While posing no specific theological issue, contra Trinitarians who appeal to it for such purposes, Sharp’s Rule makes for an interesting study.   Greg Stafford has some new and interesting research on the subject that is worth consideration,  “Another Exception to Sharp’s Canon and Its Kin,”.

The following is certainly worth noting, though strangle the commentary goes on to dismiss the reference as something “not to be believed literally,” without good explanation.  Regardless, with believing it literally the following is well suited to consider:

“Of much more importance is the unquestionable evidence of the Apostle’s belief in the pre-existence of Christ. He does not say, ‘And the rock is Christ,’ which might mean no more than, ‘And the rock is a type of Christ,’ but, ‘And the rock was Christ.’ In Gal. 4:24, 25 he uses the present tense, Hagar and Sarah ‘are two covenants,’ i.e. represent them, are typical of them. Similarly, in the interpretation of parables (Matt. 13:19–23, 37–38) we have ‘is’ throughout. The ἦν implies that Christ was the source of the water which saved the Israelites from perishing of thirst; there was a real Presence of Christ in the element which revived their bodies and strengthened their faith. The comment of Herveius, Sic solet loqui Scriptura, res significantes tanqam illas quae significantur appellans, is true, but inadequate; it overlooks the difference between ἐστι and ἦν. We have an approach to this in Wisd. 11:4, where the Israelites are represented as calling on the Divine Wisdom in their thirst, and it is Wisdom which grants the water. Philo (Quod deterius potiori, p. 176) speaks of the Divine Wisdom as a solid rock which gives imperishable sustenance to those who desired it; and he then goes on to identify the rock with the manna. The pre-existence of Christ is implied in ἐπτώχευσεν (2 Cor. 8:9), in ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ (Gal. 4:4), and in ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἑαντοῦ υἱὸν πέμψας (Rom. 8:3).”

Robertson, Archibald ; Plummer, Alfred: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. New York : C. Scribner’s Sons, 1911, S. 201

Anyone doubting that Atheism has become a religion to many need only consider this story.

Over on YouTube the topic of agency has come up quite a bit lately, with those on the Trinitarian front failing to understand the concept repeatedly, even upon extensive explanation.   These discussions are worth reviewing for a deeper understanding of how divine agency was viewed in Second Temple Jewish thought, both in and out of the Bible.

First Discussion

Second Discussion

The Pen and Parchment blog at Reclaiming The Mind has started an interesting 10-part series on archeology and the Bible. This is worth the time to review for those seeking archaeological support for the Bible. Naturally, we should not expect archeology to today confirm everything in the Bible, for even 200 years ago many denied biblical accounts for a lack of archaeological evidence that has since been discovered.  As time progress new evidence continues to support the Bible and we should expect this to continue.

While things have been relatively quite, this is far from saying that nothing is ongoing.  Quite the opposite, I’ve been extensively involved in research for what will be a greatly expanded Second Edition to God and Christ: Examining the Evidence for a Biblical Doctrine.  If all goes as planned, this edition will significantly dwarf the existing volume (For those interested, I’m currently making a careful study of the Dead Sea Scrolls with special emphasis on parallels to the New Testament, especially in the realm of agency and the christological implications, while also reviewing Larry Hurtado’s Lord Jesus Christ).   With the amount of research required I anticipate a few years before even before even beginning to write, so in the interim there will be an update to the first edition, providing minor corrections as well as limited expansion.  Even this will be some time forthcoming.

I hope to have more time for updating this blog, as there are many important topics worthy of discussion.   As circumstances allow this will be done.  Further, for those interested in supporting this website, specifically in the area of research material, I have posted an Amazon Wish-list containing various works required for further researching the Second Edition.   If you have the means to support this work it would be greatly appreciated.