This post will summarize the main points I would wish to make about how best to understand the seeming tension between Paul’s teaching about the “Seed” in his discussion of faith in Galatians 3. I believe if we are not going to turn much of the testimony of Scripture on its head we should not go down the road suggested by Grover Gunn in his explanation of the passage and his inferences based thereon. In disagreeing with Gunn I am …
Category: Articles
So far we have seen that there is something in the contention that the Apostle Paul does have in mind the covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; promises which include the land given to the nation of Israel, in his theology of the Seed (singular) in Galatians 3. But what is that “something”? Gunn, along with supercessionists generally, believes that because the Genesis passages cited or alluded to by Paul include the land-promise, that the Church – the “New …
I’m going out of town again for a few days, and, what with Christmas and everything, I don’t expect to be posting much till the New Year. I wanted to finish this topic off with this post, but I’ve actually become a little engrossed in it, so expect at least one more effort. Part One here Grover Gunn is sure that Paul is quoting Genesis 13:15-17 and 17:8, 10 from the Septuagint to make his argument in Galatians 3:16. There …
One of my readers (Justin) wrote to ask me if I might say a few things about this post by former Dispensationalist Grover Gunn. I don’t have time or inclination to respond to the whole paper, but I shall at least try to address Justin’s specific problem. Before commenting let me reproduce Justin’s question: The Question: “Hello Paul. Thanks indeed for this. I have a question relating to this. I’m sorry the text I’ve copied below is long. Perhaps when …
Parameters of Meaning – Rule 5: Do not contrast the plain-sense with a supposedly deeper “spiritual” sense. This implies God doesn’t mean what He says and is thus equivocal in His very nature; which in turn incurs heavy penalties philosophically. If a person is going to claim that the revealing God intended to pass on a meaning to men which lies somewhere beneath the surface of the words He chose to communicate with, that person must understand that they are …
At the close of the last post I wrote: I do not know of any Christian who thinks that God will renege on the Noahic Covenant (cf. Isa. 54:9-10). As far as this covenant at least is concerned, no spiritualizing, no symbolic hermeneutics, no typologizing or allegorizing is allowed to derail the literal meaning of God’s covenant promise. What God says is what God means! As I continue with this fourth personal rule I want to build on that crucial …
The Parameters of Meaning: Introduction The Parameters of Meaning: Rule 1 The Parameters of Meaning: Rule 2 The Parameters of Meaning: Rule 3 This personal rule to help decipher the meaning of a Bible text is too lengthy for a single post. As it is so crucial to my outlook I shall have to break it into two parts. Now we come to Rule four. This “rule” is, for me, of preeminent importance. Parameters of Meaning – Rule 4: Any …
Review of Craig S. Keener, The Historical Jesus of the Gospels, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009, xxxviii + 831 pages, hardback. Like many of Craig Keener’s books, this one is thick and generously notated. It is academic though accessible. Keener writes very clearly and with commendable charity to those with whom he disagrees. He always keeps the reader’s interest. In fact, even his many endnotes, all 210 pages of them (!), are often interesting. I had wanted to give this work …
I’m in the thick of things with recording and editing lectures right now. So I hope one or two of these old posts might strike your fancy: Two Meditations: “I waited patiently for the LORD…” “Trust in the LORD with all your heart” Two Reflections on the Christian Outlook: Real Spirituality: What Does The Incarnation Teach Us? The Christian Mind: Sapientia & Scientia Two Essays on Hermeneutics: Contemporary Hermeneutical Theory and Conservative Interpretation Hermeneutical Confusion and Hermeneutical Consistency Two Theological …
Disingenuousness and the Problem of the Obvious Disingenuousness and “Expansion” Language A Disingenuous God? (1) A Disingenuous God? (2) A Disingenuous God (3) Do We Need The New Testament To Understand The Old? Review Hitherto in this set of posts I have called our attention to several issues tied together with the word “disingenuous.” To be disingenuous is to lack candor or sincerity. To be less than forthcoming. I have applied this term to those who, for whatever reason, will …
