Author: wilrens
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Creative Meditations Using Stations
My first encounter with creative meditations in the form of stations was in 2010 when we came to Spain to do the Leadership Development Course (LDC). On our first full day together, after an impressive welcoming breakfast, we had an hour or so to go around a number of stations that had been set up…
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Six Reasons to Read the Book of Numbers
When Was the Last Time You Read the Book of Numbers? I read the book to write this letter, of course, just so that I could have Uncle Sam point his finger at you! Seriously though, this book is worth reading. Whoever decided to publish it under the title “Numbers” did not understand much about…
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The Power of Story: How Paul Quotes Deuteronomy 30 in Romans 10
Things I Am Learning from N.T. Wright’s Colossal Book on Paul, Part 2 In Romans 10, Paul contrasts works-based righteousness with righteousness based on faith, illustrating both by quoting a verse from the Torah. For righteousness based on works, he cites Leviticus 18:5 (ESV): You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a…
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How to Study (and Teach) a Big Book
Here is the bottom line right at the start: to successfully study a big book you have to make it a priority and allocate time to it, or it is not going to happen. But don’t worry, this is not a “you ought to… (do this; do that; do more)” kind of letter/post. Instead, I…
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The Emperor’s New Clothes: The Imperial Cult in the Roman Empire
Things I Am Learning from N. T. Wright’s Colossal Book on Paul, Part 1 I started reading Paul and the Faithfulness of God during the Christmas break and now, more than 10 months later, I am still at it. But I am learning a lot on the way, and this month I want to start sharing…
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Who Is “I” in Romans 7? And: A Fresh Look at Romans 1-8
Paul’s epistle to the Romans is a book I taught quite a bit during my early years in the School of Biblical Studies, but not much at all in later years. In the course of a school one cannot, alas!, teach every great book in the Bible oneself; other staff want their share of teaching,…
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115 Articles: Which Ten Are Most Helpful? (Reading the IVP Dictionary 4)
Yeah! Mission accomplished. I managed to complete my reading project in the ten weeks I gave myself for it. This will therefore be my final report. So I managed to accomplish the mission; but did I fulfil my objectives? As stated in the initial letter on the project, they were: I can only speak for…
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From “Isaiah” to “Sin” in 360 Pages (Reading the IVP Dictionary 3)
This is another “extra edition”, to keep you up to date on my reading project: the IVP Dictionary of the Old Testament Prophets. The short version is included in the title: from “Isaiah” to “Sin” in 360 pages. With about 200 pages left to go, I am on track to finish on time, two weeks…
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8 Things I Learned from Living in a Mediterranean Climate
Since I am still in the middle of my reading project, and since the book I am reading has turned out to be rather heavy stuff, I looked for something that is a little lighter for this month’s letter. So I am taking a break from scholarship on the prophets. Instead, I would like to…
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The Prophetic Books: Cut and Paste? (Reading the IVP Dictionary 2)
The good news is: I am on track with my reading, even a little bit ahead of schedule. There is bad news too, and there is a change of plan because of it (see below). Reading this dictionary, I am beginning to accumulate a fair bit of frustration with the contributing scholars. A number of…
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My First Special Project: I Am Reading the IVP Dictionary of the Old Testament Prophets (IVP 1)
Finally! I have been waiting to do this for a long time. And I am inviting you to be part of the learning experience. I will summarize the framework for this project below, but this four-minute video does a better job than written words can do, so please watch it and then come back to…
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Hungry? Come and Eat! (Isaiah Says It’s on the House!)
What Do You Do to Feed Yourself Spiritually? There is an unfortunate downside to asking this question. Too many of us respond with feelings of guilt. In a way, this is a strange reaction. Most of us will have dinner tonight. Let’s assume that for some reason we forget or simply don’t get around to…
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Zechariah 9-14: Does It Make Any Sense?
Once again I have been asked to teach the book of Zechariah in an SBS this month. I suspect because no one else was eager to take it on. I can understand why. This is an intimidating book with some very confusing passages in it. I have often thought it may be the most difficult…
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Six Reasons Why I Am Starting This Blog (and Why You Might Want to Follow It)
Any SBS graduate will recognise the “Why?” question; it is often a good one to ask when engaging with a biblical text. Here, I am asking it in relation to this new platform: why bother? In these first few pre-launch posts I explain my motivation a bit more in detail – for those who are…
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The Lost Value
I first wrote this essay in the autumn of 2002, shortly before I started my Ph.D. project. It describes part of my motivation to go through this, well, ordeal. In the new context of this website it serves a similar purpose: a partial answer to the why question. The text has been slightly edited for…
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Movable Type
The first time I heard this phrase I had no idea what it meant. It refers to Gutenberg’s invention that enabled book printing. As we all know, up until his time, everything had to be copied by hand or by cutting out a wooden template. Gutenberg used single letters that he combined in a frame.…