Video from Sacred Words Conference

Last month, the Phoenix Seminary Text & Canon Institute was pleased to host its inaugural Sacred Words church conference. With over 500 who registered, attendees came from as far away as Illinois and Alabama to learn from respected evangelical scholars about how we got the Bible.

Christians and skeptics alike heard from Dr. Peter Gentry on the textual history of the Old Testament followed by talks from four breakout speakers that included Dr. Darian Lockett, Dr. Jeff Cate, Dr. Anthony Ferguson, and Timothy Mitchell. Saturday began with Dr. Stephen Dempster’s talk on the canon of the Old Testament followed by Dr. Daniel B. Wallace on the transmission of the New Testament. The event closed with a panel discussion with the plenary speakers and the Institute directors.

All the videos from the main auditorium are now online and can be viewed at Institute's YouTube channel.

Inaugural Text & Canon Institute Colloquium

The Phoenix Seminary Text & Canon Institute is pleased to announce its first academic colloquium November 18–19, 2020. Drawing together scholars from around the world, the Origen as Philologist Colloquium will explore the rich history of one of Christianity's greatest textual scholars, Origen of Alexandria (184–253).

Well known for his theological work, Origen was also a prolific textual scholar. His six-columned edition of the Old Testament known as the Hexapla inspired the preparation of subsequent scholarly editions of the Greek scriptures that impacted the text and exegesis of the Scriptures in their Greek and Hebrew forms across the Roman empire. Hosted on the Phoenix Seminary campus, this event follows 25 years after Oxford’s Rich Seminar sparked a renaissance in Origen's textual scholarship and follows the first publication in a new edition of Origen's Hexepla fragments by Dr. John Meade.

This conference is part of the seminary's larger commitment to scholarship with a shepherd's heart and fulfills the Text & Canon Institute's mission to encourage research and publication of scholarly work on the history of the canon and the text of the Bible. This colloquium in the Fall of 2020 complements the Institute's lay-directed Sacred Words conference happening in early 2020.

For more information on the colloquium, including speakers, visit ps.edu/origen.

Origen as Philologist Colloquium logo

Announcing Sacred Words:
History of the Bible Conference

Next year, the Text & Canon Institute plans to host its inaugural, church conference, Sacred Words: History of the Bible Conference on February 21–22 at First Baptist Church Tempe. Learn from internationally known speakers about how the Bible has been copied, collected, and confessed as God’s trustworthy and sacred words.

The Bible is the best-selling book of all time and its influence on Western culture is beyond compare. But how did this collection of ancient books written and then copied over millennia become the Bible we now know? Why were some books included and not others? How has copying by hand affected the text of our Bibles?

To answer these questions, the TCI has assembled a team of Bible scholars to be our plenary speakers: Dr. Daniel Wallace (Dallas Theological Seminary), Dr. Peter Gentry (The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary), and Dr. Stephen Dempster (Crandall University); and an excellent slate of breakout presentations by Dr. Darian Lockett (Biola University), Dr. Jeff Cate (California Baptist University), Dr. Anthony Ferguson (Gateway Seminary and California Baptist University), and Timothy Mitchell (PhD Student at University of Birmingham), talks that provide further detail about how we got our Bible and why we can trust it.

We expect the venue to sell out, so register soon at the early bird rate of $20 through October 31.

Congratulations to the Class of 2019!

MAYDAY Symposium on Anxiety, Depression, and Suicide

Last year in the United States, 1.3 million people attempted suicide and 9.8 million seriously considered it (SAMHSA). It's estimated that 90% of them struggled with anxiety and depression (NAMI).

In partnership with Phoenix Seminary, the Love and Transformation Institute is hosting the MAYDAY Symposium: The Epidemic Rise of Anxiety, Depression, and Suicide on May 18th, 2019 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. at Phoenix Seminary. The cost is $50 in-person with lunch included.

The focus will be on both cultural and clinical aspects of the growing problem to produce something tangible that will help those who work with people.

Learn more and register here.

