRETELL

It is finished

"Are you consumed with your sins when God says he remembers them no more? Are you willing to agree that the focus is no longer on your failures? Will you please the Father through obsession with the Son?

“The Son of God has finished his work. He is risen and is now seated in heavenly places. There’s only one appropriate response. All eyes on him!”—The Naked Gospel, page 139


<idle musing>
He doesn't continue on with the thought, but Paul says that we are seated with him in the heavenly places. Doesn't that blow your mind? It sure does mine.
</idle musing>

Thought for the day

I was recently flipping through a new book (I do that a lot...) and ran across this thought:

Theology has too often been an instrument for the king or the powers that be, in ancient and modern times. Some theologians are providing intellectual support for global capitalism, the new empire, or simply the current unjust status quo. In that task they come close to certain currents of secular thought that take God (and God's poor) out of the public discourse. Idolatry and atheism are, of course, directly related to the exploitation of the poor.—Rooted in Jesus Christ, page 4

<idle musing>
It's too bad, but he's right...
</idle musing>

ZIBBCOT

I'm going to review the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary on the Old Testament soon. But, in the meantime, you've got to see this video (it helps to know John).

Are we REALLY pure?

“Nonbelievers are spiritually harnessed to the power of sin. As a horse is led by reins, nonbelievers are controlled by the reign of sin. When a person comes to Christ, their old self, which was controlled by sin, dies through the work of the cross. A new self is raised through resurrection in Christ. If we’re in Christ, we don’t have to submit to sin any longer. We’re free to choose expressions of life instead of always expressing sin and death: We know that our old self was crucified with [Christ] so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with [made powerless], that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Romans 6:6 – 7

“Paul goes on to urge us to count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God (Romans 6:11). Some English translations use the term reckon here: “reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin” (NKJV). Whether one prefers reckon or count or consider, it makes little difference as long as we realize that our reckoning is not what causes this to become reality. Instead of our “making it a reality,” we’re invited to bank on the fact that our death to sin is already real.

“Some would put the burden on Christians to believe hard enough in order to make our death to sin a reality. This isn’t the meaning of reckon or count or consider. These words mean “to rely on the fact” that you’re dead to sin because God has already said it is so (and it is so!): “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11).

“Here we’re invited to live in reality. If we’re living under the assumption that sin is the most natural thing for us, then we’re being deluded. We’re different from the way we were before. We’re now alive to God, and we must come to grips with an essential truth: It is more normal, more fitting, and more like us to display the fruit of the Spirit than it is for us to display sin!”—The Naked Gospel, pages 125-126

<idle musing>
Hmmm....doesn't that sound like Christianity 101? Then why don't we let it happen? Farley takes that up, too:
</idle musing>

"“...we use terms such as positional truth and heavenly bookkeeping. We say we’re forgiven and cleansed “in God’s eyes.” But then we claim that Christ’s death does not translate into “once for all” forgiveness in the here and now. Perhaps it just feels too easy: “You mean I don’t have to do anything? That doesn’t sound right.” Our human pride won’t allow us to enjoy that kind of grace.

“Some exhort believers to do something, such as asking for forgiveness, to impel God so that he will actually forgive and cleanse them. This certainly satisfies us; there’s nothing like a daily list of sins to pore over to relieve us from guilt.

“Some claim a procedure is necessary to “appropriate” or “activate” forgiveness. They say we must “keep short accounts” of our sins and ask God to forgive and cleanse us in order to “make it real in our own experience.” But didn’t God announce that only one thing — blood — brings forgiveness and cleansing?

'Without realizing it, we end up believing that Christ’s blood has real effects only for heaven. If we want to maintain a cleansed state before God here on earth, we begin to think it comes through a work that we initiate through remembering, confessing, asking, and claiming. Ultimately, it becomes our responsibility to make the cross carry real benefits in the present.

“In adopting this fine-sounding belief system, we fail to recognize that the cross is a historical event. Its effects are already accomplished, no matter what we believe or claim. We don’t initiate forgiveness, because we cannot. Only blood brings forgiveness. Our acts of remembrance, confession, asking forgiveness, and claiming — whether done with good intentions or not — don’t cause more blood to be shed.”—The Naked Gospel, pages 135-136

<idle musing>
Yep, Christianity 101.
</idle musing>

Another sale

I didn't post this yesterday, but I should have. Eisenbrauns is running another great sale. We even invented a new holiday to celebrate it; from BookNews:

We've invented a new holiday here at Eisenbrauns--International Hug an Archaeologist Day! To celebrate it, we put together an early ASOR sale. Now is your chance to pick up some of those titles you have been looking at for a while. And, you can do it at savings up to 80% off. But time is limited--the sale ends November 15. Oh, you can purchase even if you aren't an archaeologist...

http://www.eisenbrauns.com/pages/VBOOTH20

Good news/bad news?

euangelion vs. dysangelion, or for the purist, εὐαγγέλιον versus δυσαγγέλιον (not sure if the accents are coming through correctly; they look almost like breathing marks to me).

In Greek there are frequently prefixes that are applied to a word to change its meaning. For example, the prefix εὐ (EU) makes a word mean good. So, since αγγέλιον (angelion) means an announcement, εὐαγγέλιον means a good announcement, or as we would say more idiomatically, good news. On the other hand, there is a prefix that makes things negative: δυς (DYS). We see this in English with words like dysfunctional—the negation of functional, i.e., it doesn't work correctly. So, δυσαγγέλιον means a bad pronouncement, or better, bad news.

