Generous Orthodoxy: A Better Unity than Conformity

Last year, Singaporean theologian Dr Roland Chia penned an articulate polemic on progressive Christianity, one that contrasted the vices of progressivism with 'historic' Christianity. The timing of the article is likely prompted by winds of change in Singapore's Christian culture, as progressive Christianity has in recent years made small gains within the Singaporean church. Dr …

Scholarship: A Poor Man’s Deconstruction Tool?

Why engage in biblical scholarship at all? My foray into scholarship was to escape the conservative Evangelical censorship I grew up with. Academia offered a space for freedom of inquiry and thought. It explored answers rather than predetermined them. It welcomed epistemic humility, instead of zealous certainty. Similarly, my faith evolved in response. A forced …

Sola Scriptura and the History of Biblical Bookmaking

Is the doctrine of Sola Scriptura conditional upon the technological mode of production of biblical bookmaking?

The Many Women of King David: Part 1 – Michal

The epic narrative of King David spans across 1, 2 Samuel and the opening chapters of 1st Kings. Confessional readers tend towards a didactic reading of the biblical text where David is touted as a moral exemplar, a role model, for the faithful to follow. A fair number of critical scholars, such as Steven L. …

Examining the functions of etiological markers in Joshua

Although traditionally claimed to have been written by Joshua himself, the virtual consensus of modern biblical scholarship recognizes that the Book of Joshua was almost certainly a literary product composed centuries after the events it depicts. One key set of evidence for this latter view concerns the oft-repeated phrase 'to this day' (Joshua 6:25, 7:26, …

Elisha’s Character according to the Deuteronomist

The grim account of Elisha and the taunting youths is a common point of discussion in relation to the morality of Elisha's character, and to some extent, Yahweh's, since it was the latter who bestowed Elisha with prophetic status and divine empowerment. My article attempts to nuance this discussion in the following ways: by reorientating …

Interrogating 2nd Peter’s Idealized View of Lot’s Character

In the 2nd chapter of 2 Peter, the author* vividly paints Noah and Lot as lone paragons of virtue in their respective communities: 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and …

The ‘predictions’ of the Hebrew Scriptures read retrospectively

A common view in churches goes as follows: The Hebrew Scriptures has prophets that make predictions about the future.They predict Jesus.The New Testament fulfills these predictions and verifies the accuracy of the predictive claims. Let's observe carefully the intertextual relationship between the NT and the Hebrew Scriptures before we evaluate the view above. Matthew 2:15 …

Exploring authorial intent in the Gospel of Peter

In Mark 15: 46 – 16: 3 we read an account of Jesus’ burial and the subsequent visitation: So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary …

Was there an extinguished ‘musical canon’ in the early Church?

I found some interesting insights on how music and worship was understood and practiced in the early church from Lee McDonald’s paper: “The Odes of Solomon in Early Christianity: Reflections on Scripture and Canon”, in the book Sacra Scriptura: How “Non-Canonical” Texts Functioned in Early Judaism and Early Christianity p.108 – 136. McDonald points out that many …