Last Saturday I participated in my very first formal debate. The title of the event was: “Does the Bible teach that Jesus Christ literally preexisted his birth?” Those who are regular readers of the blog or those in possession of my latest book The Son of God know that I regard the ‘preexistence of Jesus’ within the … Continue reading My recent debate on the nature of Jesus Christ’s preexistence in the Bible
Here is a recent interview I had with Dr. Dale Tuggy regarding how passages which speak of Jesus’ preexistence are often misunderstood. I offer plausible solutions to such passages. Hope you enjoy.
I was recently interviewed on the Trinities podcast (http://trinities.org/blog/) regarding my recent study on how Jews articulated preexistence. Hope you enjoy!
This is another installment of my continuing study regarding how Jews understood the concept of ‘preexistence.’ In today’s post we will be examining a passage within the pseudepigraphal document known as 2 Baruch. This work was penned after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in the year 70 CE, with one of its key themes … Continue reading Defining Jewish Preexistence – 2 Baruch 4:1-6
In today’s installment of our inquiry into the manner in which Jews understood the elusive term ‘preexistence,’ we will examine a passage from 2 Kings. This passage appears in the midst of the episode where the Assyrian king Sennacherib’s utters a threat toward the kingdom ruled by Hezekiah. The Judean king, however, sincerely prays to … Continue reading Defining Jewish Preexistence – 2 Kings 19:25
Having already looked at some of the extra-biblical evidence for ‘preexistence’ (and having concluded this Jewish preexistence was maintained within the plans and purposes of God rather than literally existing) it is now prudent to look at some of the biblical passages where this theme occurs. To quickly recap our findings from the previous five … Continue reading Defining Jewish Preexistence – Jeremiah 1:5
In today’s installment of our inquiry into how Jews spoke and wrote concerning the illusive subject of ‘preexistence’ we will examine a passage within the Prayer of Joseph. The Prayer of Joseph appears in the collection of texts called the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. This document was composed in the first century CE, written in either Aramaic or … Continue reading Defining Jewish Preexistence – part 5
I have received a lot of good feedback regarding my previous three installments (here, here, and here) of this inquiry into how Jews articulated the concept of ‘preexistence’ in written form. Today’s post will look at a passage in the Babylonian Talmud. The Talmud is the rabbinic commentaries of the Mishnah collected into written form. … Continue reading Defining Jewish Preexistence – part 4
This is the third post in my series concerning how Jews understood and articulated the concept of ‘preexistence.’ I have already surveyed texts in both Genesis Rabba and in the Targum on Zechariah. Today’s post will look at a noteworthy passage within the Testament of Moses. This document is located in modern editions of the … Continue reading Defining Jewish Preexistence – part 3
In yesterday’s installment of my inquiry into the ways that Jews perceived the concept of ‘preexistence’ I examined two passages within Genesis Rabba. Today I want to look at one of the targum readings from the biblical book of Zechariah. A targum is an Aramaic paraphrase/translation of the Hebrew text. The targum readings had their … Continue reading Defining Jewish Preexistence – part 2
I apologize to my faithful and loyal readers for my months of silence. I have been in the process of contributing to a book regarding three different views of Christology (in addition to my full teaching load of undergraduate courses). Rest assured, this blog is alive and well. You will seeing more of me in … Continue reading Defining Jewish Preexistence – part 1
As many throughout the blogosphere continue to wrestle with the new Bart Ehrman book, this has been a great opportunity to reexamine our interpretive presuppositions. Although it is admittedly difficult to ascertain the precise dating of comments situated in the Babylonian Talmud, this comment concerning the preexistence of the Messiah’s name is worth investigating: Seven … Continue reading Preexistence of the Messiah in the Talmud and its Implications for Christology
John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” John 1:15 (cf. 1:30) The phrase translated as “existing before” is protos mou (πρῶτός μου). It is grammatically ambiguous, referring to either: … Continue reading Preexistence or rank? (John 1:15, 30)
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I have been thoroughly enjoying Daniel Kirk’s newest book, A Man Attested by God: The Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels. Overall his thesis is proving to be extremely persuasive as well as a welcome addition to the many scholarly voices on Christology these days. Today I will discuss the … Continue reading Book Review – “A Man Attested by God” by Daniel Kirk (part 8 – “Son of God” in Matthew)
Here is post number five containing my review and thoughts on Daniel Kirk’s newest volume, A Man Attested by God: The Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels. Today we will examine Kirk’s arguments regarding the noteworthy Son of Man in Daniel 7 and later extrabiblical sources. I will also comment briefly on his conclusions for … Continue reading Book Review – “A Man Attested by God” by Daniel Kirk (part 5 – the Son of Man)
In this third post wherein I provide my review and thoughts on Daniel Kirk’s A Man Attested by God: The Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels I will focus on the section entitled “Kings in Worship and Rule.” In this part of the book Kirk lays out the evidence demonstrating that the Israelite king was … Continue reading Book Review – “A Man Attested by God” (part 3 – Kings in Worship and Rule)
Dale Tuggy of trinities.org interviewed me after my debate on Jesus’ preexistence. The recording of the interview can be accessed below. This was a good interview because it gave me an opportunity to clarify my stance on Jesus as the embodiment of Lady Wisdom, especially in 1 Cor 1:30; 8:6b; and 10:4. We also talk … Continue reading My Post-Debate Interview with Dale Tuggy
I had the privilege of attending last night’s debate on “Did Jesus Exist?” between two well-versed debaters – Dr. Craig Evans and Dr. Richard Carrier. When I learned of this debate, I wanted to take advantage of listening to Carrier, who is probably the world’s foremost mythicist scholar. In other words, I felt that this … Continue reading My response to the “Did Jesus Exist?” debate between Craig Evans and Richard Carrier
In today’s review of Ehrman’s new book on christology, I will examine his arguments regarding the Johannine Prologue (John 1:1-18). One of Ehrman’s primary theses is that the Synoptic Gospels have a low christology while the Fourth Gospel as, in his words, “an extremely high Christology.” One gets the sense that Ehrman is trying to … Continue reading Review of Bart Ehrman’s book ‘How Jesus Became God’ (part 10 – Johannine Prologue)
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