So, what am I getting at? Well, much of what passes for gospel these days seems to be more δυσαγγέλιον than εὐαγγέλιον.

Who are we, anyway?

“But today we are often willing, even eager, to state that we’re sinful like everyone else. We think we’re being humble to claim that we’re no better than anyone else in the world around us. But the New Testament paints a very different picture. Apparently, we’re aliens in this world, and our citizenship is elsewhere.”— The Naked Gospel, page 118

<idle musing>
Why? Why don't we take the scripture at face value here? People are anxious enough to jump on "bible bandwagons" in other areas where the text is less than clear. Why not here, where the texts are very clear? Is it too good to be true? Remember gospel means good news; what could be better news than this?
</idle musing>

The world, the flesh, and the devil

“...many Christians today believe that their constant, ongoing struggle is with the sinful nature and, more precisely, their sinful nature. It’s not much of a stretch to go from (1) I have a sinful nature to (2) I am a sinner by nature to (3) The most natural thing for me to do is sin. Then we wrongly conclude that who we are (our nature) at the very core is sinful, when in fact the Scriptures teach just the opposite. We are now partakers of God’s divine nature (2 Peter 1:4)!”—The Naked Gospel, page 111

“When we walk after the flesh, we’re not being ourselves. If we rely on intellect, strength, or physical appearance to gain purpose and fulfillment, we’re walking after the flesh. But again, this is no indication of our nature. In fact, depending on the flesh goes against our nature.

“We’re designed for dependency on Christ. Walking after the Spirit is our destiny. We’ll never be content with walking after the flesh or fashioning an identity outside of Christ. We can do it, but it won’t fulfill.

“Living a life of dependency on the Spirit is really nothing more than being ourselves. We were built for it from the ground up. After all, we are now God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10). We’re designed for walking in the attitudes and actions that God has already prepared for us.

“For a Christian, because of your new identity in Christ, being yourself and expressing Christ are one and the same. God has arranged it so that our new self and our union with his Spirit cause us to want what he wants. God has the market cornered on true fulfillment. And he has installed within us an intense and never-ending desire to find fulfillment through expressing his life. ”—The Naked Gospel, page 115


<idle musing>
So, what do you think? I'm not getting much feedback on these excerpts. Do you think the author is off the wall? Or, is he correct? Or...
</idle musing>

New sale

I posted a new sale yesterday. Here's the BookNews version:

For the next 10 days, Eisenbrauns is offering 20-40% off on selected Excavations and Surveys in Israel and Hadashot Arkheologiyot titles.

To go directly to the weekly sale, click on this link:
http://www.eisenbrauns.com/pages/NEWSLIST

Pretty tame...I like the Twitter one better:

Savings that will drive an archaeologist wild! 20-40% off Excavations/Surveys in Israel & Hadashot Arkheologiyot: http://tinyurl.com/yj5f5f8

What do you think?

Death and resurrection

“...we fail to acknowledge that the gospel isn’t centrally about behavior modification. At its core, the true message is about dying and miraculously being resurrected into a new person.

“Sure, life in Christ has implications for behavior. But we can’t afford to miss the death and life issues because we’re obsessed with the effects rather than the cause. Describing the core of the message, Paul writes the following:
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:3–4)”—The Naked Gospel, page 106

“This miraculous exchange [of the new birth] is not figurative or symbolic but literal and actual. The spiritual part of every Christian has literally and actually been crucified, buried, and raised with Christ. The fact that this occurs spiritually (and not physically) doesn’t make it any less real.

“So what happens to the old self that was in Adam? Once a person is in Christ, the old self is entirely obliterated.”—The Naked Gospel, page 108

“Many have held to the idea that the old self is only positionally dead or is progressively dying over time. But the same epistles that claim Jesus solved our behavior problem by dying on the cross and taking our sins away also state that Jesus solved our identity problem by giving us a new heart, a new spirit, and God’s Spirit. We accept forgiveness as actual, Jesus’ own death as actual, heaven as actual, and Jesus’ return as actual. We don’t have the right to relegate the death of our old self to the realm of the positional or the progressive.”—The Naked Gospel, page 109

<idle musing>
The italics are all his.

I'm currently reading Inhabiting the Cruciform God. His basic thesis is that justification and sanctification are co-crucifixion with Christ, and the resulting co-resurrection. Good stuff—and it should have an affect on how we live, but that is not the core issue. The core issue is that we are new creations in Christ!
</idle musing>

Are we righteous, or aren't we?

"In a heartbeat, Christians buy the idea that the world is full of sinners. Once enlightened by the Scriptures, we also agree that we’re born in a sinful condition. Perhaps because spiritual death is a lowly state, we easily agree that the world is fallen. But when it comes to believing that we’re 100 percent righteous by rebirth, we stutter and stammer over our words. In short, we believers consent to “birth determines identity” for the world but not for our own selves.”—The Naked Gospel, page 98

“Sometimes we see ourselves as sinners in the loving arms of a God who is pretending not to see us as we really are. In our minds, maybe God is wearing a pair of “Jesus glasses” that hides our true state from his vision. We find it difficult to grasp the idea that God calls us righteous because we actually are righteous. It feels more humble to believe that we’re filthy worms awaiting a future change into beautiful butterflies.