Dr. J. V. Fesko to Lecture at Phoenix Seminary this Month

Dr. J. V. Fesko will lecture on "Common Notions & the Light of Nature in the Westminster Confession" as part of the Phoenix Seminary Lecture Series on Wednesday, February 20 at 10:00 am. The lecture is open to the public, and all from the seminary and wider community are invited to attend. Dr. Fesko is Professor of Systematic Theology and Historical Theology at Westminster Seminary California. Here is more from his faculty page:

Dr. Fesko has taught at Westminster Seminary California since 2009. He is a minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. He served in church planting and pastoral ministry for more than ten years. His research interests include the integration of biblical and systematic theology, soteriology, and early modern Reformed theology. Dr. Fesko’s most recent publications include, Death in Adam, Life in ChristSpirit of the AgeThe Trinity and the Covenant of RedemptionThe Covenant of RedemptionThe Theology of the Westminster StandardsSongs of a Suffering King, and Beyond Calvin: Union with Christ and Justification in Early Modern Reformed Theology. His scholarly essays have appeared in various books and journals including PerichoresisReformed Theological ReviewJournal of Reformed TheologyChurch History and Religious CultureCalvin Theological JournalTrinity JournalJournal of the Evangelical Theological Society, and the Westminster Theological Journal.

On Tuesday, February 19 at 6–8pm, at ASU West campus in room UCB 241, Dr. Fesko will also lecture on "The Light of Nature and Natural Theology."  This lecture is also open to the public, and all are encouraged to attend. Contact Dr. Owen Anderson, Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies, at oanderson@asu.edu for more information about this lecture.

Video: A Night Honoring Wayne Grudem

Last month, Phoenix Seminary hosted a special evening to honor Dr. Wayne Grudem, Distinguished Research Professor Theology and Biblical Studies. Below is the video which includes an overview of his life and work, Dr. Grudem sharing key Bible verses that have marked his ministry, and testimonies from those influenced by his ministry.

Dr. Will Kynes to Lecture at Phoenix Seminary in February

We're excited to announce that Dr. Will Kynes will be giving a lecture in the Chapel at Phoenix Seminary on his latest OUP monograph: An Obituary for "Wisdom Literature": The Birth, Death, and Intertextual Reintegration of a Biblical Corpus. Students and the general public in and around the Phoenix area are invited to attend the lecture on February 4th at 10:00 a.m. No registration required. We hope to see you there.

John and his Paschal Gospel: A Talk with Dr. John Behr

You are cordially invited to a talk, “John and his Paschal Gospel,” with the Very Rev. Dr. John Behr, Father Georges Florovsky Distinguished Professor of Patristics at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary.

John Behr

The church fathers recognized that John’s gospel presented Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of Passover. Come hear an expert interpreter of Scripture and church historian unpack some of this mystery as we begin the journey towards Easter.

For more of our esteemed speaker’s story, visit his profile.

Details

When: January 11, from 1:00 – 2:00.

Where: Phoenix Seminary Chapel, 7901 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale

Hosted by Dr. John DelHousaye, Associate Professor of New Testament and Spiritual Formation.

Please RSVP to jdelhousaye@ps.edu

The Last Days of Jesus: An Interview with Dr. Eckhard Schnabel

Next month, Phoenix Seminary is very pleased to be hosting Dr. Eckhard Schnabel to our campus to teach a January term. Dr. Schnabel is the Mary French Rockefeller Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Seminary and his course in January will focus on the subject of his most recent book, Jesus in Jerusalem: The Last Days (Eerdmans). The book and course offer a detailed look at the persons, places, times, and events mentioned in the Gospel accounts of Jesus’s last week. In preparation for his visit, we asked Dr. Schnabel a few questions about the subject.


What led you to write this current book and who are you hoping to reach with it?

For years I had been interested in Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin presided over by Caiaphas and before the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate. I had compiled primary sources which made its way into the publication, written with David Chapman who presents material on crucifixion, entitled The Trial and Crucifixion of Jesus: Texts and Commentary (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2015). I discovered that there were many misconceptions about what happened, and became convinced that a thorough study should include an analysis of all events beginning with Jesus’ anointing in Bethany.

How is this new book different from other books on the last week of Jesus such as Raymond Brown’s well-known, two-volume Death of the Messiah or, at the popular level, Andreas Köstenberger and Justin Taylor’s The Final Days of Jesus?

Some books on Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem are short and selective on what they comment. Brown’s work is thorough, but its combination of source-critical, redactional, philological, and theological explorations makes it difficult for pastors to benefit from the wealth of information.

