In this post, I'd like to focus on one aspect of these conversations, as I think it's pertinent for our thinking about Joshua. It’s the "historicity" of the Bible.

It comes up all the time. Here's how the conversation usually plays out.

My conversation partner asks, "Did [usually it's a famous Old Testament story] really happen?"

I say, "Probably not."

Whew. It's been a while. For those of you who have been anxiously awaiting some new, hard-hitting, post-evangelical, seminary(ish)-level, mid- to long-form blog content ... many apologies for the delay.

I'm back here, writing, because I have a few projects in the works focusing on the book of Joshua. After a decade+ thinking about Psalms, it's been a welcome distraction. But, beyond the occasional sermon and some brief remarks in an OT intro course, Joshua is a new academic interest for me, which makes it a little intimidating. Also ... Joshua is a landmine of historical/textual/interpretive/theological/ethical issues. To help me process my thoughts, I wanted to include you in the conversation. I hope we'll get to some other, non-Joshua topics on this forum, too, but I'm thinking my namesake will be home base for a while.

To kick things off, I thought it would be helpful to start with some "first things” …

My friend, Jennifer Garcia Bashaw, and I are teaching a course for pastors sponsored by the fine folks over at The Bible for Normal People. It's called ... wait for it ... Pastors for Normal People. (get it? brilliant, right? Pete and Jared are nothing if not clever.)

Here's the sales pitch: the course is for pastors who are having to learn how to pastor from a new place (most likely, while also being employed to serve a local congregation) …

Here is a video of me riffing on Jesus and Old Testament prophecy for a few minutes. It’s short. (I think.) You’ll like it. (I think.)

As I was prepping for a lecture on Old Testament prophecy, I came across this line from my doctoral supervisor, (the honorable and wise) Professor John Goldingay. I remember him saying it in person—in fact, it has stuck with me for years—but I hadn't come across it in print. He writes, 

In general, a prophet "is independent of institutional pressures of church and state. It's virtually impossible to be a prophet if you are on the nation's payroll or the church's payroll. People such as pastors who are on the church's payroll have to encourage other people to be prophets" (Goldingay, An Introduction to the Old Testament, 263, emphasis mine).