Here is a link to an interview with me done with a British interviewer Andy Cheung from Midlands Bible College (N.B. There are some errors in the interview, for instance its Matthew and John not Mark and John that I think are wisdom Gospels).
http://www.midbible.ac.uk/content/view/130/
See what you think.
BW3
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7 comments:
Good interview!
I sure am glad that more commentaries are being published from Methodist folk. There are many of us who are trying to simply exegete scripture without too many assumptions mucking it up. As my skills have grown in exegesis, I have begun to notice the bias in many major commentaries toward Reformed/Calvanistic theology. It's not all bad but I really appreciate having something to balance them out and also taking another approach to the text (i.e. socio-rhetorical).
Ben,
Are there any other Methodists who are in the commentary/biblical studies business?
Yes indeed. See the works of Richard Hays especially, and David de Silva on Hebrews. Duane Watson is another one as well.
BW3
Hi Ben, I've corrected the error related to Matthew / John wisdom literature.
Thanks for the interview.
Gordon-Conwell is in New Jersey? So what school is that up the road from me?
Just teasing.
Very informative. I must ask why you decided to pursue doctoral studies overseas rather than in the states? Was it to study under C.K. Barrett? Did American education lack something you desired?
Hi:
There were several factors as to why I did a doctorate in the U.K. In the first place, its more a matter of who you study with, not where you study, and at the time C.K. Barrett was considered the foremost Methodist NT scholar in the world, and indeed in the top five of any kind of NT scholars, in addition to which C.E.B. Cranfield was also there. Secondly, I had had more than enough Bible course work in my undergrad and seminary work. I did sit in on many lectures at Durham, but there was no requirement to take two more years of course, prelim exams, language exams etc. Thirdly, except for German I had all my languages in place-- Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, English. I sat in on German classes to get up to speed. Fourthly, the degree in the U.K. hangs entirely on your mentored dissertation. In the American system the dissertation ranges between 40% and 70% of the deal. Lastly, it doesn't take five years or more to get a degree in the U.K. You can do it in three. It is therefore cheaper to go over there, plus you get a wonderful cross cultural experience.
Blessings,
BW3
If, as you say, for example, Calvinism is weakest at its point of distinction (irresistible grace...) and Wesleyan interpretation at perfection, would it be too far fetched--or too systematic--to say that they are "wrong" there?
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