The publisher’s description says that the book shows that “Jesus’s passion, death, and resurrection can be understood historically as well as from a faith perspective.” Can you explain that a bit for us: what is the relationship between history and faith when it comes to these fundamental events in the life of Jesus?

This description comes from the publisher, not from me: I only saw it when the first published copy of the book arrived on my text. In the introductory chapter I comment on the fact that the testimony of eyewitnesses who were Jesus followers does not disqualify them from being trustworthy sources for the Gospel authors’ descriptions of Jesus’ life, trial, death, and resurrection, benefiting from the work of Richard Bauckham. But the book was not written to demonstrate this. The focus of the book is on explaining the Gospel texts, which by necessity requires a historical focus. In the last chapter I explore, albeit briefly, the theological significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection for Jesus’ followers.

Your book engages both the Biblical text and recent archeological evidence. I wonder what unique insight the latter brought to bear on the former as you worked through the material.

We can understand the Gospel texts on Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem without topographical and archaeological knowledge of first century Jerusalem. But such knowledge helps readers to visualize some of the events. E.g., knowledge of the location of the Lithostrotos and the Praetorium, where Pilate sentenced Jesus to die by crucifixion, and knowledge the location of Golgotha, indicates that Jesus’ walk to Golgotha was less than half a mile. Also, the information given by local guides to modern visitors to Jerusalem is not always well informed; I wanted to help readers understand what we know and what is hypothetical when it comes to identifying sites in Jerusalem connected with Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem.

In doing the research for this book, is there something you found especially significant theologically in terms of understanding Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection?

There is no doubt that for the four Gospel authors, Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem, culminating in his death and resurrection, is the foundation and the center of their faith and of the proclamation in the earliest churches. They devote about a third of their text to this one week. It seems a pity that many studies focus on the Gospel authors and their redactional or narrative interests, rather than on Jesus, about whom they write.

When we approach the passion week in the coming year, what advice would you give to pastors who find themselves preaching these familiar texts yet again? Are there any common misconceptions they should avoid? Any points they should absolutely not miss?

A very common misconception is the notion that the proceedings in the Sanhedrin which led to Jesus’ conviction was a kangaroo court with a predetermined outcome. The details of the Gospel texts show that this was not the case. Caiaphas presided over a regular, albeit unusual trial (justified by the fact that Jesus was tried as a mesit, a seducer of the people); he did what he thought needed to be done, on the basis of the fact that he rejected Jesus’ claims – which were not fully understood even by Jesus’ disciples until after the resurrection!

An important point that preachers should not miss is the fact that Jesus was not only willing to die – he wanted to fulfill God’s mission, re-confirmed at Gethsemane: he wanted to die. This is why he did not defend himself, and this is why, when Caiaphas challenged him directly about his convictions concerning his own person, he gave the presiding high priest what he wanted: a reason to convict on a death penalty charge. Jesus’ death was not a miscarriage of justice which could have been avoided; Jesus’ death was not “plan B” on account of Israel’s rejection of his claims, but “plan A” all along.

How do you hope this book will be used by students, pastors, and ministry leaders?

It is my hope that students will use for book in exegesis classes to gain a better understanding of Jesus’  last week in Jerusalem, and I trust that pastors, Sunday school teachers, evangelists, and missionaries who preach several sermons on the relevant Gospel texts connected with Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem learn from my analysis and gain a deeper understanding what happened and why it happened, impressed Jesus’ obedience to God’s mission and with the centrality of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

You have been remarkably productive as a New Testament scholar.  What can you share with us about how you go about research, writing, and publication?

It is difficult to answer this question. I enjoy teaching, and I regard research and writing as part of the responsibility of scholars training men and women for Gospel ministry. Some projects I was asked to take up, but most I was able to initiate myself. I don’t have hobbies, I don’t follow sports, and I am not active on social media, all of which seems to save me a lot of time. The Lord has granted me health, perhaps reinforced by many years of long-distance running. My wife Barbara has been incredibly supportive, which has not only been a personal blessing but also an encouragement for writing.


About Dr. Schnabel

Dr. Eckhard Schnabel (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is the Mary French Rockefeller Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Seminary. A noted New Testament scholar with over 30 years of experience in teaching, ministry, research, and scholarship, he has written more than ten books in both German and English, including the two-volume Early Christian MissionPaul the Missionary, and 40 Questions About the End Times.