Really Recommended Posts 1/8/16- Hyperbole, Voluntarism, commentaries, and more!

Happy New Year! Let’s kick off the year with another round of “Really Recommended Posts.” It’s cold so we’re doing an owl post edition. The topics I have for you, dear readers, include divine voluntarism (what?), hyperbole and the Canaanite conquest narratives, Leibniz’s contingency argument for God, bible commentaries, and Star Trek.

Hyperbole Interpretation is Not Helpful for Canaanite Conquest– Clay Jones argues that the recent apologetic turn towards arguing that the conquest narratives in the Bible feature hyperbole is not as fruitful an apologetic as some have thought. Although some of his argument resonates with me, I think he misses a crucial point in his counter-examples by having different categories of act. I hope to write a response to this… some day… when I have time.

Leibniz’s Contingency Argument (Video)– A relatively short video explaining the Leibnizian Cosmological Argument. I’m not as sold on how the argument is presented here, because I think the premise about the universe and God makes it tougher to defend, but I think this video does a good job of explaining the most important issues. Check out my post on the argument for more details, as well as the version I think is stronger.

Francis Turretin on Divine Voluntarism: Most Reformers Follow Aquinas– I found this an interesting read on the topic of divine voluntarism, which is an intriguing problem within some theological systems.

Christians for Biblical Equality’s Commentary List– Here’s a resource for we egalitarians out there: a commentary list put forward by Christians for Biblical Equality.

TV Trekkin for a New Generation– There’s a new Star Trek series coming! Here are some speculative details and discussion about what it might be.