“Jesus stated it best. He said that our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees in order to enter the kingdom (Matthew 5:20). So if we Christians don’t claim to possess perfect righteousness, we’re lowering God’s standard. We’re watering down the gospel. We insinuate that Jesus can unite himself with sin. And we insult the perfection of God.

“Only perfection will do. This is precisely why God had to make us perfectly righteous in our human spirits through our own death, burial, and resurrection. With its apparent humility, this filthy worm theology appeals to the flesh. But God certainly doesn’t condone our wallowing in a poor self-image. The risen Christ doesn’t join himself to filthy worms. The Holy Spirit doesn’t dwell in dirty sinners. Christ only unites himself with those who are like him in spirit. The Holy Spirit doesn’t reside in someone who remains even 1 percent flawed by sin. But we’ve been perfectly cleansed. And we’ve been made perfectly righteous at our core through spiritual surgery. This is the only way we can enjoy even a moment of relationship with Jesus Christ.”—The Naked Gospel, pages 105-106

<idle musing>
So, what is it? Will you listen what scripture says?
</idle musing>

New book

This just showed up on my desk yesterday, compliments of Bobby at Hendrickson:

Analytical Lexicon to the Septuagint, Expanded Edition with Word Definitions from Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint

by J. Lust, et al.
Hendrickson Publishers, Forthcoming January 2010
600 pages, English and Greek
Cloth
ISBN: 9781565635166
List Price: $44.95
Your Price: $35.96
www.eisenbrauns.com/item/LUSANALYT

I know that it says January, 2010, but I suspect it will be available before that. I looked it over, and it looks good. The definitions (actually glosses) are taken from Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, so if you don't like LEH, you won't like it.

The print is small, but crisp; it's just that my eyes aren't as good as they used to be :) The lexical forms of the word are printed in bold, making it easy to spot them on the page. If you don't have an electronic LXX, this book can be a real boon when you are stuck on a form. And—those of you that know my personal feelings about electronic versions won't be surprised by this statement—I would recommend that you use this instead of an electronic parser; you learn so much more when you peruse the pages of a lexicon, even an analytical one.

Grace and effort

Grace is the system that the Holy Spirit uses to counsel and teach us on a daily basis. Grace is in place, whether or not we’ve sinned recently. We worry that an absence of law will result in a lifestyle that is out of control. This concern is natural. But it contradicts what the Scriptures say about the effects of grace. Grace isn’t just a treatment for sin; it’s actually the cure for sin!

“...The secret is that grace deactivates our pride. Removing the law from our lives means our self-effort is no longer prodded to control behavior. The law excites human effort. It encourages us to depend on resources outside of Christ. But unconditional acceptance deactivates human effort and allows the Holy Spirit to be all that he wants to be through us.

“Our greatest fear is that we’ll be out of control. But we were never made to be in control. Self-control has always been a natural attribute of the Holy Spirit. The reason he lives within us is to produce the self-control that we’re afraid we’ll lack under grace.”—The Naked Gospel, page 91

<idle musing>
Amen! Good preaching!
</idle musing>

Those crazy cats

Our cats found a mouse nest on Sunday, or at least that's the best explanation for the number of mice they were playing with. You know how cats play with their food when they catch it. Well, two of the kittens were playing with one, taking turns. Another, older kitten came up and took it from them, grabbing it with her mouth.

We figured she would take it away from the others and then play with it. Nope, she's a proper lady, she is. She waltzes up the steps of the porch, walks over to the food dish and drops it in. Then, as a proper lady would do, she proceeded to eat it out of the dish! I wish I could have taken a picture of it...

Oops!

We have been making our own bread for years—before I even met Debbie, actually. But, while the kids were at home we only made it once in a while. Once they left, I don't think we've bought more than 2 loaves of bread in 5 years. Anyway, digression over.

Saturday, I was making rye bread and reached for what I thought was caraway seed to add. It turned out to be celery seed! Four teaspoons worth into the flour. Yikes! I realized my mistake before adding the liquids, so not all was lost. I lost about a 1/4 cup of rye flour along with the seed, but couldn't get all the celery seed out.

After the bread baked, I took a slice (while it was still hot, of course!)...it tasted like celery seed. Debbie took a slice, but her's didn't. Neither did my next slice, until the last bite. Seems where ever the celery seed was, it permeated that bite. There must be a lesson there...

The "Christian" Law

“As you read this, you may be thinking, “Well, that’s not my problem. I have never struggled with whether or not I am under the law. I’ve always known better.” That may be true, but that was true for me too! I would never have said that I needed to adhere to the Jewish law — far from it. It wasn’t the law of Moses that was holding me hostage; it was my own modern-day form of law that I was trying to live out.

'Having raised my antennae toward the Christian world around me, I intercepted the subtle message that there are requirements to remain in God’s favor. This collection of “Thou shalts” — read your Bible, share your faith, participate in a lot of “church” — was a measuring stick by which I determined my worth and stand- ing. These criteria served as a concrete way of determining whether or not I was in right relationship with God.

“I had already accepted the work of Christ as the means to heaven. But it was my approach to daily living that was beating me up. Law as an everyday operating system was doing its work.”—The Naked Gospel, page 81

<idle musing>
Ah yes, the hidden law that is taught to most young believers...
</idle musing>

The Fall

“Adam and Eve didn’t eat from a “tree of evil.” They ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Herein we see an important distinction. They weren’t pursuing sin as we normally think of it. They were pursuing a form of godliness. They made an attempt to be like God. The serpent successfully lured them, and the bait was godlikeness. Even today, this is seen as a worthy goal...

