Review of Colossians/Philemon

David Schrock of the blog Via Emmaus reviews my Colossians/Philemon commentary in the NCCS series over at TGC Reviews. Its a very positive review (which is good since it's the first one) and I probably owe David a coke for his kind words.

Mike Bird at RBL

Over at RBL I have the rare pleasure of being both a reviewer and among the reviewed!

Carl P. Cosaert
The Text of the Gospels in Clement of Alexandria
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6784
Reviewed by Michael Bird

Michael F. Bird and James G. Crossley
How Did Christianity Begin? A Believer and Non-believer Examine the Evidence
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6884
Reviewed by Leif Vaage

Strangely enough, Leif Vaage doesn't think that there is an awful lot of difference between Crossley and I. I wonder what James would say to that (flattered or insulted?).

There are some other particularly reviews to note as well such as:

James F. McGrath
The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7326
Reviewed by Lori Baron

David G. Firth and Jamie A. Grant, eds.
Words and the Word: Explorations in Biblical Interpretation and Literary Theory
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7133
Reviewed by Jacobus Kok

Have a happy boxing day, I'm hoping to watch a bit of the West Indies vs. Australia in the cricket!

Matt Montonini reviews Are You the One to Come?

Over at New Testament Perspectives, Matt Montonini reviews Are You the One to Come?

Craig Blomberg Reviews "Introducing Paul"

Over at the Denver Journal, Craig Blomberg reviews my book Introducing Paul. I was quite happy that it was a very positive review, though I might have to go back and re-think a few things on the Pastoral Epistles that Blomberg rightly brought up. To have an American both understand and affirm my sense of humour was also quite an achievement for me. But the highlight of the review was Blomberg's statement at the very end, "may the American IVP in the future retain the wonderful British IVP title!". Are my friends in Downers Grove listening?

Who Do My Opponents Say That I Am? RBL Review

Over at RBL is two reviews of Who Do My Opponents Say That I Am? which includes references to my essay on "Jesus as Law-Breaker". Scot McKnight and Joe Modica did a great job of assembling this collection of essays.

Book Review: Acts - Darrell Bock

Acts
Darrell L. Bock
BECNT; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007.
Available at Amazon.com

For those familiar with Darrell Bock's mother-of-all-Luke-commentaries, you'll welcome the addition of his (delightfully more concise) volume on Acts. The introduction is fairly comprehensive (48 pp.). He opts for a pre-70 AD date for Acts and he regards it as a piece of Jewish and Hellenistic historiography that is blended with theology to produce a "theography". There is a superb quote from E. Earle Ellis on Vielhauer about the Paulinism of Acts: "When he [Vielhauer] has difficulty in recognizing Luke's Paul, this writer often finds a similar difficulty in recognizing Vielhauer's Luke" (Ellis 1974: 47). Bock also argues for the essential historicity of Acts in the tradition of Hengel, Hemer and Bruce. In regards to the purpose of Acts, Bock identifies from the prologue a concern to show (Theophilus) that being a Gentile in an originally Jewish movement is part of God's design. Bock does touch briefly upon Luke's claim to legitimize this new movement in the Greco-Roman world, but I think this and the apologetic dimension of Acts has a lot more going for it. Bock also treats the theology of Acts fairly sensitively. In discussion on the topic of the "New Community's Emerging Separate Identity" he correctly notes how a major issue in the early church was the question of whether Gentiles should be treated as prosleytes to Judaism and what was expected of them in the new community in regards to the Torah. Although at one point Bock's (progressive) dispensational colours shine through: "Whether this new community saw itself as the 'restored Israel' ... is a matter of debate. They did, however, view themselves as a community that had been formed by God in conjunction with promises made long ago. The remnant of Jews who believed in the Messiah was the link to the Israel of the past. The new community's existence meant that God was doing something fresh from a structural point of view, distinct from the Israel of old." Unfortunatley, I will never understand the dispensational sine qua non of an absolute discontinuity between the church and Israel. Bock's commentary itself is very detailed, easy to read, and open to theological reflection. Bock is at his best when commenting on inter-textual links with the Old Testament and his discussions are always informative. Otherwise, this is a commendable volume and is useful for students and pastors.