Despite losing a “Peanuts” comic strip, I still recall a comment made by Charlie Brown to Linus: “I was once an expert on the book of Revelation until I met someone who had actually read the book!” The line still makes me smile.
Recently I was reading an essay about the contributions of the influential nineteenth century New Testament scholar and church historian, F.J.A. Hort. On one occasion a student asked Professor Hort: “What books would you recommend as the best introduction to the Synoptic problem?” His response was spot on: “I should advise you to take your Greek Testament and get your own view of the facts first of all.”*
I have lost track of the times I have been asked what is the best commentary on Revelation. There are some excellent ones, to be sure, but I want to answer the question with one word: “Scripture!” Or to adapt Hort’s response: “I should advise you to take your Bible, the whole Bible, and get your own view of the facts first of all.” Read more…
Dr. Bob was recently interviewed for the Inside LCCS podcast (direct link to the interview). The Inside LCCS podcast was announced on this site back in June and seeks to tell the stories behind the story of Lincoln Christian College and Seminary. In this interview, Dr. Bob shares his faith story, how his initial fear of Revelation(!) turned into a passion to teach it, and many more interesting aspects of his life and career. Followers of this site will almost certainly enjoy the time spent listening.
The other day one of my dear colleagues and I were discussing the question: Who is a scholar? I have continued to reflect on our conversation. According to one of my dictionaries a scholar is “a person who attends a school or studies under a teacher” or “a person who has done advanced study in a special field.” Well, I guess I am. But our discussion focused on a definition presented in an article in a journal he had read (I was aware of the article but had only skimmed it; it didn’t appeal to me. Gee, I guess I am not scholarly enough!). The author of the essay suggested that a scholar is someone who has a PhD (Goodness! Not a Doctor of Ministry; that is not good enough, evidently! Please know that I am being sarcastic! Now that can lead to all kinds of temptations. Someone could argue that his/her PhD was from a better school than someone else’s or the field of study was more difficult or more important than another . . . Well, you get the idea, don’t you?). A scholar is also one who has published and has presented papers before other scholars (Well, at least one paper and then we could debate if the organization was really acceptable or noteworthy enough–Society of Biblical Literature? That counts! Evangelical Theological Society or the Stone-Campbell Conference? Not prestigious enough!).
How arrogant!
How absurd!
Read more…
My age is a metaphor.
It only speaks of everything before.
“War is Kind” Song by Jakob Dylan
Robert Allen Lowery was born at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, the firstborn son of Ercel and Adrene Lowery. My paternal grandfather’s middle name was Allen and my first name was given to me in honor of an uncle of mine, an uncle who became very dear to me and one whom I miss to this very day. I still remember his love and gentle spirit. Uncle Bob was always a gentleman, always dressed like one (I never saw him out of a suit, even when fishing or working in his garden, a pin-stripped brown suit with matching Fedora), always spoke like one, and always smoked cigars like one. I loved him and still love him.
LX. Sixty. 60. Of course, I am not alone: Samuel L. Jackson, Jackson Browne, Al Gore, Sally Struthers, Phylicia Rashad, Cat Stevens, Robert Plant, Olivia Newton-John, Brian Eno, Richard Simmons, James Taylor, Alice Cooper, Stevie Nicks, Prince Charles, et al. Yet in rereading the list I don’t know that I would want to spend any significant amount of time, if any, with any of those individuals. Read more…