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WORK TITLE: Paul Behaving Badly
WORK NOTES: with E. Randolph Richards
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: Conway
STATE: AR
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://www.ivpress.com/brandon-j-o-brien
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; wife’s name, Amy; children: Jamie, Eliza.
EDUCATION:Ouachita Baptist University, B.A., 2004; Wheaton College Graduate School, M.A., 2007; Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Ph.D., 2013.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, AR, assistant professor of Christian theology; New Life Church, Conway, AR, director of OBU. Senior fellow, Jonathan Edwards Center; former adjunct instructor, College of DuPage.
MEMBER:American Historical Association, Conference on Faith and History, Evangelical Theological Society.
WRITINGS
Editor and contributor, Richard J. Mouw and Douglas A. Sweeney, The Suffering and Victorious Christ: Toward a More Compassionate Christology Baker Academic (Grand Rapids, MI), 2013. Contributor to periodicals, including Trinity Journal and American Baptist Quarterly. Former editor, Leadership Journal. Member of editorial board, Trinity Journal.
SIDELIGHTS
Ouachita Baptist University assistant professor of biblical theology Brandon J. O’Brien is the author of a monograph on small-church strategy (The Strategically Small Church: Intimate, Nimble, Authentic, Effective), and the coauthor of two works on modern misinterpretation of biblical writings and the characters associated with them (Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible, and Paul Behaving Badly: Was the Apostle a Racist, Chauvinist Jerk?). “Some cultural differences are obvious, others lurk beneath the surface, while a third class is extremely difficult to detect and thus poses the greatest danger to the reader of Scripture. The point is that most of these differences go unsaid, being implicit rather than clearly expressed,” explained Robert Letham in a Gospel Coalition Website review of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes. “In the final section, attention turns to the prominence of rules in the West vis-à-vis relationships in the East, to the concepts of virtue and vice, and to a Western obsession with individual, personal relevance that assumes Scripture was written directly to and for me.”
Modern sensibility can also lead readers and students astray when trying to understand the letters of the New Testament. The apostle Paul, the subject of Paul Behaving Badly, “was frequently guilty of behaving badly in the eyes of his Jewish contemporaries,” O’Brien declared in a joint interview with his coauthor and fellow academic E. Randolph Richards appearing in Bible Gateway website. “He offended their sensibilities. He likewise behaved badly according to Roman culture. He challenged their assumptions and exposed their misperceptions. He had the audacity to tell a Roman man how to treat people in his own house…. He told the Jews that their Law and their Temple had been replaced by the Spirit of God. That’s a real no-no. Not even his fellow Christians were or are always sure what to make of Paul.”
O’Brien and Richards try to show that, while Paul had a high sense of self-worth, he nonetheless represents an ancient Romano-Jewish sensibility. “Sometimes he seems to be ‘kind of a jerk,’” stated a Reading Acts website reviewer. “This is certainly true when Paul’s letters are compared to the popular image most people of Jesus. Another aspect of Paul’s letters which is hard for some to handle is arrogance. Rather than following Jesus, Paul regularly tells his readers to follow him…. Richards and O’Brien conclude ‘there is no way around it. Paul thought he was special’…. At least some of Paul’s bluster can put explained as Greco-Roman rhetoric, and put into the context of other Roman writers, Paul is not that much different (perhaps he is less of a bully than some!)” “For readers who believe that the words of Paul are in some sense inspired by God,” declared Patheos website reviewer Megan Schmidt, “Paul Behaving Badly is a well-written guide to dealing with culturally difficult passages. For readers who don’t hold this belief … few books are more readable and sympathetic to their concerns.” “Lay readers taking a closer look at Paul,” wrote a Publishers Weekly reviewer, “will find this book illuminating and learn a lot about [the] man.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Christianity Today, November 29, 2012, Christopher Hall, review of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible.
Publishers Weekly, September 12, 2016, review of Paul Behaving Badly: Was the Apostle a Racist, Chauvinist Jerk?, p. 50.
ONLINE
Bible Gateway, https://www.biblegateway.com/ (January 9, 2017), Jonathan Petersen, review of Paul Behaving Badly.
Brandon J. O’Brien Website, http://brandonjobrien.com (July 5, 2017), author profile.
Dallas Theological Seminary Website, http://www.dts.edu/ (October 1, 2013), Glenn R. Kreider, review of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes.
Gospel Coalition Website, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/ (April 24, 2013), Robert Letham, review of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes.
InterVarsity Press Website, https://www.ivpress.com/ (July 5, 2017), author profile.
Ouachita Baptist University Website, https://www.obu.edu/ (July 5, 2017), author profile.
Patheos, http://www.patheos.com/ (January 2, 2017), Megan Schmidt, “Who Are We to Judge? A Review of ‘Paul Behaving Badly.’”
Reading Acts, https://readingacts.com/ (October 29, 2016), review of Paul Behaving Badly.
Small Church Leaders, http://www.smallchurchleaders.org/ (May 21, 2012), review of The Strategically Small Church: Intimate, Nimble, Authentic, Effective.*
Brandon J. O'Brien (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is assistant professor of Christian theology at Ouachita Baptist University and director of OBU at New Life Church in Conway, Arkansas. He is coauthor, with E. Randolph Richards, of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes and Paul Behaving Badly, as well as the author of The Strategically Small Church. A senior editor for Leadership Journal, O’Brien has published in Christianity Today, Relevant, and the Out of Ur blog, and has been interviewed by and quoted in USA Today and other national newspapers.
I am Director of OBU at New Life Church and Assistant Professor of Christian Theology at Ouachita Baptist University.
(B.A. Ouachita Baptist University; M.A. Wheaton College Graduate School; Ph.D. Trinity Evangelical Divinity School)
Beyond that, I am active in Christian publishing. My first book, The Strategically Small Church, was a finalist in the 2010 Leadership Book Awards. My second book, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes, co-authored with Randy Richards, was named a Hearts and Minds best-of for 2012. I have also written for Leadership, Christianity Today, Relevant, and the Out of Ur blog.
