A feather in your theological cap.
The personal blog of pastor, grammarian, and runner Brent Niedergall
Uprooted Trees and Rooted Faith
One of Aesop’s Fables tells of a mighty oak defeated by the wind and uprooted from where it had stood for decades. The fallen oak, lying in disgrace, wonders how a tree as great as itself could be uprooted while all the weak and slender reeds surrounding him still...
Labels and a Lost Tract
The only known manuscript of The Epistle to Diognetus, which may have then been the earliest gospel tract in existence, was destroyed in 1870 during a European war. Thankfully, a couple of careful folks had copied down the text of this manuscript well before its...
How to Read an Entry in The Cambridge Greek Lexicon
I’ve found an opportunity to open my new copy of The Cambridge Greek Lexicon for a smell and a gander. (Seriously, give your copy a whiff and see if you don't detect a distinct scent.) The purpose of this post is to show what an entry looks like and offer a case study...
Reading While Black
A Book Review Although I now live in a town that’s 64% Black or African American and only 30% White, it still feels strange that our local churches don’t even remotely reflect these demographics. Not even close. I admit I gave little thought to skin color and...
Book Review—The Shepherd of Hermas: A Literary, Historical, and Theological Handbook
Jonathon Lookadoo The Shepherd of Hermas: A Literary, Historical, and Theological Handbook T&T Clark: London, 2021. Pp. xii + 295. Hardcover. $115.00 ISBN: 978-0-5676-979102 Amazon Rick Brannan Independent Scholar https://rickbrannan.com The Shepherd of...
Frogs, an Eagle, Monkeys, and Giving: The Lexical Intersection Between the Greek New Testament and Aesop’s Fables
BDAG, the standard Greek lexicon for reading the New Testament, has somewhere around 180 references to the Greek text of Aesop’s Fables. You’re probably familiar with some of Aesop’s Fables—for instance, maybe the one about the thirsty crow who fills a pitcher with...
Bauer, Danker, Arndt, Gingrich, and Aesop
Did you know BDAG occasionally cites Aesop’s Fables? In this post, I’ll explain how you can benefit from this useful repository of evidence. Let me begin with a word of warning. The numbering system for the fables is unsystematic and BDAG induces some struggle...
Historical Theology for the Church
A Book Review What is historical theology? According to Historical Theology for the Church, a new textbook from B&H Academic and edited by Jason G. Duesing and Nathan A. Finn, “historical theology is the study of the development of Christian doctrine and...
A Theology of Backgammon
Ever play backgammon before? You know the game that folds up into a handy little briefcase? It has all the points on the board, and the checkers, and the dice. It’s a popular game in our house. It’s my favorite game. I’m no master or anything. I haven’t studied the...
Bad Moms of the Bible
Counting up women in the Bible we would consider good mothers is easy. But what about the bad ones? You may know some Bad Girls of the Bible, but who are some bad moms of the Bible? Herodias was bad. She told her dancing daughter to ask for the head of John the...