Pisteuomen - πιστευομεν - T. Michael W. Halcomb

While I haven't had the opportunity to blog as much as I'd like to lately, I did want to drop a note to my readers today regarding the book I co-authored with my buddy Tim McNinch.  As you all know, we wrote People of the Book: Inviting Communities into Biblical Interpretation together (see the sidebar to get your copy or click HERE or for the Kindle version click HERE ).  Today, Brian Fulthorp who runs the site Sunestauromai (which in Greek means "I am being crucified with him") has written a very favorable review of People of the Book which you can read HERE .  Thanks to Brian for reviewing the book and sharing his thoughts about it.

I am pleased to announce that my most recent work People of the Book: Inviting Communities into Biblical Interpretation is now available on Kindle.  You can click HERE  or the image to the left to get it.   The Kindle version is only $9.99!  You can also get the print version on Amazon HERE or from the publisher, Wipf & Stock, HERE where it is now ON SALE for $15.20 !!!  When you get a chance, check out the companion website for the book, which is complete with photos, videos, an app, and more HERE .  So, go get your Kindle version of People of the Book now.  Even better, share the news with others.  Thanks!

For those of you who are using People of the Book: Inviting Communities into Biblical Interpretation or would like to share the details about it with others, here's a nice little flyer that the publisher created, which you can print, download, share, post, etc.  Thanks for the support!

We believe that Christians should be : * Dim lights in the world, uneducated and not knowing much * Afraid of learning, scared of being challenged * Circular reasoners, ready to ignore other views * Closed-minded people, childish in faith * Stunted in spiritual growth, rejecting deep truths * Antagonistic toward studying, lazy and lackluster congregants * Slim on wisdom, ignorant in theological disposition * Unskilled arguers, incapable of coherent thoughts * Unprepared to give a defense, stupid in season and out of season * Haters of difficult matters, suckers of pop-theology's breasts * Advocates of cheap grace, seizers of anything surfacy and easy * Critics of exegesis, deniers of the command to love God with the whole mind * Pseudo-pietists, rejectors of academics * Pharisaic to the core, Philistine-like to the bone * Belligerent about the Bible, arrogant about Jesus * Sell-outs to culture, attention-whores * Offended easily, ready to crucify the learned * Politically charged, ...

In the field of biblical studies and in particular biblical interpretation, one of the most well-known and formative essays on the topic was penned by Benjamin Jowett. His article, "On the Interpretation of Scripture" sparked decades of controversy in Europe and to this day, has had lasting affects on interpreters of the Bible (from the average layperson to the top-ranking professors). If you want to engage a fundamental article in this area, check out this nice, clean-cut, interactive, magazine-style copy of Jowett's article by clicking on the "Open Article" button below. Enjoy. Jowett Article Snapshot

Below is a short review I wrote up for a class presentation, which deals with Origen's Commentary on The Canticles (Song of Songs). I only interact here with his interpretation of the first few verses but if you want to get an idea of how Origen did exegesis, you may find some of this review helpful. Enjoy. + + + + + + Origen, an exegete nurtured in the Alexandrian spirit of interpretation, above all else in his reading of the Song of Songs, appears to value the notion of the unity of the Scriptures. Shaped by the “Rule of Faith,” the theological banner of his socio-religious context, he strives to show how passages of the “Divine” and “Holy Scriptures” (63-64) work in unison. For Origen, this seems most explainable by reading Scripture through a sort of dualistic lens: Literal (which also encompasses “literary”) and Spiritual. From the start, Origen makes it clear in his interpretation of the Canticles that there indeed, is a literal / literary sense to the text but that upon furt...

Below is the text of a brief 2 chapter review of the Kugel & Greer book titled Early Biblical Interpretation, which I wrote to present to some of my classmates. If you've had any interaction with this text and would like to share your thoughts, please do. + + + + + Reviewed by T. Michael W. Halcomb. Early Biblical Interpretation (#3 LEC). By James L. Kugel & Rowan A. Greer, ed. Wayne A. Meeks. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster John Knox Press, 1986. 214 pp. $19.95 (paper). The third installment in a series of books edited by Wayne Meeks, Early Biblical Interpretation is a volume that focuses on “the interpretation of Scripture as practiced in Early Judaism and Christianity” (7). The first two chapters of this work—and the central points of emphasis for this brief review—explore the common backgrounds of early & later forms of biblical exegesis. Thus, the first two chapters of the tome aim to explain what prompted “The Rise of Scripture” (13) and subsequently, “The Need fo...