One of our favorite podcasts here at The Sacred Page is On Script. Brant, Michael, and I recently had the privilege of appearing on the show to talk about our book Paul, A New Covenant Jew. Brant and Michael had a great discussion of the book with our friends Matthew Bates and Chris Tilling, it is well worth the listen.
For my part, I was interviewed by Chris Tilling, and before saying anything else, I first want to thank Chris for being a gracious host and a good friend. During the interview we talked about the justification chapter of Paul, A New Covenant Jew (chapter five), the relationship between justification, sanctification, and divine and human agency in Paul, as well as my future work.
One of my current projects that I was particularly thrilled to be able to discuss is a new series that I am serving as managing editor for entitled Lectio Sacra (Cascade Books). Before describing the series, I want to state upfront that I am honored to be working with the other managing editors, our very own Jim Prothro and Ben Blackwell of Houston Baptist University.
The mission of the Lectio Sacra series will be to develop and model a close reading of biblical texts that keeps in view the contributions and insights of ancient readers and the questions they asked. Each volume will, in various ways, engage the range of interpretative history, paying particular attention to the exegetical, philosophical and theological judgments of interpreters within this tradition.
Some volumes will be anchored in exegesis of the biblical text and, from that basis, engage issues of their ancient interpretation or their bearing on contemporary questions of theology, ethics, etc. Other volumes may be grounded in ancient reception of Scripture, unpacking its relevance for the ongoing task of exegesis and theology. All of the volumes will facilitate conversation about and with Scripture as a sacred text, listening closely to other readers who have done the same. The series will thus contribute to the continued conversation about the task of explicitly theological exegesis. By engaging relevant questions through text and reception, the series will also make ancient interpreters intelligible and relevant for today’s readers.
The genesis of this series comes from years of conversations about the future of exegesis with our friend Michael Thomson, formerly of Eerdmans and now of Cascade (Wipf & Stock). Michael has been the acquisitions editor behind some of the most important New Testament manuscripts of the last 20 years, and I know I speak for Jim and Ben in saying we are honored to be working with Michael on this project. For more on Michael, please see Nijay Gupta’s recent interview of Michael on Nijay’s blog, Crux Sola.
Please be looking for more information on the series in the coming months, including a forthcoming post by Jim that will give more information on the series and introduce our editorial board.