Another industry I wacademics. I have a BA from Ouachita Baptist University, an MA from Wheaton College Graduate School, and a PhD in historical theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where I am on the editorial board for Trinity Journal. I actively publish and present academic papers in the field of early American religious history.
My favorite role is as husband to the beautiful and talented Amy O’Brien and father of Jamie and Eliza.
My passion in writing and speaking is to bring these several spheres—Christian publishing, academics, ministry, and personal formation—into fruitful conversation.
Jonathan Petersen
January 9, 2017
Paul Behaving Badly: An Interview with E. Randolph Richards and Brandon O’Brien
Jonathan Petersen
Manager of marketing for Bible Gateway.
E. Randolph RichardsThe apostle Paul was kind of a jerk. He was arrogant and stubborn. He called his opponents derogatory, racist names. He legitimized slavery and silenced women. He was a moralistic, homophobic killjoy who imposed his narrow religious views on others. Or was he?
Bible Gateway interviewed E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien (@brandonjobrien) about their book, Paul Behaving Badly: Was the Apostle a Racist, Chauvinist Jerk? (IVP Books, 2016).
Brandon J. O'Brien
[Browse the Pauline Studies section in the Bible Gateway Store]
Who was the Apostle Paul and why is he important?
Randolph Richards and Brandon O’Brien: When we first meet Paul in the New Testament, he’s approving the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 8:1). He’s a zealous, ambitious Pharisee and, by his own estimation, “blameless” in his adherence to the Law (Phil. 3:6Acts 9). From that day on, God channels Paul’s zeal, ambition, and hardheadedness for the glory of Christ and his Kingdom.
Ultimately Paul is significant for being the “apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom 1:5). He was the first to translate the gospel, which Jesus and the other apostles preached to fellow Jews, to a hostile Gentile audience. In some respects, Paul is the first cross-cultural missionary.
Buy your copy of Paul Behaving Badly in the Bible Gateway Store where you'll enjoy low prices every day
What does it mean that Paul’s books are “occasional writings” and why is that an interpretation challenge?
Randolph Richards and Brandon O’Brien: In this case, “occasional” doesn’t mean that Paul only wrote periodically. It means that when he wrote, it was with a specific audience and situation in mind. His writings were specific to a particular occasion (hence “occasional”).
The occasional nature of Paul’s writings poses a challenge because we don’t always know what questions, debates, or circumstances Paul is responding to in his letters.
Paul’s letters are half a correspondence. In some cases, they’re Paul’s responses to letters he received from others. But we don’t have their letters with their questions and concerns, so we’re listening in on only one side of a private conversation. Just like listening in when your spouse is talking on the phone, you can usually figure out who they’re talking to and what they’re talking about, but we can’t always be absolutely certain. This doesn’t give us less confidence in the Bible. It remains the infallible Word of God. But it should give us a little humility about how we’re interpreting it.
How difficult was it to write this book?
Randolph Richards and Brandon O’Brien: At first we thought, This should be easy. There are already two great books out there similar to this one: God Behaving Badly by David Lamb and Jesus Behaving Badly by Mark Strauss. What could go wrong? The road has been mapped for us.
Then it occurred to us that Paul isn’t God or Jesus. Jesus was perfect and God is, well, God. But Paul was a mortal human. He’s the one who wrote: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Rom 7:15). So, before you even begin reading the book about God behaving badly or Jesus behaving badly, you feel somehow that everything is going to be okay. Surely neither God nor Jesus ever really behaved badly, right? But it’s very possible that Paul did. After all, he’s only human. On the other hand, we believe that the Bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God.
Explain what you mean when you write, “Paul has the dubious distinction among the earliest Christians of irritating everyone at some point.”
Randolph Richards and Brandon O’Brien: Paul was frequently guilty of behaving badly in the eyes of his Jewish contemporaries. He offended their sensibilities. He likewise behaved badly according to Roman culture. He challenged their assumptions and exposed their misperceptions. He had the audacity to tell a Roman man how to treat people in his own house. We say a man’s home is his castle, but in first-century Rome they really meant it. It was off limits. He told the Jews that their Law and their Temple had been replaced by the Spirit of God. That’s a real no-no. Not even his fellow Christians were or are always sure what to make of Paul.
What are a few examples of what some people consider Paul’s “bad behavior” and how do you explain them?
Randolph Richards and Brandon O’Brien: Among the charges against Paul are that his opinions are misogynistic, racist, homophobic, and generally on the wrong side of history. And that’s just the modern cultural critics. He’s also charged with being hypocritical and a bully. Space here doesn’t allow a fair treatment of any of those charges. But here’s how we handle it in the book. We refused to harrumph the criticisms of Paul or sweep them under the rug. We allow his critics to build the best case they can that Paul is a racist or a chauvinist or whatever. Then we weigh the biblical evidence in light of Paul’s first-century context. Knowing Paul, we think he’d appreciate the scrutiny!
Would you want to invite Paul to your neighborhood backyard barbeque?
Randolph Richards and Brandon O’Brien: Maybe if we gave him a list of things first that he wasn’t allowed to talk about!
What are your thoughts about Bible Gateway and the Bible Gateway App?
Randolph Richards and Brandon O’Brien: We both use Bible Gateway all the time, including the app. It gives us quick access to biblical texts, different translations, and also allows us to put the Greek text next to whichever translations we want. It’s our go-to tool, especially on the go.
Bio: E. Randolph Richards (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is dean and professor of biblical studies in the School of Ministry at Palm Beach Atlantic University. He’s a popular speaker and has authored and coauthored dozens of books and articles including Rediscovering Jesus, Rediscovering Paul, Paul and First-Century Letter Writing, and The Story of Israel.
Early in their ministry he and his wife, Stacia, were appointed as missionaries to east Indonesia, where he taught for eight years at an Indonesian seminary. Missions remain on the hearts of Randy and Stacia. Randy leads mission trips and conducts missionary training workshops and regularly leads tours of the Holy Land, Turkey, Greece, and Italy. He’s served as interim pastor of numerous churches and is currently a teaching pastor. He and Stacia reside in Palm Beach, Florida.