“The original sin was not Adam and Eve’s thumbing their noses at the goodness of God. Instead, it was their wanting to author their own system of right and wrong so they could make sure they did right and avoided wrong. Today, we can be deceived by the same offer. We may find ourselves pursuing the knowledge of good instead of listening to our heartfelt yearning for an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.”—The Naked Gospel, pages 70, 71

“While some view Christianity as a behavior improvement program, the Eden story reveals that a desire for behavior improvement was the cause of spiritual death. Lack of moral laws isn’t our problem. A plethora of socially and morally acceptable behavior improvement programs abound across world religions and even in many nonreligious movements. We could benefit from many of them if our primary need was merely a code of ethics to guide life choices.

“Radically, the Bible teaches that humanity’s main problem is not what we’re doing. Instead, it’s our lack of life as we do it.”—The Naked Gospel, page 72

<idle musing>
It sure looks spiritual! It sure sounds spiritual! But, it results in death because it is done from death. Death gives birth to death. It is only the new life in Christ that can give birth to life.
</idle musing>

What of the Old Testament, then?

“I have made the argument that the law has no bearing on the life of the believer. But the Old Testament is a treasure that shouldn’t be disregarded. In the Old Testament, we find out how the universe came into existence. We read of the fall of the human race. We learn why there’s so much evil in the world. We experience the history of God’s interactions with his people. We see his faithfulness despite their faithlessness. We see God’s prophets at work and God’s mercy on display. We learn about what God calls wisdom and how it differs from humans’ sense of the same. We discover early indications of the coming Messiah, and we understand more fully how Jesus fulfilled prophecy.

“The Old Testament offers us something we can’t get from the New. It provides a thorough background in how God initiated a relationship with humankind and how we did whatever we could to ruin this relationship...

“To disregard the Old Testament is like covering up a huge portion of a portrait God has been painting for thousands of years... ”—The Naked Gospel, pages 68, 69

<idle musing>
Unfortunately, for a long time the church ignored the Old Testament. This is still true in many places. But, the equally sad thing is that in too many areas, the old covenant has been taught as if it were the new.
</idle musing>

Let's clean house

“But how do we live upright lives if we don’t use the Ten Commandments as our guide? After hearing that believers have no need for the law, this is a natural question. The short answer is this: The Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us when we believe, and he is enough! The fruit that comes from the Holy Spirit within us is enough. And “against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:23).

“The New Testament teaches that those who are led by the Spirit are not under the law. The law is a poor substitute for the counsel of the Holy Spirit. We may think that placing ourselves under the Ten Commandments is a good way to clean house. But law-directed living has the opposite effect. The only sensible choice is to allow Christ to be himself through us. This is God’s way of impacting our lives and placing his life on display.

“Some say, “I don’t live under the law of Moses. I know I’m free from those commandments. Instead, I live by ‘Christian principles.’ ” This is a fine-sounding variation on what is still a law-based approach. And it’s an obstacle to enjoying the dependency-based life. We know that living a “good life” by moral standards is an obstacle to understanding salvation. But choosing “morality” can even prevent a Christian from depending solely on Christ. For Christians, a hidden hindrance to the grace life is a “great” life.”—The Naked Gospel, pages 57-58

<idle musing>
We were made for fellowship with God. But, we don't want to submit to the terms. For some reason, we thing the terms are harsh when in actuality the terms are easy—too easy. So, instead we create our own way to obtain fellowship and that way is always via rules and regulations. How blind!
</idle musing>

Meteors

Last night on our walk, we saw several meteors, about one every 3-4 minutes; most of them were just west of Orion. Being the inquisitive guy that I am, I searched today to see if there was a meteor shower predicted. Sure enough, I found out that the Orionids are supposed to happen in October. Only problem is, they are supposed to happen tonight!

So, if you are the late-night kind of person—and live where you can actually see the sky—take a look-see outside tonight toward the east, just west of Orion. If we saw some last night, tonight should be very nice, indeed!

Victory!

“The obstacle to experiencing victory over temptation is the way in which we’ve gone about the battle. When we arm ourselves with the law, we set ourselves up for failure every time.

“We may call it self-discipline or accountability — or plug in some other inventive term. But when it’s anything but dependency on Christ within us, it’ll inevitably put the wheels of human effort in motion. Perspective is everything in our battle against sin.”—The Naked Gospel, page 56

<idle musing>
Human effort will always fail. It is only the power of the Holy Spirit within us that will ever give us success. And, if it is the power of the Holy Spirit, then it is God himself. And, if it is God himself, then how can we fail to be victorious? If we expect to fall, we are saying that sin is more powerful than God.

Is that what you believe? That there is a power that is stronger than God? But if you believe that we have to sin, then that is essentially what you are saying. If it is Christ in us, then it is possible to live without sin. If we do sin (not when), it is because we chose not to appropriate the available power in the Holy Spirit.
</idle musing>

The role of Law

“It’s preposterous for Christians to adopt portions of the law of Moses as our guide for living. We’re presuming that God grades on a curve. But the law is completely incompatible with our attempt to “do our best.” Law is a pass-or-fail system.

“And one strike means you’re out.”—The Naked Gospel, pages 52

“In the United States, some Christians fight for the Ten Commandments to be posted on our public buildings. We say that we don’t want our society to lose its Christian roots.

