Hello, friends. Here’s a bit of an update. This summer, I worked on a few projects that have been cooking for a while.
Biblical Lament
My biggest project was the manuscript for a book on biblical lament. It’s tentatively titled The Rhythm of Biblical Lament: A Literary and Theological Introduction (with Kregel). I was able to submit the first draft of the manuscript to my editor. So, it still has a ways to go (edits, revisions, and galleys, oh my!), but I’m grateful I was able to submit it as the summer came to a close. If you’re interested, here’s the sneakiest of peaks:
Chapter Titles
Introduction
Chapter One: What is Biblical Lament?
Chapter Two: Old Testament Witness to Biblical Lament
Chapter Three: The Psalms as a Guide for Biblical Lament
Chapter Four: The Gospels and Messianic Lament
Chapter Five: The New Testament and the Suffering Church
Chapter Six: Biblical Lament and Christian Theology
Chapter Seven: Biblical Lament and the Christian Life
Conclusion and Postscript
Big Idea of the Book
This is essentially the “thesis” that guides the rest of the project:
The big idea of this book is that biblical lament is one of God’s good gifts for individual believers and church communities.
The concept and practice of lament is grounded in the witness of the entire biblical canon, is connected to major themes in Christian theology, and is well-attested in the history of the church. Though sometimes neglected by individual believers and contemporary congregations, the practice of biblical lament is vitally important for the Christian life.
This study makes a cumulative case that the concept of biblical lament is coherent and robust enough to inform exegesis, theology, church history, and the normal Christian life. The rhythm of biblical lament provides the grammar and syntax by which believers are able to articulate a gospel hope in a world marked by suffering and injustice.
Chalcedonian Christology
In 451 AD, theologians at the council of Chalcedon produced a statement that sought to guard the biblical portrayal of Jesus as the Son of God (the “definition of Chalcedon”). Affirming the truth and fittingness of the Nicene (325 AD) and Nicene-Constantinople (381 AD) creeds, they clarified the mystery of the incarnation. Jesus is to be acknowledged as fully human and fully God. His divine and human natures are united in the one person of Jesus Christ, God the Son. In order to guard this truth, the statement lays out four “mighty negatives” that rule out false understandings of who Jesus is. The two natures of Christ are united in his person without confusion, without change, without division, and without separation.
These guardrails are designed to help readers of the NT rightly confess the “one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning him, and the Lord Jesus Christ himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.”
The book will first introduce and explore each of the major affirmations in the definition in an accesible (and brief!) way. Each chapter then shows that these affirmations 1) are drawn from the text of Scripture, and also 2) help us read and understand the depth of these same Scriptures.
The manuscript has been submitted and we are in the process of edits and revisions with the publisher. If you’re interested, I’ll be sharing more details for both of these projects as the end draws near!
The Canonical Approach & the NT
In a more academic vein, I submitted two essays that explore different aspects of the NT canon. First, I’m contributing to a volume tentatively titled, Canonical Criticism and the Interpretation of the New Testament (T&T Clark). My essay is titled: “The Hermeneutical Basis for a Canonical Approach to the New Testament.”
The other essay is for the forthcoming T&T Clark Handbook on the Synoptic Gospels. My essay examines the possibilities and challenges of a canonical approach to the Synoptic Gospels in light of their collection and arrangment in the fourfold Gospel sub-collection. The title is simply, “Canonical Criticism and the Synoptic Gospels.”
I think these volumes should appear sometime next year. A volume that I contributed to a while back has finally been published this Summer as well. It’s from a conference a few years ago at Lanier Theological Library in Houston, TX on the topic of the NT & the authorship of specific books (implications of arguments for or against pseudepigraphy).
My essay is titled, “Bear with this Anonymous Exhortation: The Hermeneutical Effect of Anonymous Authorship for Readers of the New Testament,” in Does it Matter Who Wrote the Bible? ed. David Capes (Wipf & Stock). If you’re interested in reading this, send me a note!
Biblical Theology Reviews
This Spring I reviewed a few BT books for TGC. Stephen Pressley’s excellent book on biblical theology in the early church era. Pressley’s work is also a cumulative case for what he calls “ecclesial biblical theology” (biblical theology in and for the churches). It’s worth picking up for sure. An added bonus is that Pressley is a great storyteller.
I also wrote a reflection on the BT legacy of Geerhardus Vos (specifically, his comprehensive Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments). Vos’s work is still relevant today, because many contemporary writers and biblical theologians either draw upon or depart from his approach in hermeneutically significant ways.
Worth noting alongside these is the recent launch of a new “center” for evangelical biblical theology. Started by Richard Blaylock, this website and organization will provide a growing number of resources on biblical theology and hermeneutics.
Textual Community Episodes
I’m about to start releasing new episodes of the Textual Community Podcast for the Fall season. In the Spring, I talked to JR Gilhooly about his new book on angels & demons, Kevin Vanhoozer about “mere Christian hermeneutics,” and Stephen Pressley on his study of BT in the early church. Most recently, I chatted with Sam Bierig and Jared Bumpers on preaching and hermeneutics.
If you want to listen along, you can do so here: linktr.ee/textualcommunity
At any rate, thanks for your interest in my work. My plan is to share some of the content from these projects here in the coming months. So, deo volente and if the creek don’t rise, then you’ll hear from me soon.