Brandon J. O’Brien (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is assistant professor of Christian theology at Ouachita Baptist University and director of OBU at New Life Church in Conway, Arkansas. He’s the author of The Strategically Small Church and coauthor, with E. Randolph Richards, of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes and Paul Behaving Badly.
O’Brien has published in Christianity Today, Relevant, Leadership Journal, and the Out of Ur blog, and has been interviewed by and quoted in USA TODAY and other national newspapers.
Brandon J. O'Brien (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is assistant professor of Christian Theology at Ouachita Baptist University and director of OBU at New Life Church (Conway, Arkansas). He has published in Leadership Journal, Christianity Today, Relevant, and the Out of Ur blog and has been interviewed by and quoted in USA Today and other national newspapers. He is author of The Strategically Small Church (Bethany House, 2010) and co-author, with Randy Richards, of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible (IVP 2012) and Paul Behaving Badly (IVP 2016).
He has a wide range of interests, but Brandon's primary goals in writing are to help Christians better understand the Scriptures, themselves, and their place in God's mission in the world. He has spoken to groups of pastors and lay leaders on issues ranging from small-church ministry to national trends in religion and in a variety of formats, from pastors retreats to writing seminars.
Dr. Brandon J. O’Brien
Assistant Professor of Christian Theology
Director of OBU at New Life Church
obrienb@obu.edu
(501) 328-5433
Education
PhD: Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, IL, 2013
MA: Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, IL, 2007
BA: Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, AR, 2004
Ministry
During and after college, Dr. O’Brien served as pastor of two small churches in the Arkadelphia area. After graduate studies, he worked as an editor for Leadership Journal, a quarterly publication for church leaders published by Christianity Today. Dr. O’Brien considers service in a local church, Christian education, and Christian publishing related and important forms of ministry.
Professional Associations
Dr. O’Brien is a member of the American Historical Association, Conference on Faith and History, Evangelical Theological Society, Trinity Journal editorial board, and served as a senior fellow of the Jonathan Edwards Center.
Publications
Books
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible, with E. Randolph Richards (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2012).
The Strategically Small Church: Intimate, Nimble, Authentic, Effective (Grand Rapids: Bethany House, 2010).
Paul Behaving Badly, with E. Randolph Richards (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, Forthcoming).
*Editorial collaborator/writing assistant for Richard J. Mouw and Douglas A. Sweeney, The Suffering and Victorious Christ: Toward a More Compassionate Christology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013).
Presentations and Articles
“From Tip-toes to Toolkits: Christianity Today, Leadership Journal, and American Evangelical Clergy (1956–1980), presented at the national meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in San Francisco, CA—October 2011.
“Freedom of the Will and Freedom of Religion: The Edwardsean Foundations of Isaac Backus’s Appeal for Religious Liberty,” presented at the national meeting of the Conference on Faith and History in Newberg, Oregon—October 2010.
“Theologian of the Word of God? Reception of Barth’s View of Revelation and Exegesis in North America and Britain, 1945–1962.” Trinity Journal 32:1 (Spring 2011): 31–46.
“From Soul Liberty to Self-Reliance: John Leland and the Evangelical Origins of Radical Individualism.” American Baptist Quarterly 27.2 (Summer 2008): 136–150.
Paul K. Helseth. Right Reason and the Princeton Mind: An Unorthodox Proposal (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2010) in Trinity Journal (2012)
Kenneth J. Collins, Power, Politics and the Fragmentation of Evangelicalism: From the Scopes Trial to the Obama Administration (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2012) in Trinity Journal (forthcoming)
Nicholas Miller, The Religious Roots of the First Amendment: Dissenting Protestants and the Separation of Church and State (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012) in Trinity Journal (forthcoming)
Paul Behaving Badly: Was the Apostle a Racist, Chauvinist Jerk?
263.37 (Sept. 12, 2016): p50.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Paul Behaving Badly: Was the Apostle a Racist, Chauvinist Jerk?
E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien. InterVarsity, $16 trade paper (224p) ISBN 9780-8308-4472-2
Responding to examinations of the apostle Paul that paint him as racist and sexist, Richards and O'Brien (Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes) admit Paul's writings can be hard to take, especially those letters ordering slaves to obey masters and women to remain silent. But the authors maintain that Paul's actions must be understood through the prism of his intended audience: the letters were addressed certain groups of people on singular, particular occasions. Richards and O'Brien place Paul under an admirable amount of scrutiny, but point out that Paul, a Jewish Roman citizen, guided churches through complicated problems during the first century and "we certainly shouldn't expect him to act like a twenty-first century American." On chauvinism, for example, the authors argue Paul's writings are pro-women because he instructed rabbis to educate female students--radical views back then. In one of the most provocative chapters, the authors compare Paul's approach to biblical interpretation to today's standard interpretations and conclude that Paul wouldn't be allowed to teach a seminary class on methodology. Well-versed scholars may not be surprised by the material, but lay readers taking a closer look at Paul will find this book illuminating and learn a lot about a man who played an integral role in shaping Christianity. (Nov.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Paul Behaving Badly: Was the Apostle a Racist, Chauvinist Jerk?" Publishers Weekly, 12 Sept. 2016, p. 50. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA464046301&it=r&asid=eb431bfaff6cdac5e6708c27d49be3e4. Accessed 3 June 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A464046301
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible
E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien IVP Books, Downers Grove, IL November 4, 2012
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Richards is dean and professor of biblical studies at Palm Beach Atlantic University, and O’Brien is a part-time instructor of religion at College of DuPage and editor-at-large for Leadership journal. O’Brien was a student of Richards. Foundational is their conviction that “all Bible reading is necessarily contextual. There is no purely objective biblical interpretation. This is not postmodern relativism. We believe truth is truth. But there’s no way around the fact that our cultural and historical contexts supply us with habits of mind that lead us to read the Bible differently than Christians in other cultural and historical contexts” (p. 12). “The core conviction that drives this book is that some of the habits that we readers from the West (the United States, Canada, and Western Europe) bring to the Bible can blind us to interpretations that the original audience and readers in other cultures see quite naturally” (p. 15). They identify nine differences between Western and non-Western cultures in order to meet the primary goal of the book, “to help us learn to read ourselves. . . . Before we can be confident we are reading the Bible accurately, we need to understand what assumptions and values we project onto the Bible: those things that go without being said and that make us assume that some interpretations are self-evident and others are impossible” (p. 16).