“But Christianity was never rooted in the law, not even in the Ten Commandments.

“The commandments aren’t intended to supervise Christians. They don’t curb sinful desires. In fact, the law causes more sinning”—The Naked Gospel, page 53

<idle musing>
The various attempts to “return” to some utopian past by posting the Ten Commandments has always struck me as misguided. The idea that somehow knowing them will keep you from doing the forbidden things is one of the main reasons.

I know from my own life that if something is forbidden, it is somehow more desirable. Mark Twain talked about that in Tom Sawyer; when Tom was a member of a youth organization that forbid swearing, he wanted nothing more than to swear. He finally quit, but then the desire to swear disappeared.
</idle musing>

Legalism

“Looking for love and encouragement? You’ll never find them in the law. This is why the strictest legalist you know can fabricate an appearance of morality. But legalism will never produce love. Living under a law mentality is like being a slave to a most demanding taskmaster. There’s always more to do. And you’ll never do enough to please him.”—The Naked Gospel, pages 50-51

<idle musing>
This is so true. There is no way that an attitude of love can co-exist with a legalistic mindset. The legalist is always measuring, weighing—and always finding you (and themselves) coming up short. The only escape is the perfect redemption in Christ and allowing him to live through us.
</idle musing>

SBL in October!

Yep, you read it right: Eisenbrauns is offering in-booth pricing on titles now through the end of October. If you subscribed to BookNews you already saw this:

BookNews from Eisenbrauns

Eisenbrauns has two great deals going on right now and running through the end of October. One is for folks who are planning to attend ASOR, ETS, or SBL in New Orleans this year; the other is for those of you who can't make it. The odd thing is...it's the same deal: ASOR/SBL/ETS in October!

No need to pay New Orleans's sales tax, no waiting in line, no worrying about availability or having to elbow your way through colleagues to be sure that you get that book you dearly wanted, plus no shipping costs (for domestic orders over $99.00). Browse our virtual booth and get ASOR/SBL/ETS in-booth pricing, but only until October 31.

OK, enough said! Here's the link to the books:
http://www.eisenbrauns.com/pages/vbooth01

The fine print:
1. This sale includes forthcoming Eisenbrauns titles! We will hold any order that includes a book that will be published between now and November 1 until November 1, so that your order can all be shipped together. (Of course, your credit card will never be charged until the books are invoiced and shipped.)

2. The prices on this sale are in-booth prices; these prices are the very best that will be available on these books! Prices will not be lower either in-booth or after the meetings. Order form prices will be 10% higher than in-booth prices on Eisenbrauns titles.

3. We think we've included every book that will be in the booth, plus some extras!

4. No returns will be permitted on this sale.

5. Sale absolutely ends October 31; NO late orders will be accepted.

Of course, we still hope that you will come by booths 704-708 in New Orleans, at the SBL, or by the tables at ASOR and ETS, to say "hi," and chat a bit; but we hope that making this sale available now will make your time at the meetings in New Orleans easier and more enjoyable!

Intimacy with God

“What if we could enjoy so great an intimacy with God that it would seem he was nearly beneath our skin? What if we could just go through life being ourselves and somehow express Christ along the way? And what if all of this could come at no expense of our own? It would mean the religion thing could end. It would mean we wouldn’t have to analyze ourselves and measure our spirituality.

“There is an Old way that forever leads to disappointment, no matter how much “holy” effort is exerted. There is also a New way that comes free of charge and changes everything. And yet there is also a third option — a hybrid of Old and New that you find in many churches today.

“This book is intended to reveal the futility of the Old and the ecstasy of the New. Most important, we’ll talk about how to escape the misery of today’s hybrid religiosity and enjoy the purity of the New. The New is what God intended all along for the dedicated but miserable people throughout history.

“And the New is what God intends for you. “—The Naked Gospel, page 36

<idle musing>
Living in the new covenant, not the old, is enjoying the rest that Hebrews talks about. It is all by the power of God, not our own effort, not our own righteousness; it is all the power of God through the Holy Spirit
</idle musing>

What do e-readers do to the brain?

Interesting post on the New York Time's Opinion page. Five experts give their opinions...here's two of them:

To a great extent, the computer’s usefulness for serious reading depends on the user’s strength of character. Distractions abound on most people’s computer screens. The reading speed reported in academic studies does not include delays induced by clicking away from the text to see the new email that just arrived or check out what’s new on your favorite blog. In one study, workers switched tasks about every three minutes and took over 23 minutes on average to return to a task. Frequent task switching costs time and interferes with the concentration needed to think deeply about what you read.

and, a little later, from a different expert:

My own research shows that people are continually distracted when working with digital information. They switch simple activities an average of every three minutes (e.g. reading email or IM) and switch projects about every 10 and a half minutes. It’s just not possible to engage in deep thought about a topic when we’re switching so rapidly.

<idle musing>
Ain't that the truth! I have multiple desktops on my machine; it's the only way I can stay focused. I bury stuff I'm not using, but need to keep open, on other screens than the one I am working on. Even then...now, what was I about to do? Oh, yeah...
</idle musing>

Committed?

