Associate Professor of New Testament, Tyndale Seminary
What Is a Canon? The word “canon” comes from the Greek term kanon meaning ‘reed.’ The ancients often cut off long reeds to use for measuring things, like a primitive ruler. So kanon came to be used as a metaphor for any standard. A kanon is what you compare things to, checking to see whether…
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There are quite a few Greek dictionaries (or lexica) floating around, but many of them are not particularly useful. Several of the dictionaries still being sold are unreliable. Others are little more than lists of a few common English translations for each Greek word. They do not provide a balanced definition or a sense of…
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I’m happy to announce that my article in has finally been published in Journal of Theological Studies: “‘Your Reasoning Worship’: ΛΟΓΙΚΟΣ in Romans 12:1 and Paul’s Ethics of Rational Deliberation.” There’s a free-access copy of it available here: https://academic.oup.com/jts/article/69/2/500/5100745?guestAccessKey=0e7b74b1-db0f-48d7-b746-d4067a3c6fff. (I’m allowed to post that link on my own blog, but please don’t share the link on social…
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A friend of mine recently asked me why, in Scripture, Peter is forgiven by Jesus but Judas isn’t. Peter’s denial of Jesus during the trial scene is a betrayal, just like Judas’ conspiracy with the priestly aristocracy. Does Peter just “get a pass” because he is part of Jesus’ inner circle, chosen to be a…
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A friend asked recently whether there is biblical evidence for the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory. This is the idea that between heaven and hell there is a third place some people find themselves after death. Purgatory is said to be a place for purification. The soul suffers there, but not endlessly. Her sufferings burn…
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This article was first published in the e-journal Missio Dei. That journal’s web-site has unfortunately been taken down temporarily while it recovers from a malware attack. In the meantime, I’m making this piece available here. Of Grant and Judy We live, in the greater Toronto area, at the centre of the world’s most diverse meeting…
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In the last couple of weeks I’ve heard several Christian friends lamenting how Canada is sliding away from “Christian values.” I’ve started to hear a nostalgia for the supposedly Christian past, a nostalgia that until now hasn’t been as common in Canada as it has been in the US. For each of my friends, this…
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Here’s another of my talks from St. Paul’s-on-the-Hill Anglican Church back in February. In this one I was starting off a series on John’s Gospel by giving a quick overview of the book and its message.
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Every term, not long before final papers are due, my students in the NT survey course are thrown a curve ball. We come to the letter to the Ephesians and the so-called Pastoral Letters (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus). Most of my students discover for the first time how many scholars doubt these letters…
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For many Christian students, the first exposure to academic biblical studies comes as a shock. Our faith was formed and nurtured with a simple view of the Bible. It seemed clear and we could trust it. We want to dig deeper, so we enroll in a course at seminary or university. But instead of just…
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