Each chapter addresses an issue; social mores, race and ethnicity, theories of language, individualism and collectivism, honor and shame, theories of time, human relationships, virtue and vice, and finding God’s will. Illustrations from Scripture, ministry experiences in the Western world, and Richards’s life in Indonesia help the reader see the practical implications of the themes in the book. Each chapter concludes with several “questions to ponder.”
A final chapter provides a negative answer to the question, “Three Easy Steps for Removing Our Cultural Blinders?” Instead of “three easy steps,” they provide some excellent advice: Biblical interpretation is complex and requires hard work. Avoid overcorrection and overgeneralization. Remain teachable; hold assumptions loosely. Do not fear being wrong; “Fear only failing to learn from your mistakes” (p. 216). Then the book concludes with this admonition: “If we want to know when we’re reading ourselves into the Bible, rather than allowing the Bible to speak in its own terms, we need to commit ourselves to reading together. The worldwide church needs to learn to study Scripture together as a global community. Paying attention to our brothers and sisters abroad can open the echo chamber and allow new voices in. . . . May we seek to read Scripture with ‘persons from every tribe and language and people and nation’ (Rev. 5:9)” (pp. 216–17). In short, if the goal of “the study of Scriptures, to paraphrase Paul, [is] so that the ‘word of Christ may dwell in us richly as we teach and admonish one another with all wisdom’ (Col 3:11,16),” that cannot happen, given a solitary Bible reader (p. 217). In short, one cannot “admonish one another” alone.
This is an outstanding treatment of a complex and important topic. Humans are cultural beings, deeply immersed in the world in which they live. It could hardly be otherwise. One of the consequences of cultural immersion is that understanding the impact of environment and culture on the readers of Scripture does not come easily. One can easily forget that the biblical texts were not written directly to this culture, but were written to other people in other cultures. Yet since the Bible is the Word of God and it is true and inerrant, it needs to be read and applied in every culture. This book is an aid to those who want to learn to do that well.
No reader will agree with everything in the book. Every reader will disagree with the authors’ use of some illustrative texts and the implications they draw. But every reader will learn something from this book that will make him or her a better Bible reader. This would make a good textbook for courses in hermeneutics or biblical interpretation, cultural studies, prolegomena, or theological method, as well as small-group studies in a local church. The book is written at a level that educated laypeople as well as pastors, teachers, and scholars will find helpful.
—Glenn R. Kreider
October 1, 2013
How to Remove Our Bible-Reading Blinders
Randolph Richards and Brandon O'Brien help us see through different cultural lenses.
Christopher Hall| November 29, 2012
How to Remove Our Bible-Reading Blinders
Image: Keith Negley
How to Remove Our Bible-Reading Blinders
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible
Our Rating
4 Stars - Excellent
Book Title
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible
Author
E. Randolph Richards
Publisher
IVP Books
Release Date
December 4, 2012
Pages
240
Price
$11.79
Buy Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible from Amazon
The cover of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible (InterVarsity) is striking. Authors E. Randolph Richards (dean of the School of Christian Ministry at Palm Beach Atlantic University) and Brandon J. O'Brien (an editor at large for Leadership Journal) have us look at a white, male face, gazing outward from behind a printed page, eyes covered by blue-tinted glasses. The message is clear, as is the overarching message of the book: North American evangelicals "read" the Bible—and the world—through Western eyes. This insight is now commonplace in discussions about biblical interpretation in popular and academic circles, as Richards and O'Brien readily admit. Indeed, all human beings come to the Bible with cultural "habits," deeply ingrained patterns of interpreting the world that inevitably shape—and sometimes warp—our interpretation and understanding of Scripture.
Richards and O'Brien want to help Western readers recognize more fully how the eyeglasses through which we view and interpret everything in our environment—Western culture—often influence our understanding of specific biblical texts and themes. To read Scripture well, we must read ourselves and our culture well. Picture an iceberg looming in the distance as a metaphor for our worldview, a key illustration Richards and O'Brien employ throughout their book. How much of an iceberg do we actually see? Well, as the captain of the Titanic sadly experienced, very little. The tip pokes up through the water, announcing its presence to all with eyes to see, but the iceberg's immensity lurks undetected in the depths. Similarly, our perceptions of our own culture's patterns and pressures—"what we wear, eat, say and consciously believe"—is only the tip of the iceberg. "The majority" of our cultural patterns lurk "below the surface, out of plain sight, beyond our conscious awareness."
Me-Centered Approach
Richards and O'Brien help us to understand the cultural dynamics Western Christians experience and manifest as they read the Bible. Clearly, our experiences shape our reading of the Bible; we are all wearing tinted glasses, lenses that help us to see some things very clearly but distort our vision elsewhere. Think, for instance, of the parable of the Prodigal Son. When 100 North American students were asked to read the parable and retell it, only six mentioned the famine the prodigal experiences away from home. In a word, American readers tend to be "famine-forgetters," perhaps because most Americans simply have not experienced terrible famine. Compare the response of 50 Russian readers to the very same parable: 42 out of 50 mentioned the famine. Why? The cultural history of famine in World War II has deeply embedded itself in the Russian consciousness, and this cultural lens influences what Russian Christians see in a biblical text.
How to Remove Our Bible-Reading Blinders
Randolph Richards and Brandon O'Brien help us see through different cultural lenses.
