Phronesis

Conservatism and Christianity are, for many ring-wing pundits, inextricably linked. There is no way to separate them, we are told, for the values of Christianity undergird the conservative worldview through certain interpretations of the Bible on issues like property rights, the family unit, and the general comprehension of human nature. Fair enough, nothing overtly controversial about that. To each their own meaning, right? But when it comes to issues like creationism and defences of a literal, historical resurrection of Christ, conservatives who aren't full-time apologists tend to find themselves either on the back foot or peddling misinformation to students who are curious about these topics (when certain apologists aren’t doing this anyways). Founder of Turning Point USA , Charlie Kirk, found himself in this situation recently during his ironically titled  Brainwashed Tour  of US campuses. At what I believe is the University of Wisconsin-Madison (don't quote me on that), K...

A new chapter has closed for myself as of a few weeks ago: I have finally concluded my time at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David for my Level 6 in Bible and Theology. Having finally submitted my final piece and subsequently spent a week in Scotland with my beautiful girlfriend for our anniversary, I have had some leeway to reflect on my time at UWTSD, where I'm at in terms of my thought-life right now, and what the future holds for me in the realm of biblical studies and beyond. I would first like to offer my thoughts on the diploma and the my experience as a UWTSD student. I certainly had the best results of my academic life doing this course, with only about 2 or 3 of my essays going under 70/100 which was brilliant. That being said, work and other commitments precluded me from packing my bags and leaving for the tranquil countryside of Lampeter campus in Ceredigion, Wales. I was thus forced to complete my diploma online.  I, like many ill-fortuned students of the early...

That there is a stagnation in New Testament studies (particularly on the historical Jesus) is a given in our current decade. Consensus opinions have been long-cemented and aspects of the field that have been dropped as antiquated are yet to be replaced by more robust methodologies or perspectives. You are hard pressed to find new and exciting elements to biblical studies in the 2020s. But I have found that one scholar, though not exactly out of the blue, is changing things for the better to reorient the discipline: Chris Keith. Keith burst onto the scene of NT studies in the late 2000s with his doctoral dissertation The Pericope Adulterae, the Gospel of John, and the Literacy of Jesus (2008) which was completed under two legendary NT scholars Helen Bond and Larry Hurtado. Quickly getting revised and republished in the New Testament Tools, Studies and Documents series the following year. Keith immediately set his eyes upon historical Jesus and gospel studies, with a special emphasis on...

The methodologies and approaches that constitute biblical studies have always been a contentious topic. Relationships between language, literature, history, and faith are all elements that present challenging questions for how biblical critics go about their business as academics. What even is biblical criticism and why does/should it exist? These sorts of questions cause problems for those in the lay arena to understand what our discipline is comprised of and what its end goals are.  Take, for example, an amateur documentary from about a decade ago entitled "What's the Big Deal About the KJV?"  created by American pastor Sam Gipp. An ardent King-James-Onlyist, Gipp disparages the "critical text" of the New Testament, that which is decided upon by scholars to be the best and most reliable of the NT manuscripts. He says, with great confidence, " if you think about that, just the fact that it's 'critical' should tell you there's a problem ...