A feather in your theological cap.
The personal blog of pastor, grammarian, and runner Brent Niedergall
Filled By or Filled With?
There’s a chapter in J. Oswald Sanders’ classic book Spiritual Leadership originally called “The Indispensable Requirement,” but later revised to “Above All Else.” According to Sanders, “Spiritual leadership requires Spirit-filled people” (77). He views it as...
Voice and Mood: A Linguistic Approach
Voice and Mood: A Linguistic Approach by David L. Mathewson is the first book out in Baker Academic’s Essentials of Biblical Greek Grammar series edited by Stanley E. Porter. This book covers two important areas of NT Greek study that are often overlooked. Part 1 is...
Biblical Studies and the Internet Archive
Here's a helpful tip that might help when you're looking for a book. A quick stop at the Internet Archive can save you a trip to the library or money. It might even provide access to a book you can't seem to track down. Last week alone, I was able to consult Gregory...
Bad Advertising in Ecclesiastes?
https://youtu.be/bpp3ycMvQd0 That fine feat of advertising sells us on Mentos. Solomon’s story in Ecclesiastes 9:13–15, as a testimonial to the benefit of wisdom, isn't really selling us on wisdom. I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed...
Prepositions
Prepositions are words that tell us how one thing in space relates to another. They can be used to explain spatial relations in the physical realm as demonstrated in these three examples: The mime is in Sweden. The book is on the Volkswagen. The pig is under the...
John’s Conversations
Conversation has been compared to a game of catch. Just as people take turns throwing a ball back and forth, people also take turns speaking. Many people converse in the Gospel of John: Jesus, John the Baptist, Andrew, Philip, Nathanael, Mary, Nicodemus, the Samaritan...
The Septuagint Song
Mac Lynch and I wrote "The Septuagint Song" in 2017. Evan Caddy has created a wonderful video in which he sings it with Riley Irwin on piano. They really outdid themselves. Plus, Evan wrote two new verses. I've included the video below with the original sheet...
Suffering and Strong Drink
After twenty years of American military presence in Afghanistan, the Taliban took over the country in a week. Analysts point to corruption as a leading cause for the former government's lightning-quick demise. The watching world now fully expects human rights abuses...
In Praise of Solid People
I meant to post this yesterday in observance of Labor Day. Hearing Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" caused me to remember "In Praise of Solid People" by C. S. Lewis. Below you will find an excerpt of what is one of the better poems Lewis wrote in his...
The Curse in the Colophon: Chapter 1
Note: Fans of New Testament textual criticism and manuscripts might be interested to know Edgar J. Goodspeed wrote a novel on these subjects entitled The Curse of the Colophon. (I've written about this unique book before in a post you can find here). Unfortunately,...