Christopher Hall| November 29, 2012
Page 2 of 3
Or consider an additional example: How often have you sat in a Bible study, looked at a passage with other group members, and then had the leader of the group ask, "What does the passage mean to you?" A minute or two passes in silence; slowly individuals begin to respond: "To me this passage is saying" this, or "to me this passage means" that.
Clearly, our experiences shape our reading of the Bible; we are all wearing tinted glasses, lenses that help us to see some things very clearly but distort our vision elsewhere.
Of course, to ask what a passage means is praiseworthy. But to make the individual Christian the starting point for interpretation and the center of a text's meaning—the Western pattern—is problematic. Richards and O'Brien point to at least two immediate dangers.
First, if I make myself the center in my search for meaning in the Bible, I will naturally mine the Scripture for passages that I sense are immediately relevant to my life, and ignore swaths of texts where I don't discern immediate applicability. "This," the authors say, "leaves us basing our Christian life on less than the full counsel of God."
Second, and perhaps more seriously, a me-centered approach to the Bible confuses application with meaning. Simply put, I am not the focus of the Bible's meaning; Christ is. Yes, as God's image-bearers, we play an important role in the Bible's story. Christ has come to save us, and much of the Bible's story explains the wonder of how he has done just that. But if the first question I ask of a biblical text is how I can apply that text to my life, I leapfrog over meaning to applicability. I place myself at the center of the universe, a tendency especially prevalent among American Christians.
Richards and O'Brien believe this self-centered perspective leads us "to believe that we (meaning I) have a privileged status in God's salvation history. I may not be sure what God's plans are, but I am confident that at the center will be me. We read a verse and say this verse is about me or my country or my time in history." Thankfully, non-Western Christians can help us see that the Bible is not simply about me; it's about Jesus, and it's about us.
Avoiding Icebergs
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes does not argue that non-Western interpretations are necessarily superior to Western ones. Asian readers are just as apt to misread the Bible as North Americans, as are Africans, Europeans, South Americans, and Australians. Sin's distorting effect skews the vision of all cultures. All human beings view the Bible through cracked, blurred lenses that blind us to biblical meanings, challenges, and beauty that God longs for us to understand and embrace.
Since we inevitably come to the Bible loaded with cultural presuppositions about the nature of reality—some very helpful, some not so helpful—is reading the Bible well a pipedream? Not at all. The remedy for the dangers posed by cultural blinders, the radar we can employ to detect hidden icebergs in our worldview, is the church itself. As we acknowledge humbly our need for the mentoring and guidance of all members of Christ's body—the church past and present—our understanding of the Scripture will expand like a balloon, filled with the breath of the Holy Spirit. The exegetical and theological insights of different members of Christ's church—sprinkled throughout the world's cultures and histories like so many stars—provide the illumination we need to read and understand the Scripture.
Our eyesight brightens and clarifies as we listen to one another—to past believers who have journeyed with Christ before us, and to present-day believers who initially seem so different from us. As we embrace the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in the church's journey through time and humbly receive the Spirit's enlivening of Christ's body around the world, our ability to read the Bible well significantly increases. Richards and O'Brien rightly encourage us, then, to read the Bible as a "global community." By doing so, we can "open the chamber and allow new voices in." And by consciously expanding the circle of our conversation partners, we strengthen each other where we tend to be weak, shortsighted, stunted, or blind.
Christ continues to speak to all Christians and all cultures through the Bible—a text that always points to Jesus himself. We can't stop being North American or Asian, African or South American; our cultural identity and language, though warped by sin, is a gift from God. What we can do, though, is increase our awareness of the cultural and historical settings in which God has graciously and providentially placed us. And we can better appreciate—through immersion in the global Christian family and through books like Misreading Scripture—how these settings help and hinder our understanding of the Bible.
Christopher Hall is chancellor of Eastern University, dean of Palmer Theological Seminary, and the author of several books.
Book Review: Randolph and O’Brien. Paul Behaving Badly
October 29, 2016 in Book Reviews | Tags: Apologetics, Book Review, Paul, Pauline Theology, Theology
Richards, E. Randolph and Brandon J. O’Brien. Paul Behaving Badly: Was the Apostle a Racist, Chauvinist Jerk? Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2016. 224 pgs., Pb.; $16.00 Link to IVP
This book follows Mark Strauss’s Jesus Behaving Badly (IVP 2016, I review this book here) and David Lamb’s God Behaving Badly (IVP 2011). In many ways this new book is similar to an earlier volume written by Richards and O’Brien, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes (IVP 2012). The goal of this book is to offer some explanation for some of Paul’s writings which strike the modern (and politically correct) reader as not just difficult, but impossible to apply. In the conclusion to the book, they state “Paul was a product of his time—like everyone else” (194).
paul-behaving-badlyIn the introduction to the book, the writers set up the “problem of Paul” by describing their own misgivings about Paul. On the one hand, Paul does say some rather disturbing things. Most Christians struggle with Paul’s command for women to remain silent in church because it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church (1 Cor 14:3-35). His commands on head-coverings (1 Cor 11:2-16) are difficult to apply in a modern context. Paul can certainly be abrasive and downright rude, calling be infants or foolish (Gal 3:1). There are many Christians who prefer the kind, loving Jesus to a cranky, autocratic Paul. In the conclusion to the book the authors express their hope that this book does not “hate on Paul” (193),
But another serious problem is that Paul is intimidating! Reading Paul can be a difficult slog in terms of both content and theology. Following the argument of Romans can be challenging, and unpacking Paul’s logic in a way which resonates with a modern reader is not always possible. For many Christians it is far easier to understand a parable of Jesus and immediately apply the parable to a situation in their life than to wade through the thick theological argument of Romans or Galatians.
