books

Read my notes on Chapter Four: A Letter From Christ here. Paul’s Readings of Scripture Hays boldly says that “for Paul, original intention is not a primary hermeneutical concern. […] Eschatological meaning subsumes original sense” (p.156). Paul “reads Scripture primarily as a narrative of divine election and promise […] the Torah is neither superseded nor nullified but transformed into a witness of the gospel” (p.157). One problem with this is that hermeneutical freedom becomes a license to misinterpret....

Read my notes on Chapter Three: Intertextual Echo in Romans here. 2 Cor. 3:1-4:6 - A Reading Hays identifies echoes of the letter-spirit dichotomy in Jer. 38:33 and Ezek. 36:26 which combines the picture of God writing on the heart with fleshly hearts replacing stony ones (p.129). For Hays, the letter-spirit opposition is between “inscription” and “enfleshment.” The point is that Paul’s ministry “centres not on texts but on the Spirit-empowered transformation of human community” (p....

Read my notes on Chapter Two: Intertextual Echo in Romans here. Ecclesiocentric Hermeneutics Hays is adamant that rather than a christocentric interpretation of the OT, Paul primarily sees the church as “the goal of God’s redemptive action” (p.84). “What Paul finds in Scripture, above all else, is a prefiguration of the church as the people of God” (p.85). In line with this, there are two important questions to consider:...

Read my notes on Chapter One: The Puzzle of Pauline Hermeneutics here. In this chapter, Hays focuses on two aspects of God’s righteousness: His covenant faithfulness (Rom. 1:16-17) Judgement on the wicked (Rom. 1:18-3:20) This is important because Hays identifies one of Paul’s main focus in Romans as addressing “the problem of God’s saving righteousness in relation to Israel.” (p.34) The first passage Hays examines in depth is Rom....

I bought this on Kindle many years back and finally got to reading it in preparation for a workshop with my GG on reading the Old Testament. I’ve told myself that I should be less critical, so I’d give this book 3.5 out of 5. It is excellent as an introduction, but I wouldn’t recommend it for those already familiar with the subject, or for those looking for specific principles or methods....

I recently began reading Richard B. Hays' Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul. In another effort to consolidate my understanding, I’m planning to write my summaries and thoughts on each chapter. This is on Chapter One: The Puzzle of Pauline Hermeneutics. Hays traces two main critical approaches to Pauline hermeneutics. The first approach is to be dismissive of Paul’s hermeneutics, “because [this approach] see[s] his reading of Scripture as periphetal to the core of his religious experience....

A good handbook on news writing, but with guidelines, personal tips and examples that go beyond its scope. This sentence probably sums up Rene Cappon’s philosophy: By and large, though, the most effective journalistic tone in the ’90s would seem to be the plain and unadorned. (p.58) I learned that being concise and clear is extremely important for all forms of communication. This short book is full of examples and Cappon’s wit....

Introduction Most evangelical biblical theologies rightly focus on narrative. In my circle, the most popular approach is Graeme Goldsworthy’s focus on the Kingdom of God, which gained a wide audience thanks to Vaughan Roberts' God’s Big Picture. Others have cropped up, including James Hamilton’s God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology, Tom Schreiner’s The King in His Beauty: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments. The topic has fascinated me, and a few weeks ago, I finished G....

Introduction I picked up Relationships: A Mess Worth Making by Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp (ISBN: 9780977080762) as I prepared for a church Growth Group study session. Lane and Tripp are well respected in evangelical circles and I had read their How People Change book a few years ago. However, over the years, I haven’t spent much time reading “Christian Living” books. The main reason being that I have a lot of books I’d like to read and not enough time....

Introduction My “productivity” journey really began sometime in 2019 shortly after the Malaysian government declared a nationwide lockdown, called a Movement Control Order (MCO), in March. I went home and struggled (like many) to juggle manage my time and energy well. Since then, I’ve read books and articles, listened to podcasts, watched videos, talked to others to try to build systems and processes to be a good steward of my time....