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Author: Alastair Roberts
Alastair Roberts (PhD, Durham University) writes in the areas of biblical theology and ethics, but frequently trespasses beyond these bounds. He participates in the weekly Mere Fidelity podcast, blogs at Alastair’s Adversaria, and tweets at @zugzwanged.
Understanding the Sign Gifts
What is your view of the miraculous gifts (like prophecy and the gifts of tongues) in the New Testament period? Did these discontinue with the closing of the Scriptural Canon or, maybe, they took on a new form after this? And how did the Scriptures relate to the work of the prophets in the New Testament?
Unravelling the Mysteries of the Book of Esther
Today’s video is on the subject of the book of Esther, exploring some of the insights of Rabbi David Fohrman’s superb little book, The Queen You Thought You Knew, which I read over the weekend.
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What is the Biblical Theological Significance of Melchizedek?
Why is Melchizedek so important to the author of Hebrews? What’s the biblical-theological significance of Jesus being a priest after the order of Melchizedek?
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The Chronology of Genesis 38
This is probably my last video for a month or so. Within it, I discuss the difficult chronology of Genesis 38. I’ve written a lengthy post here, which gets into some of the typology of the chapter in its context. I also mention the Judah and Tamar narrative in the context of this video on Ruth the Moabitess. Unfortunately, the sound quality is poor on this one.
Ruth the Moabitess and the Moabite Women of Nehemiah
Having recently read both Ruth and Nehemiah, I was struck by the very different ways they relate to the recurring entanglement of Moabite women and Israelite men. Nehemiah seems to replay the old story, whereas Ruth seems to invert it (the faithful pagan woman, redeemed that she might birth the future redeemer). Do you have any thoughts on this or on the related issue of how David and Jesus were admitted into the congregation of Israel in spite of Moabite ancestry?
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Trinity and Modalism
I follow what you are saying about the error of saying that there are three ‘centers of consciousness’ in God’s Triune nature, and how that would involve a denial of the unity and simplicity of the Divine Being and ultimately involve tritheism. However, isn’t that different from affirming three subsistent consciousnesses, or three self-conscious Persons within the nature of God? Would not a denial of that involve the opposite error of modalism? I am concerned that in our right concern to flee from tritheism, we are not seeing an implicit embrace of modalism.
Exegesis, Authorial Intention, and Typology
Is the task of exegesis limited to discovering the author’s original intention, or can meaning somehow overflow intention? If so, in what way? What guardrails are in place that would enable us to recognize certain readings as off-limits? A common text referenced in these discussions is Matthew 2:15’s usage of Hosea 11:1, so I’d be interested to hear your take on that as well.
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The Threefold Personhood of God
Today I answer a question about the classical doctrine of the Trinity. There is much that I’d love to say more clearly or carefully than I do in this video, or to elaborate upon further, so feel free to send me follow-up questions in the comments here or over on Curious Cat.
A Biblical Theology of the Household
The following video is an answer to a Curious Cat question, an over-ambitious attempt to answer a huge question that deserves detailed analysis off the top of my head. Continue to leave your questions in the comments on this blog, over on Curious Cat, or you can email me if you have my address.
Adversaria Videos and Podcasts 