Richards and O’Brien, begin with the way Paul communicates with his readers. Sometimes he seems to be “kind of a jerk.” This is certainly true when Paul’s letters are compared to the popular image most people of Jesus. Another aspect of Paul’s letters which is hard for some to handle is arrogance. Rather than following Jesus, Paul regularly tells his readers to follow him. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, for example, Paul demands his readers follow his example as he follows Christ. Despite demanding peace in his churches, Paul occasionally bullies his opponents (24), calling them names and mocking their views. Richards and O’Brien point out that Paul makes a great deal out of his calling to be the Apostle to the Gentiles and he seems to put his own agenda ahead of the leading of the Holy Spirit (citing Acts 21:4). Richards and O’Brien conclude “there is no way around it. Paul thought he was special” (36). At least some of Paul’s bluster can put explained as Greco-Roman rhetoric, and put into the context of other Roman writers, Paul is not that much different (perhaps he is less of a bully that some!)
Chapters 2-6 deal with specific issues in the Pauline letters which are difficult to apply in a modern context (Paul was a killjoy, racist, pro-slavery, a Chauvinist, and homophobic). In each case Richards and O’Brien set up the issue by citing several passages in Paul which imply he was in fact a racist, etc. After examining these passages within the cultural context of the first century, Roman world, they conclude Paul is not guilty as charged. At least not by the standards of the first century Roman world. This is a key observation for each of the issues Richards and O’Brien cover in chapters 2-6. If Paul is understood as a Second Temple period Jew living in the Greco-Roman world of the first century, then his “politically incorrect” sayings are perfectly understandable.
For example, Paul did not “support slavery” in the same sense than nineteenth century Southern Americans did. Certainly Paul did not demand Christians release their slaves, and he did tell slaves they ought to obey their masters. But in the context of the Roman world, slavery was not always an abusive relationship nor would every slave desire to be free! Although Richards and O’Brien do not mention this, it is worth noting that Jesus never demanded his followers free their slaves. Many of Jesus’ parables include slaves, although it is hidden behind the softer translation “servants.” So Paul could be charged as “pro-slavery” if his words are taken out of context, but within the correct cultural context, he is neither for nor against slavery.
With respect to chauvinism and homophobia, from a modern perspective Paul may be “guilty as charged.” But again, Richards and O’Brien work to set some of Paul’s difficult anti-women and anti-homosexual statements into their proper historical context. With respect to women, the writers conclude that Paul does come across badly, but Paul’s Jewish culture would have not been pleased with the level of freedom and responsibility Paul suggested women have in the Body of Christ (122). With respect to homosexuality, it is absolutely true that Paul considers homosexuality a sin, but his view stands on the foundation of the Jewish Law. Paul’s view was counter to the morals of the Greco-Roman world, but as Richards and O’Brien conclude, homosexual relationships acceptable in the Roman world did not include gay relationships between equals (gay marriage).
The two final issues in the book are more difficult. First, was Paul a Hypocrite? The issue here is Paul’s ministry strategy of being “all things to all men” (1 Cor 9:20-21). Did Paul tell to live one way, while living a different way himself? In some letters, Paul refuses to take money from his churches, but in others he thanks the churches for their gifts. The issue of eating meat sacrificed to idols seems odd to us today, but it is was an important issue in the first century since Gentiles had no problem with the practice, Jewish Christians would have thought it was a sin. Richards and O’Brien offer an interesting analogy, should Christians practice yoga? Most Christians would answer like Paul, it depends. Since the origins of yoga are part of a non-Christian religious practice, could a believer do yoga as recreation without all of the pagan baggage? What if you listen to Chris Tomlin while doing yoga? For Paul, the wise answer for some practices depends on the situation (164).
Second, did Paul twist Scripture? There are a few places in Paul’s letters where he seems to read the Old Testament in ways which the original text did not intend. The allegory of Sarah and Hagar in Galatians 4 is an example of this, since Paul uses the two women (and their children) as an analogy for a change in God’s plan from Promise to Law to Grace. I have occasionally joked that if my exegesis students turned in papers using the same methods Paul did in Galatians 4, I would probably fail them! But as Richards and O’Brien point out, Paul is reading the Old Testament as a Jewish Christian. He was a trained Pharisee who was thoroughly trained in rabbinical techniques including midrash and pesher. As with virtually every section of this book, reading Paul in the context of the Second Temple period helps us to understand what Paul is saying. They conclude Paul did not twist Scripture, “but he did squeeze every last drop out of it” (190).
As a conclusion to the book, Richards and O’Brien offer a short reflection on whether we ought to be “following Paul” or “following Jesus.” Like most of the questions in this book, the question is set up in order to generate the discussion which follows. Of course we follow Jesus, but we imitate Paul has he followed Jesus. It is true Paul may have been a “bull in a china shop” at times, but he was called by God to suffer for the sake of Jesus.
Conclusion. As with any book of this kind, chapter titles are set up in order to catch the reader’s attention and make the answer to the question applicable to a modern reader. So, “Was Paul a homophobe?” suggests to the reader perhaps he was, although the answer is always comes down to careful definition of terms. The cover of the book and the promotional material which will accompany the book are intentionally shocking. This book would make an excellent small group Bible study since the chapters are set up to generate discussion Paul’s views on controversial issues and how those issues ought to be addressed in the church today.
Who Are We to Judge? A Review of ‘Paul Behaving Badly’
January 2, 2017 by Megan Schmidt 0 Comments
ApostlePaul
by Jake Raabe
These are strange times for the apostle Paul. The contemporary resurgence of Calvinism and Reformed theology as promoted by writers like John Piper has prompted a renewed interest in the traditional Protestant interpretations of Paul. At the same time, a movement known as the “New Perspective on Paul,” launched by E.P. Sanders and popularized N.T. Wright, has questioned these traditional interpretations of Paul and has gained a significant following.
As these two schools of thought on Paul compete, a third, arguably more influential camp has arisen within Protestantism. Though it lacks a formal name, it is best characterized as either a partial or full rejection of Paul as an authoritative figure within Christian theology. In its least radical form, it juxtaposes Paul and Jesus with the assumption that they conflict. At its most radical, it rejects Paul as a corruptor of Jesus’ simple ethical message into a dry series of oppressive doctrines.
