Peter Enns's Blog, page 5

Does the Old Testament predict Easter? (No. Actually, it does more.)

In my course on Genesis this spring at Eastern, we are reading an article by Gary Anderson (Notre Dame), “Joseph and the Passion of Our Lord” (pp. 198-215 in The Art of Reading Scripture). It’s a perfect fit for my class, not only because the article coincides with the Lent/Easter season but because it models how [Read More...]

open letter to the apostle Paul from a concerned reader

Dear Paul, First of all, thank you for writing so much of the New Testament.  Thank you for also teaching inerrancy, not only of the Bible you have (the Old Testament) but of your own letters and those other parts of the New Testament that hadn’t even been written yet! The actual reason for my letter [Read More...]

3 Reasons Human Jesus is Important

by Jared Byas This week Christians celebrate the crazy idea that God became human. While affirming this in theory, my evangelical upbringing was very uncomfortable with the idea of Human Jesus. We had to admit Jesus was human but that didn’t mean we had to like it. After all, God Jesus is where the magic [Read More...]

stories work for “skeptical believers”

I just came across Daniel Taylor’s 2013 book The Skeptical Believer: Telling Stories to Your Inner Atheist. Many of you are likely familiar with Taylor’s The Myth of Certainty: The Reflective Christian & the Risk of Commitment, first published in 1986. Anyway, I haven’t read all of The Skeptical Believer. For my tastes it’s a bit long (almost [Read More...]

another article on inerrantist biblical scholars and “protective strategies”

I recently posted, with some commentary, an article published by Stephen L. Young on inerrantist biblical scholars employing “protective strategies” and “privileging insider claims” in their publications. In that article, Young, “examines how Evangelical Christian inerrantist scholars theorize their biblical scholarship and its relation to the broader academy, highlighting (1) their self-representation as true academics, and (2) [Read More...]

Is Tony Campolo a Bad Parent According to Proverbs?

by Jared Byas Last week Tony Campolo wrote about his son’s new position as humanist chaplain at the University of Southern California. What was most disheartening for me was this sentence: “Since that Christianity Today article, several of my evangelical friends have quoted Proverbs 22:6, contending that scripture validates the claim that if I had taught [Read More...]

one big reason why so many young people are giving up on the Bible–and their faith

This one comes from the heart. I’m speaking from my experience here–no polls or surveys, though I know what I say here lines up with those I’ve seen over the years. As is well known, the trend among young people raised in conservative churches is to leave their Bible, and often their faith, behind. In my [Read More...]

here’s my latest podcast–to change your life and bring world peace

Here is my third podcast with Luke Norsworthy over at his excellent podcast Newsworthy with Norsworthy. Herein, I pontificate on many subjects, some known to me. Actually I forgot what we discussed until I read Luke’s description on his site: Dr. Peter Enns returns to the show to discuss the Five Words that Define Pete, accepting not always [Read More...]

“aha” moments (19): Jared Byas

Today’s post is part of our continuing yet intermittent “aha” moment series, this from Jared Byas. Byas (BA in Philosophy from Liberty University and an MAR from Westminster Theological Seminary) was in pastoral ministry from 2004 until 2011. He then left to teach Philosophy & Ethics at Grand Canyon University and co-launch MyOhai, a collective of creatives and [Read More...]

do inerrantist biblical scholars employ “protective strategies” and “privilege insider claims”? — a new article you’ll want to read.

Stephen L. Young (ABD doctoral student, Brown University, Religions in the Ancient Mediterranean), recently published and article (the first of two) “exposing” inerrantist biblical scholarship: “Protective Strategies and the Prestige of the ‘Academic’: A Religious Studies and Practice Theory Redescription of Evangelical Inerrantist Scholarship.” (the entire article can be accessed here.) “Exposing” is my word, since [Read More...]