“Committed? You bet. But committed to what? Although I’d stand up on the subway and preach to the entire train car, I was still empty inside. Despite my willingness to go door-to-door witnessing in my own neighborhood, I really had no life of fulfillment to offer. Whether I was preaching on a train, in neighborhoods, or even in the local jail, there was always an underlying anxiety.”—The Naked Gospel, page 20

<idle musing>
Yep, that's the christian way; convert others so they can be as miserable as you are! In fact, on page 23, he says, “If I were vulnerable enough to be honest during the times
I was evangelizing, I would’ve made the following pitch: “Would you like to become a Chris tian and be miserable like me?”
</idle musing>

The Bible Among the Myths Review

The Bible Among Other Myths
Unique Revelation or Just Ancient Literature?

by John N. Oswalt
Zondervan Publishing Company, 2009
192 pages, English
Paper
ISBN: 9780310285090
List Price: $17.99
Your Price: $16.19
www.eisenbrauns.com/item/OSWBIBLEA

I had the privilege of studying under John Oswalt back in the early 1980's, just before he became president of Asbury College. Among the courses he offered was “Myth and History.” The class was influential in my intellectual development, therefore when I heard that he was putting the course into book form I was quite excited to see how it had morphed and grown over the years.

But, before I get into the book itself, let me tell you about his classes. As was common at Asbury (and probably other seminaries), most classes started with prayer. But, Oswalt's were different; most professors offered the perfunctory prayer and went on with class. Not Oswalt. He would say, “let's pray.” Then there would be a shorter or longer period of silence. During that silence, you could feel the Spirit of God come into the classroom in a tangible way. A peace would descend, then Oswalt would pray. The prayer wasn't anything spectacular or different; what was different was waiting for the presence of God.

The other thing that Oswalt stressed in his teaching was that the ramifications of any of his (or other teachers/scholars) teaching would be seen in his students. This viewpoint caused him to be extremely careful about what he said. I suspect it also has kept him more conservative than he would have been otherwise. He always had an eye to what the students would take from his classes and how it would be interpreted in their lives.

That being said, what about the book? Well, I am of two minds about it. One of the endorsements on the back says that “This book will be extremely helpful for both undergraduate and graduate students...” I disagree. I would say it is aimed more for the lay/undergraduate audience, with the exception of 2 chapters, where the lay audience would probably get lost.

Why do I say this? For two reasons. First, there is no bibliography. There are footnotes, but no comprehensive bibliography is included. I know Oswalt must have one; he handed one out when I had the class. One of the things I was looking forward to was seeing what was new in the field. Second, the references cited in the footnotes are quite old. The foundation of his viewpoint is based on Collingwood's definition of history in the 1940's and Child's definition of myth in the 1960's. Don't misunderstand this; I am not one who thinks that newer is better. Rather, I would like to have seen an interaction with what is going on in the field right now. If the field is moribund and nothing new has happened, then that should be noted. But, I don't think that this is the case.

Oswalt's entire thesis hangs on the distinction between transcendence and continuity. He claims that the biblical worldview is unique in this respect. It is true, and shouldn't bother anyone, that the Bible contains many elements that are common to the ancient Near East, says Oswalt. What else would one expect? What is unique is the way they are put together. The other cultures are based on a view that the divine is contiguous with the material (continuity). Consequently, the divine can be controlled via the material, hence ritual and magic. The biblical text, and he is careful to make sure you understand that we are dealing with the text as we have it, has none of that. Not only that, but the text continually condemns any attempts to manipulate the deity.

Oswalt realizes that this is not a popular view right now. Most would say that while Israel might be somewhat unique, it can be explained on the basis of the commonalities, not the differences, with the surrounding culture. He asks why the change in views from those in the middle part of the twentieth century. Have there been any dramatic new finds to justify such a change in views? No. The changes are in intellectual viewpoint.

History writing is based on evaluating the data we have and trying to make sense of them within the constraints of cause and effect. Divine intervention, which is very common in any ancient text, is not considered a valid cause. Of course, this means that the historian is forced to do violence to the explanations given by historians such as Livy and Herodotus, who are full of references to the gods. The situation is even worse in the biblical text! While Livy and Herodotus have a backdrop of gods, they can be utilized without too much damage. Not so the Bible. Because of this, the writers of modern histories of biblical times have to make decisions. Oswalt examines the twentieth century to show how the reigning paradigm has changed, and what that has meant for how the biblical data are interpreted.

Oswalt asks us to examine the biblical texts aside without ruling out divine intervention a priori. His claim is that there is no way to explain the uniqueness of the biblical viewpoint in the ancient world apart from divine revelation. All cultures reason from the visible to the invisible. Aside from the Bible, all cultures have a viewpoint of continuity and rely on ritual and magic to control their world.

Not only that, but even the Israelites continually fall back into attempts to control and manipulate. Of course, we need look no further than ourselves to see it happening in today's world. How many “deals with God” have you done in your life? Oswalt closes the way he began, by pointing out that the option of a transcendent God who cannot be controlled or manipulated, but must be trusted and believed in, is too difficult for most people. The view that allows humanity to control the results and outcomes of life is far more comfortable. It was in the ancient world; it is now.

As I mentioned above, I am of two minds about the book. I agree with his thesis. I agree with the conclusions for trusting God. I just wish he had given more space to proving them. The book can be used profitably by undergraduates, possibly by first-year seminary students, and interested laypeople. I really think that without extensive expansion, it doesn't offer an adequate rebuttal to the prevailing academic paradigm.

<idle musing>
I say that sadly, as I think the reigning paradigm is radically wrong; I would be classified as a “maximalist” by most. The reason I would be a “maximalist” is that I have seen and experienced God breaking in on my life and the lives of others. Once you have experienced that, the stories in the Bible are not so hard to believe. If you read the archaeological reports and the biblical text with a “hermeneutic of sympathy” rather than a “hermeneutic of suspicion,” you can see that it is possible for the text to be correct.