The rise of this third Paul-challenging group is the backdrop for Paul Behaving Badly. The book’s subtitle summarizes the charges the authors seek to address: Was the Apostle a Racist, Chauvinist Jerk? Authors E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien (cowriters of the excellent Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes) seek to defend Paul against various charges that have become commonplace in popular discussion. Each of the books nine chapters detail and answer a different accusation ranging from character issues (“Paul Was Kind of a Jerk;” “Paul Was a Hypocrite”) to social problems (“Paul Supported Slavery;” “Paul Was Homophobic”).
Richards and O’Brien do a fine job of stating the case for all of these charges before making their case and deal with each issue fairly. They take the claims of their opponents seriously and never shy away from addressing potential objections to their arguments.
Though each charge receives its own chapter, two claims form the basis of most of their responses. First, Paul should be read and judged according to his original cultural context, not ours. Second, they advocate for reading with a “trajectory hermeneutic,” which pays attention to both Paul’s position in relationship to the larger Roman culture and the “trajectory” which his claims set for discussion of the issue. On the issue of women, for example, Paul was more liberal than his culture; in issues relating to sexuality, he was more conservative. These two claims guide the authors throughout their defense of Paul and his theology.
For readers who believe that the words of Paul are in some sense inspired by God, Paul Behaving Badly is a well-written guide to dealing with culturally difficult passages. For readers who don’t hold this belief but are willing to hear a reasonable defense of Paul against more modern claims, few books are more readable and sympathetic to their concerns. Thus, Paul Behaving Badly is a fantastic resource for those in any camp.
What are your thoughts? I look forward to hearing from you!
The Strategically Small Church by Brandon J. O'Brien
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The Strategically Small Church by Brandon J. O’Brien (Minneapolis: Bethany, 2010).
This book is written from outside the usual group of small-church writers and from a different perspective. While Brandon O’Brien does use Lyle Schaller as a source, he does not refer to authors that have studied and written about the small church over the last couple of decades. Instead he writes from experience and observation substantiated by interviews with others doing small church ministry. He began doing small-church ministry as a student pastor. Instead of enduring this as resume builder for later ministry he began to appreciate the virtues of the small church. His personal and intuitive understanding is refreshing. His format cites his own experience or tells the story of another small-church ministry to illustrate the virtue that he wishes to introduce.
These small-church virtues are summarized on the cover. According to O’Brien the small church is intimate, nimble, authentic, and effective. In the last chapter he justifies his argument, “…I have given examples of churches… I’ve called these churches strategically small not because they are small on purpose (for the most part) but because they recognize that being a smaller congregation has its benefits. More to the point, they are putting those benefits, that hidden potential, to good use. These churches recognize that running a small church as if it were a big one undermines the smaller congregation’s key strengths. In a culture, even a Christian culture, that values size, celebrity, and institutional visibility, these strategically small churches are under reported and underappreciated.” To this we may respond with a hearty “Amen!” This recognition of the ministry in the small church makes the book an attractive read as does the story telling of his own and other’s small church experiences.
In each of his chapters O’Brien expands on the four virtues and how they appear and apply in the course of ministry. In chapter one he writes to change our ideals of success in church ministry. He also defines his terms and expectations for the book. He uses the Bible, particularly the book of Acts and church history to evaluate trends in today’s church movements. Small-church pastors and other leaders will be encouraged and equipped to evaluate their small-church ministry.
In chapters two and three the author stresses the virtues of authenticity, nimbleness and intimacy. He defines authenticity as the congregation responding from the heart regardless of excellence or relevance. Authenticity is synonymous with sincerity, transparency, vulnerability, etc. Authenticity has become a higher value in our culture. Small churches lacking professional leadership and being more colloquial in its ministry is above all authentic. Authenticity in a small church makes for intimate relationships that enhance fellowship. A small-church’s authenticity and intimacy results in being nimble, that is, responsive to the needs of people. He compares the large church that struggles with the oxymoron of professional authenticity through small groups. Unexpected strengths result from these small-church virtues such as financial efficiency. The small church with limited financial program investment has the means to be nimble. Furthermore, congregational energy is less consumed with facilities and programs and more with relationships and evangelism. The small church does not set itself to change the world. Realizing that the kingdom of God extends far beyond its small means the small-church leader is free to embrace the more limited role of changing lives in the community for Christ.
In chapter four O’Brien shows how to become strategically lean in order to respond nimbly to the ministry opportunities around the small church. He reminds small-church leaders to beware of the dual temptations to evaluate ourselves by our programs and regard people as merely customers or clients of those programs. He shows ways to program that increase participation without encumbering the church or limiting responsiveness to needs. He goes further is chapter five by setting out a strategy of high accountability for theological consistency but low control over lay generated ministry as a means of programing.
In chapter six he stresses the authentic and intimate intergenerational nature of the smaller church. The small church combines generations in intimate relationships where the faith can be passed on from one to another. Studies by Christian Smith and others concerning the decline of faith in the younger generations have highlighted the needed for an alternative to sixty-five years of segregated youth ministry. The small church has that alternative because the generations are connected in intimate relationships. The vital mature faith of older believers can be spoken of and modeled for youth. The youth learn a vocabulary and a world view that will enable to encounter life from the perspective of faith.
Chapter seven emphasizes the ability of the authentic, intimate small church to disciple new leadership. Since effective leadership is not learned in a book of steps or principles but in the context of ministry mentored by a mature leader, the small church is the best place to develop this leadership. My own experience has shown that the best lay leaders usually come from small churches where they have learned under a close relationship with a pastor friend. One down side of this chapter is his minimization of preaching. O’Brien’s typical preacher is the large-church celebrity preacher who is capable of drawing folks but not discipling them. Because small churches don’t have celebrity preachers he minimizes the role of preaching. When he minimizes preaching he contradicts his own advice in chapter five about the need for high theological accountability. That accountability is taught as the voice of God from the pulpit in the context of worship. Preaching gives voice to the foundations and standards of ministry as found in the Bible and motivates that ministry. When personally delivered by a loved pastor in a context of intimate, accountable relationships preaching becomes the prime means of leader discipleship.
