Phronesis

It can be quite overwhelming for new students of Biblical studies to get their feet on the ground once they enter the foray of this intense discipline. Centuries of research condensed in millions of pages of scholarship. It's all a bit much. Even I, as a seasoned student of the discipline, am routinely discovering new journals that have apparently been around for decades. How can a modern student absorb so much information?  For the benefit of fresh students looking to start their journey and get a solid grounding in what the academic literature says about the New Testament, I have provided an overview of my bare-bones essential readings from my personal library. These are the books that will give those who are just now venturing into this world an anchor to hold onto regarding the purpose, trends, and future of New Testament studies. Though by no means an exhaustive list, it's a start. Start with... the Bible! The first item on the above list might come as a shocker, but is on

It's no small thing when a central figure of the New Atheist movement embraces religion. As far as I'm aware, such has never happened until today. As many of you may already know, Christianity has gained the fellowship of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a former Muslim turned atheist activist. In a short article published on the alternative blog UnHerd , Ali announced her conversion citing a lack of spiritual meaning in her life and the need for a strong, robust worldview to combat both Islamism and incipient woke ideology. As expected in this current phase of the culture war, there has been considerable backlash against Ali's decision from her former compatriots of scepticism. Atheist activists Matt Dillahunty and Aron Ra took to X to criticise Ali's decision with posts that have garnered hundreds of likes and many retweets with concurring sentiments. They attacked her on the grounds that she did not provide any evidence for the truthfulness of Christianity in her article and that th

I've been fairly open with my background as an ex-Christian on this blog. I used to believe in God, and now I don't. I have no ill will towards my former faith or those I used to share it with. It was simply a decision that needed to be made. What is more, there are very few individuals who self-identify as "apologists" who could restore my faith. Their arguments simply don't convince me. Notwithstanding this lack of satisfactory argumentation, the one man who could bring me back to the fold is, bizarrely, the least apologist-like. I am, of course, talking about Rob Rowe from Sentinel Apologetics . Rob and I have known each other for a good number of years now. I first met him on one of his Sentinel Q&A's in 2020 (I've dug around for that livestream to no avail). This was in the middle of my journey as a Christian and Rob was instrumental in leading me into a more sophisticated way of thinking about my beliefs. His emphasis on academic inquiry substant

Yesterday I had the privilege of witnessing my good friend Daniel James Hole debate the president of the Southampton University Labour Society, Lawrence Coomber, on whether abortion should be illegal. Daniel, a conservative Reformed Christian, has been instrumental in my own journey — though, of course, our disagreements run deep indeed —and this was only his second ever debate, the first being on the nature of morality a few months prior against atheist Jordon Beeney . It was also a pleasure to meet Lawrence who was willing to have a discussion on this extremely sensitive issue. The link to the debate is here for anyone who wishes to watch it.  I must preface this review by mentioning the disruption we experienced prior to the debate. Shortly before it was due to commence, security came and locked the lecture hall where we were meant to be hosted. They claimed that a health and safety form had not been properly completed and thus the debate had been cancelled, alleging that it was a