Don't misunderstand what I just wrote! I am not saying that archaeology “proves” the Bible! I don't think that archaeology can “prove” anything. Archaeology can be used to interpret what we see, and what we see depends on our theological paradigm. If you have a paradigm of non-divine intervention, you will come to a radically different conclusion than one that allows divine intervention.

One view is not more scholarly than the other! To believe in a God who can—and does—intervene in human affairs is not naïve and unlearned; it is taking the given data and analyzing them just as carefully as possible. As Sherlock Holmes used to say, if you look at the data and you have dismissed every other possibility, the remaining one must be true—however illogical it seems! Up until the last 300 years or so, the view that deity, or deities, were involved in daily lives of people was normal. That it isn't now is an aberration. Even people who claim not to be religious believe in angels and good luck and superstitions. What they say they believe and what they act out are two radically different things! In the end, they would do well to heed the call of Socrates—through Plato—to “know yourself” and realize that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”`
</idle musing>

Update: FTC disclaimer: I received this book from Emily at Zondervan to review (thanks, Emily). No money changed hands, no approval of the review, etc., etc., etc. ad infinitum (how's that for Latin?).

The end of the matter is...

“In the end...transcendence is too painful. To embrace it is to give up control of the universe. It is to admit that the only thing I can do to get in line with whatever is in control and to 'get on its good side' is to surrender in trust, belief, and obedience. It is to confess that I cannot with my own intelligence ferret out the meaning and significance of life. It is to admit the other side of what Gunton called an 'inescapable' choice: that 'God...provides the reason why things are as they are' [Gunton, The Triune Creator, 36]. It is to refuse the serpent's suggestion that I can not only become like God, I can actually become God. This is a frightening place to live, and the other understanding is much more comfortable.”—The Bible Among Other Myths, page 191

<idle musing>
But, I want to be God! I deserve to be God! Everyone and everything should serve me! I am the center of the universe! Why doesn't everyone realize it and start worshiping me and doing what I want them to?

We recently returned from seeing our grandchildren. They are wonderful kids, and we love them dearly, but they don't have to be very old before they start thinking that way! They think the world revolves around them. It doesn't—usually! But, we are the same; we just have more sophisticated and veiled ways of saying it...

But, guess what? The world doesn't revolve around you and me anymore that it revolves around them. It revolves around God, who has made himself known in Jesus Christ. In the end, that is a much more comforting thought; I would hate to live in a world where I was God!
</idle musing>

Fun new books

This time of year is exciting if you like new books—at least in my areas of interest :) The annual SBL convention is rapidly approaching and every publisher is rushing to get their books into press in time. Eisenbrauns is no exception. This year we have a few books that are very dear to my philological heart; I highlighted them in today's BookNews, below, but I am especially enamored with the first two—the Ugaritic and the Syriac :)

BookNews from Eisenbrauns

This is a busy time of year for us here at Eisenbrauns. SBL is
looming large, and we are feverishly trying to get everything done.
This is also the time when people start e-mailing or calling and
asking what new titles will be at SBL. For the last two years, I
have dedicated a BookNews edition to answering just that question.

Below are the titles that are now in press and will be available
for your to purchase at SBL. I have also included the titles that
won't make it, but will be in proof format; be sure to look them
over and place your order for them.

To see cover graphics and read more information about the new
titles listed below, please follow this link:
http://www.eisenbrauns.com/pages/NEWNOTES
=================================================================

"A Manual of Ugaritic"
by Pierre Bordreuil and Dennis Pardee
Linguistic Studies in Ancient West Semitic - LSAWS 3
Eisenbrauns, Forthcoming November 2009. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9781575061535
List Price: $69.50 Your Price: $62.55

"A Syriac Lexicon: A Translation from the Latin, Correction,
Expansion, and Update of C. Brockelmann's Lexicon Syriacum"
by Michael Sokoloff
Eisenbrauns, Forthcoming, November, 2009. Cloth. English & Syriac.
ISBN: 9781575061808
List Price: $149.50 Your Price: $134.55

"Law from the Tigris to the Tiber: The Writings of Raymond Westbrook"
by Raymond Westbrook
Edited by Bruce Wells and F. Rachel Magdalene
Eisenbrauns, Forthcoming November 2009. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9781575061771
List Price: $119.50 Your Price: $83.65

"Translation Technique and Theological Exegesis:
Collected Essays on the Septuagint Version"
by Staffan Olofsson
Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series - CBOTS 57
Eisenbrauns, Forthcoming October 2009. Paper. English.
ISBN: 9781575068077
List Price: $39.95 Your Price: $35.96

"The Retelling of Chronicles in Jewish Tradition and Literature:
A Historical Journey"
by Isaac Kalimi
Eisenbrauns, Forthcoming, November 2009. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9781575061498
List Price: $59.50 Your Price: $53.55

>These will be available in proof form. Be sure to look them over
and place your pre-order for them:
"Phonology and Morphology of Biblical Hebrew: An Introduction"
by Joshua Blau
Linguistic Studies in Ancient West Semitic - LSAWS 2
Eisenbrauns, Forthcoming December 2009. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 1575061295
List Price: $59.50 Your Price: $53.55

