Robert H. Stein and the Quote of the Day

Robert H. Stein

Robert Stein's Jesus, the Temple and the Coming of the Son of Man: A Commentary on Mark 13, is a wonderful study on Mark's most enigmatic chapter. On the heels of Stein's excellent commentary on the Second Gospel in the BECNT series, Stein rounds out his work with a detailed study on this oft disagreed chapter. I recommend it without reservation as I am convinced of Stein's outline and
interpretation.

This brings me to the quote of the day as Stein concludes his interpretation of the command "keep awake" in Mark 13:37 this way:

The exhortation to 'keep awake' indicates that the warnings against apocalyptic preoccupation and frenzy in 13:5-8 and 21-23 are not meant to weaken the blessed hope of the parousia but rather to encourage watching, looking forward to and praying for the coming Son of Man. The longing for the blessed hope of the appearing of our God and Savior Jesus Chris is not primarily a characteristic of certain fanatics on the fringe of the Christian community but has been, is and will continue to be at  the heart off the Christian communtiy's hope and longing. This is why the Christian community has, is and will continue to pray, 'Your kingdom come' and 'Marana tha' (135; italics mine).

Going to Seminary not an Option? Ashland Seminary and Faithlife Offer a Way Forward

My alma mater, Ashland Theological Seminary, is partnering with Logos/FaithLife and their Mobile Ed curriculum to offer a Graduate Diploma in New Testament studies. This is a brilliant opportunity for those who desire to study from home. Want to study under David deSilva and others? Click here for more info.

Oscar Cullmann Audio

Oscar Cullmann (1902-1999), a Protestant Theologian and New Testament scholar, was a pioneer of the ecumenical movement where his dialogue with the Catholic church began in the 1920's, long before ecumenism became fashionable. Cullman served as Professor of New Testament and Ancient Christian History at the University of Basel from 1938-1972. Some of his principle publications were:

Oscar Cullmann (1902-1999)

Christ and Time: The Primitive Conception of Time (1950); Baptism in the New Testament (1950), and the Christology of the New Testament (1959).

Recently, my good friend, Cliff Kvidahl, notified me that a lecture Cullmann gave at SBTS (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) in 1966 was made available online. Click here for the link to the audio.

John A.T. Robinson Video

My good friend, Cliff Kvidahl, alerted me to a video of John A.T. Robinson (1919-1983), a New Testament scholar and Anglican Bishop of Woolwich, giving an informal lecture, "Gospel of John: Discussion Questions" before students of Southern Seminary in 1982, a year prior to his untimely death from cancer. Robinson was best known for his work Honest to God (1963) and his The Priority of John (1984), where he argued for an early date for John's Gospel, a study that extended his thesis in Redating the New Testament (1976), where he argued that all N.T. writings date prior to 70 AD. To get an idea of his stature as a British Johannine scholar, Richard Bauckham includes him in a dedication in his forthcoming Gospel of Glory (Baker Academic), along with B.F. Westcott, Edwyn Clement Hoskyns, C.H. Dodd, Barnabas Lindars, and C.K. Barrett. Pretty good company, indeed!

John A.T. Robinson (1919-1983)

George Eldon Ladd Audio Lectures

George Eldon Ladd (1911-1982)

George Eldon Ladd, one of the great and tragic figures in the history of New Testament scholarship, was best known for his career at Fuller Seminary (1950-1980) and his magnum opus, A Theology of the New Testament. For an excellent analysis of his life and career, I encourage picking up the excellent volume, A Place at the Table: George Eldon Ladd and the Rehabilitation of Evangelical Scholarship in America by John D'Elia.

I, along with many others I'm sure, have long wondered what Ladd may have sounded like when delivering a lecture. I am happy to say that the Boyce Digital Library has nine audio lectures dated to 1982, the year of Ladd's death. The lectures, focusing on the Kingdom of God and eschatology, were the hallmarks of Ladd's scholarship.

Click here to access and enjoy listening to one of the greats.

More F.F. Bruce Audio

F.F. Bruce 

Over five years ago, I noted in a post some audio lectures I discovered that featured 1,700 lectures/sermons of scholars and theologians, no one more famous than F.F. Bruce (1910-1990).

Fast forward to the present, and I have discovered seven more audio resources on the Voices for Christ site, which can be accessed here. The provenance of these lectures is unknown, but make no mistake, these are authentic and one of them even features a Q&A with the audience!

Enjoy!