Several months ago I bought an external keyboard for my laptop because I was getting really sore wrists and arms from being lazy and letting my arms rest on the laptop. The edges were pressing into my arms and making them sore and numb. The external keyboard along with a wrist rest fixed that problem but created another one. In order to use my keyboard, I had to push my laptop back an additional foot or so. As a result, I was consistently getting headaches from straining to read the screen.
Book Deals at CBD
CBD has some decent books on academic closeout right now. Here are a few examples:
All of the New International Biblical Commentaries are on sale for $7.99 $19.99 (hardbacks)—$5.99 if you buy 5 or more! The NT set (18 vols. covering the whole NT) includes volumes by some solid scholars:
Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul | Guy Prentiss Waters
Guy Prentiss Waters. Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul: A Review and Response. P&R, 2004. 273 pp.
[rate 3]
I just recently came across Perrin’s evaluation of Waters’s Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul (WTSBooks).
“Whatever the merits of Justification and the New Perspectives as a primer on twentieth-century Pauline scholarship, the author has been less than successful in his interaction with the NPP. Indeed, assuming that Waters’s primary goal is to construct a convincing argument against the NPP (and N. T. Wright in particular), the book must be judged to have failed at a fundamental level.”1
[Read more…] about Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul | Guy Prentiss Waters
- Nicholas Perrin, “A Reformed Perspective on the New Perspective,” WTJ 67:2 (Fall 2005): 381-89. [↩]
Titus 2:11 in Calvin
A few days ago I discussed Titus 2:11 in Context in light of my personal Bible reading and my stumbling across this rather bothersome statement by Donald Bloesch:
The Calvinist position, especially as transmitted through Reformed orthodoxy, stands in palpable conflict with the New Testament witness.1 Titus 2:11 assures us that “the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men.” The Pauline writer of 1 Timothy contends that Jesus Christ sacrificed himself “to win freedom for all mankind” (2:6 NEB).2
In case you skipped over the footnote, Bloesch said, “In this discussion we need to bear in mind that Calvin’s position and that of later Calvinism are not identical.”
Garlington’s Galatians Commentaries
I previously posted about Don Garlington’s commentary on Galatians being available as a free PDF from the Paul Page. But I wasn’t sure exactly which Galatians commentary it was. So I emailed Dr. Garlington and got the official answer.
As for Galatians, I appreciate that the situation is confusing. The thing has gone through an “evolutionary process.” First there was the manuscript for EBC, which was submitted three years ago and still awaits publication (supposedly in the Fall). That is a very basic commentary aimed at a more general audience.
Baxter’s Reformed Pastor Audiobook: Free
This month’s free audiobook from ChristianAudio.com is Richard Baxter’s classic The Reformed Pastor.
In his introduction, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” This charge from Acts 20:28 only is the beginning of a solemn and overarching task to be personally involved and disciple all of your congregants. Richard Baxter’s plea for shepherding his flock continues with a charge to pastors to verify their own spiritual walk and then walks them through various disciplines, strategies and goals to guide and instruct their congregation.
Use the coupon code MAY2007 during check out to get the download format of The Reformed Pastor free!
Titus 2:11 in Context
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people (Ἐπεφάνη γὰρ ἡ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ σωτήριος πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις)” (Tit 2:11). This text is a favorite of Arminians and pseudo-Reformed men like Donald G. Bloesch, who asserts, “The Calvinist position, especially as transmitted through Reformed orthodoxy, stands in palpable conflict with the New Testament witness.1 Titus 2:11 assures us that ‘the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men.’”2
I don’t think a contextually sensitive reading of this passage will support such a naïve statement. While the context may not decisively rule out the interpretation Bloesch takes, several factors point in the direction of the following interpretation and demonstrate the gross misrepresentation of Bloesch’s statement.
A Faith That Is Never Alone
A Faith That Is Never Alone: A Response to the Faculty of Westminster Seminary California, edited by P. Andrew Sandlin and published by Kerygma Press, is due out sometime this fall. It is a response to Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry: Essays by the Faculty of Westminster Seminary California, edited by R. Scott Clark and published by P&R.
Here are the planned chapters and contributors:
CHAPTER 1—John H. Armstrong: “Preaching the Faith That Is Never Alone”
CHAPTER 2—Norman Shepherd: “Faith and Faithfulness”