"Aramaic in Postbiblical Judaism and Early Christianity: Papers
from the 2004 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer
Seminar at Duke University"
Edited by Eric M. Meyers and Paul V. M. Flesher
Duke Judaic Studies - DJS 3
Eisenbrauns, Forthcoming March 2010. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9781575061788
List Price: $49.50 Your Price: $44.55

"Phoenicia: Episodes and Anecdotes from the Ancient Mediterranean"
by J. Brian Peckham
Eisenbrauns, Forthcoming April, 2010. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9781575061818
List Price: $49.50 Your Price: $44.55

"Genesis and the Moses Story"
by Konrad Schmid
Siphrut: Literature and Theology of the Hebrew Scriptures 3
Eisenbrauns, Forthcoming Winter 2009. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 9781575061528
List Price: $64.50 Your Price: $58.05

"Reframing Biblical Studies: When Language and Text
Meet Culture, Cognition, and Context"
by Ellen J. Van Wolde
Eisenbrauns, Forthcoming December 2009. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 978157506185
List Price: $39.50 Your Price: $35.55

But its not that unique, really, is it?

“I have called the Bible's [world]view transcendence and the other one continuity. In the first, the divine is other than the cosmos; in the second, the divine is inseparable from the cosmos. This difference is so significant that even today there are only three religions that believe in true transcendence: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—and all of them have derived that conviction from one source only: the Bible.”—The Bible Among Other Myths, page 185

<idle musing>
Then again, it must be unique...
</idle musing>

The FTC guidelines

OK, this is burning up the blogosphere—and my e-mailbox—so let me say it: Yes, I am a bookseller. Yes, I get free books on a regular basis. No, I don't receive any other pay from those publishers, except an occasional lunch, if I can finagle it :)

No, I am not obligated to review the books I receive. Booksellers have been receiving free books from publishers for a l-o-n-g time now. How else do we know what is in them? I do on occasion review some of the books I receive. As of today, the only book I received with the direct request to review was the one I am excerpting now, The Bible Among Other Myths. The other ones that I review are because I like books (I know that was a surprise to all of you!).

For those of you (probably most of you) who don't know what I'm talking about, here's the link to the FTC bulletin. Caution, it is a PDF.

Now, back to our irregularly scheduled postings...

New weekly sale at Eisenbrauns

Here's the skinny, direct from BookNews:
BookNews from Eisenbrauns

Looking back over my records, I noticed that I haven't run a
sale on Museum Tusculanum books since June 2006. This sale
remedies that, offering you savings from 20-40%.

As always, all sales on this web sale are final; no returns
will be permitted. Offer is good only on orders placed at
www.eisenbrauns.com through October 18, 2009.

To go directly to the weekly sale, click on this link:
http://www.eisenbrauns.com/pages/NEWSLIST
============================================================
"The Carlsberg Papyri 3: A Miscellany of Demotic Texts and Studies"
Edited by Paul John Frandsen and Kim Ryholt
Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies - CNIANES 22
Museum Tusculanum Press, 2000. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 8772895470
List Price: $108.00 Your Price: $75.60

"Studies in Zoroastrian Family Law: A Comparative Analysis"
by Bodil Hjerrild
Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies - CNIANES 28
Museum Tusculanum Press, 2003. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 8772898070
List Price: $80.00 Your Price: $56.00

"Grundriss des Laufes der Sterne"
by Alexandra von Lieven
Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies - CNIANES 31
Museum Tusculanum Press, 2008. Cloth. German.
ISBN: 8763504065
List Price: $155.00 Your Price: $124.00

"Le recit de ma vie"
by Mohamed Ghabdouane
Edited by Karl-G. Prasse
Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies - CNIANES 21
Museum Tusculanum Press, 1997. Cloth. French.
ISBN: 8772894172
List Price: $54.00 Your Price: $37.80

"The Pre-Islamic Coinage of Eastern Arabia"
by D. T. Potts
Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies - CNIANES 14
Museum Tusculanum Press, 1991. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 8772891564
List Price: $61.00 Your Price: $48.80

"Lexique Touareg-Francais"
by Karl-G. Prasse and Mohamed Ghabdouane
Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies - CNIANES 24
Museum Tusculanum Press, 1998. Cloth. French.
ISBN: 8772894709
List Price: $64.00 Your Price: $51.20

"The Carlsberg Papyri 4: The Story of Petese Son of Petetum and
Seventy other Good and Bad Stories"
Edited by Kim Ryholt
Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies - CNIANES 23
Museum Tusculanum Press, 1999. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 8772895276
List Price: $59.00 Your Price: $47.20

"Acts of the Seventh International Conference of Demotic Studies:
Copenhagen, 23-27 August 1999"
Edited by Kim Ryholt
Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies - CNIANES 27
Museum Tusculanum Press, 2002. Cloth. English, German, and French.
ISBN: 8772896485
List Price: $117.00 Your Price: $70.20

"The Petese Stories II"
by Kim Ryholt
Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies - CNIANES 29
Museum Tusculanum Press, 2005. Cloth. English.
ISBN: 8763504049
List Price: $91.00 Your Price: $72.80

"Aus der Buchhaltung des Weinmagazins im Edfu-Tempel:
Der demotische P. Carlsberg 409"
by Maren Schentuleit
Carlsberg Papyri - CP 32
Museum Tusculanum Press, 2006. Cloth. German.
ISBN: 8763503441
List Price: $229.00 Your Price: $160.30