Poring over Scripture and previous investigation reports again and again

As Biblescholars we try to search for truth and sometimes it looks like we are investigators looking at more than one “Cold Case”, trying to construct the events declared in scripture.

At “The Logos Academic Blog” Matthew W. Bates says

Scholars do not want to wade through basic information that everyone in the field already knows. {Salvation by Faith, or Allegiance alone? Matthew Bates in the Hot Seat (Part 1)}

He is convinced that both church and academy need to rethink faith, the gospel, and salvation. Matthew Bates is an investigator who agrees he does not know the answer yet when he is writing, but he has that feeling that he has caught the scent of something tantalizing.

I need to figure out how and why these ideas fit together. Writing helps me ferret out the answers and to clarify them — for myself and hopefully for others too. {Salvation by Faith, or Allegiance alone? Matthew Bates in the Hot Seat (Part 1)}

On the question: “What makes a good biblical scholar or theologian?” he replies:

I think some of our best biblical scholars — Hays, Barclay, Wright, and others – act like crime-scene investigators. The truth is paramount! So they pore over Scripture and previous investigation reports again and again. They read broadly to crack open new horizons. Eventually, a set of questions and observable patterns are discovered that have eluded previous investigators. It is easy to be creative without being faithful to the Scripture, or faithful without being creative. The best manage both. {Matthew Bates on “What Makes a Good Biblical Scholar or Theologian?”}

Find also

• A Strategic Approach to Reading Background Texts of the New Testament
• Bates in the Hot Seat: Pistis as “Allegiance”? (Part 2)
• Defending “Allegiance Alone” – Part 3 of Bates’ Hot Seat interview
• 7 Marks of an Allegiance-centered Church: Bates Interview (Part 5)
• Salvation by Faith, or Allegiance alone? Matthew Bates in the Hot Seat (Part 1)
• Abraham’s “allegiance” to King Jesus? Part 4 of the Matthew Bates interview

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Further reading

1. Larry Hurtado on Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World
2. Salvation By Allegiance Alone: Introducing a Book Review Series and Some Engagement with Scot McKnight
3. Salvation By Faith Alone?
4. Over 250 Protestant Leaders Sign ‘Reforming Catholic Confession’ on Essentials of Christian Faith
5. How Should We Think of Religion in Ancient Israel?
6. Book Announcement: Pillars in the History of Biblical Interpretation (2 vols.)

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