This book has three very positive benefits for small-church leaders. First, it is encouraging to hear another voice publically declare the virtues of the small church and its current cultural relevance in presenting the gospel, in a time when it can be difficult to remain faithful through the struggles of small-church ministry. Second, there are some new ways to evaluate your small church ministry that can be helpful. Finally the book provides helpful direction for maximizing those virtues in your ministry context.
May 21, 2012, 2:13 PM
E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien. Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2012. 240 pp. $16.00.
Randolph Richards, dean of the School of Ministry and professor of biblical studies at Palm Beach Atlantic University, and his former student, Brandon O’Brien, editor at large for Leadership Journal and a doctoral student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, together address the problem of cultural self-awareness in readers of Scripture. This is a common problem in reading ancient texts or interpreting the work of others. Richards brings to the task years of experience as a missionary in Indonesia, where cultural norms and mores are often radically different than in the West. The main thesis of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes is that those living in Western societies are frequently blind to the cultural nuances those living in other cultures take for granted. As a result, Westerners may often miss the point of a biblical passage, whether narrative or didactic. In its tone and contents the book is addressed largely, though not necessarily exclusively, to a lay readership living in the United States. It’s intended to enable readers to understand themselves in their cultural differences as a prelude to approaching and reading the biblical text.
Richards and O’Brien identify nine areas where interpretive problems commonly arise. Some cultural differences are obvious, others lurk beneath the surface, while a third class is extremely difficult to detect and thus poses the greatest danger to the reader of Scripture. The point is that most of these differences go unsaid, being implicit rather than clearly expressed. The first group, explained in chapters one to three, consists of cultural mores, the copious scriptural references to race and ethnicity in Scripture—with the overtones and undertones conveyed to the original readers—and varying significance given to different literary genres. In the second group, Richards and O’Brien contrast the rampant individualism of American society with the corporate and collectivist cultures that prevail in the East. They devote a chapter to the honor-shame nature of the Oriental world in contrast to the dominance of individual conscience and guilt in the West (following Augustine). Indeed, there are radical differences between the two worlds. In the final section, attention turns to the prominence of rules in the West vis-à-vis relationships in the East, to the concepts of virtue and vice, and to a Western obsession with individual, personal relevance that assumes Scripture was written directly to and for me.
There is much in Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes that will be of value to its intended readership, and its main purpose is both necessary and laudable. If it succeeds in convincing persons that, in order to grasp what Scripture is saying to our generation, we must first uncover what it said to its original readers, then it will have achieved a great gain. Moreover, there are a number of insights that make a valuable contribution. The chapter on race and ethnicity is a case in point; the divisions in Corinth may have arisen, it is proposed, from these factors, with Alexandrian Jews looking to Apollos, Aramaic speakers lining up behind Cephas (note: not Peter!), and others being ethnic Corinthians. Richards and O’Brien’s treatment of individualism is also likely to be of value in a culture to which the corporate categories of both the Old and New Testaments are alien. Talk of sin and salvation as a matter of being in Adam or in Christ doesn’t drip readily off American preachers’ lips, nor does the household nature of covenantal administration fit the rugged individualism of the frontier.
At the same time, however, there are a number of significant weaknesses. I shall pinpoint four main areas.
First, the bulk of the book’s examples are based on Richards’ experience in Indonesia; however, Indonesia is not Israel in biblical times. Moreover, much of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes is taken up with the idea of cultural distinctiveness as such. This is a necessary part of the hermeneutical process, but it’s not immediately relevant to the title of the book. As examples of cultural difference, Richards’ recollections of his Indonesian experiences serve to effectively open the question of cultural difference between the world of the Bible and that of the modern West. Nevertheless, the book contains so many that at times it seems more a manual for an intending missionary in Indonesia.
Second, there are a number of lexicographical assertions that are at best highly questionable. In chapter six, the authors draw a fine distinction between words for time such as chronos (which they consider to represent clock time) and kairos (referring to the appropriateness or fittingness of events). Again, we’re told that in the Bible there are four kinds of love, agape love being distinctive. Such assertions were often made in the past but have been undermined by the work of scholars such as James Barr. Perhaps it is significant that Barr isn’t mentioned. That this is no isolated mistake is made clear by the claim that a culture’s thought patterns are reflected in its lexical stock (138-145), a key point also challenged by Barr.
Third, there appears to be a theological deficit. The lack of a coherent covenantal framework leads to a certain relativizing of the law of God, seen in a polarity between law and relationships, with Scripture focusing on the latter rather than the former. This, however, is a false conflict. Adam’s disobedience to the law of God was simultaneously a breach of his covenantal relation to him, a breach demonstrated by his violation of the law God had given. This unfortunate dichotomy repeats itself in a similar polarity between the individual and the collective. Certainly, the West has lost its grasp of the corporate element so vital in understanding Scripture. Nevertheless, the biblical revelation of the corporate—Israel, the church, in Christ—is where the individual flourishes, and non-Western cultures where the individual is submerged by the group are no nearer to biblical balance than is the West.
Finally, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes is influenced by Krister Stendahl’s thesis on the introspective conscience of the West, influenced (so the story goes) by Augustine. In contrast, Richards and O’Brien argue that the biblical authors had no problems with guilty consciences. David had no pangs of guilt about having Uriah effectively eliminated due to his adultery. His actions were culturally acceptable for a king. It was only when confronted by Nathan the prophet that he was brought to realize the gravity of his sin. Perhaps the authors should read carefully Psalm 32 and kindred passages. Since, as seems probable, the psalms were widely used in Israel’s liturgy, it would appear the effects of suppressed and unconfessed sin aren't peculiar to the post-Augustinian Western world at all.
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes is useful if used wisely by knowledgeable readers.
Robert Letham is a lecturer in systematic and historical theology at Wales Evangelical School of Theology in Bridgend, Wales.