Giveway

Last week I offered up an a copy of Peter Enns, Inspiration and Incarnation (Baker 2005). There were fifteen entered, so I used Random.org to spin up a random number and the winner of this book is Derek DeMars. Everyone congratulate Derek and tell him how much you envy him reading this book.

I will announce the third book “back to school” book giveaway this afternoon so be sure to check that out!

I just finished my “early Fall” class. this was an Old Testament Survey class taught as an intensive (ten days, 4.5 hours a day over three weeks). To celebrate, I am giving away one book a week for the next month. Last week was Mark Edward’s recent Story of God commentary on Ephesians (Zondervan, 2016). This week I have a copy of Peter Enns, Inspiration and Incarnation (Baker 2005). The subtitle of the book is a hint at the controversial nature of the book: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament.

Enns said his concern in the book was “to help readers whose faith has been challenged by critical studies, and I suggest that evangelical faith would be well served by moving beyond a predominantly defensive doctrine of Scripture to develop a positive view that seriously engages contemporary critical scholarship. My proposal is to employ an “incarnational” model of Scripture—one that recognizes and affirms both the divine and human aspects of the Bible.”  For some readers this book was a healthy look at how the Bible fits into the world of the Ancient Near East, for others this book represents the demise of the evangelical doctrine of inerrancy. Greg Beale, for example, wrote The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism (Crossway, 2008). Enns participated in a dialog at a national ETS meeting with Al Mohler, Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Michael Bird and John R. Franke (published as Five Views on Biblical Inerrancy, Zondervan, 2013). I did not attend this session because I was presenting at the same meeting to three people who apparently could not wedge themselves into the room for the discussion.

Whatever your stand on the theological issue of inerrancy, and whether or not you agree with Enn’s conclusion, this is a book you ought to read. Enns challenges the reader to think through what the Bible actually says about itself.

To have a chance at winning this book, leave a comment with your name. I will randomize the names from the comments and select one winner at random. I will respond to your comment informing you you have won the book, but you will need to contact me with shipping information.

I will announce the winner on August 28, 2019 (one week from now). Good Luck!

Last week I offered my extra copy of James L. Papandrea, A Week in the Life of Rome (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2019) to one of the readers of this blog. I do this from time to time when I have an extra copy of something I think people might like. Sometimes I buy a book and discover later I already had a copy (people often associate this with impending old age, but I blame almost anything else). I said I would give it away yesterday, but I got busy with other things and completely forgot.

There were twenty-one entries this time, and I was happy to see several new names from previous giveaways. I sorted the names randomly and then used random.org to generate the winner. And the winner is….

Matt Lantz

Everyone congratulate Matt (or curse his luck). Matt, contact me via plong at gmail.com or a direct message on Twitter (@plong42) with a mailing address and I will get this right out to you.

About the book: Since the “week in the life of” series are novels by biblical scholars, about half the book is academic side-notes explaining the background details of the story. I have read all three of the currently available volumes and find them to be entertaining and easy reading. These are not academic books, but they do present the history and archaeology of the Roman world for a popular audience. I reviewed the book a few weeks ago, concluding “this book offers an entertaining insight into the relationship of Christianity and Rome in the mid-first century. Papandrea draws out the agonizing decisions a person living in the Roman world would have to make in order to be a Christian in an entirely pagan world. The book will be an easy introduction for readers interested in the background of the Roman world and early Christianity.”

I have an extra copy of James L. Papandrea, A Week in the Life of Rome (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2019). This is the latest addition to IVP Academic’s “A Week in the Life of” series, which now includes Ben Witherington’s A Week in the Life of Corinth (2012) and Gary M. Burge, A Week in the Life of a Roman Centurion (2015). John Byron, A Week in the Life of a Slave is coming in July 2019.

Since the “week in the life of” series are novels by biblical scholars, about half the book is academic side-notes explaining the background details of the story. I have read all three of the currently available volumes and find them to be entertaining and easy reading. These are not academic books, but they do present the history and archaeology of the Roman world for a popular audience. I reviewed the book a few weeks ago, concluding “this book offers an entertaining insight into the relationship of Christianity and Rome in the mid-first century. Papandrea draws out the agonizing decisions a person living in the Roman world would have to make in order to be a Christian in an entirely pagan world. The book will be an easy introduction for readers interested in the background of the Roman world and early Christianity.”

To have a chance at winning this book, leave a comment with your name so I can contact you if you win. I will randomize the names from the comments and select one winner at random.

I will announce the winner picked at random on March 26, 2019 (one week from now). Good Luck!