Introduction
Someone wrote to me a while ago asking if there were blogs on Christian theology similar to The Gospel Coalition and Desiring God websites but that didn’t push a complementarian or patriarchal agenda. I replied to her with a list. A couple of weeks ago, I saw someone on Twitter ask a similar question. This tweet has prompted me to post my list here.
The following blogs and newsletters are written by (somewhat) conservative evangelical scholars from a variety of denominational backgrounds. They cover a range of topics related to Christian theology and biblical studies. None of these blogs focuses primarily on gender discussions.
I have been following each of these blogs for some time and I personally recommend them, but let me add the disclaimer that I don’t necessarily agree with everything posted on them. (Note also that some of the “latest books” of these bloggers have not been updated.)
Beth Felker Jones: Church Blogmatics
Dr Beth Felker Jones is a professor of Christian theology at Northern Seminary near Chicago and an author who loves talking about “the beauty, the truth, and the goodness of God.” Her latest book is the second edition of Practicing Christian Doctrine: An Introduction to Thinking and Living Theologically (2023).
Twitter: @BethFelkerJones
Facebook: @BethFelkerJones
Michael Bird: Word from the Bird
Dr Michael Bird is an Australian theologian, New Testament scholar, author, and an Anglican priest. His blog is described as “A newsletter about Christian faith, biblical scholarship, and contemporary issues.” There’s a guest post from me on 1 Timothy 2:12 on his blog, here. Michael’s latest book, Seven Things I Wish Christians Knew about the Bible, will be available in June 2021.
Twitter: @MBird12
Facebook: @Michael.Bird.33
Nijay Gupta: Crux Sola
Dr Nijay Gupta is a theologian and New Testament scholar. His blog Crux Sola is subtitled “Formed by Scripture to Live Like Christ.” Nijay is currently writing a book about New Testament women which will be published by IVP Academic. I’m really looking forward to this!
Update: Nijay’s book Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church was published in March 2023.
Twitter: @NijayKGupta
Facebook: @Nijay.Gupta
Ian Paul: Psephizo
Dr Ian Paul is a theologian, biblical scholar, author, and a Church of England minister, among other roles. He posts research, observations, and reflections on his blog that are often related to studies, teaching, or ministry he is currently engaged in. Ian’s most recent book is the Tyndale New Testament Commentary on the Book of Revelation.
Twitter: @Psephizo
Facebook: @IanBPaul
Phil Long: Reading Acts
Dr Phillip J. Long is a biblical scholar and a prolific blogger and book reviewer. He has taught full-time at Grace Christian University in the USA since 1998, specializing in Biblical Studies and Biblical languages. Phil blogs on the book of Acts, Pauline theology, and much more! His most recent book is Galatians: Freedom through God’s Grace.
Phil is also the organiser of the monthly Biblical Studies Carnival. This online carnival highlights some of the best scholarly blogs and articles that were posted in the preceding month.
Twitter: @Plong42
Facebook: @Plong42
Laura Spicer Martin: Enough Light
Laura Spicer Martin is a minister and author. She has a Master of Arts degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. Laura writes short, interesting blog posts that are easy to read. She has named her blog after this quotation from Blaise Pascal, “In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don’t.” Her latest book is entitled Positively Powerless: How a Forgotten Movement Undermined Christianity.
Twitter: @EnoughLight
Sandra Glahn: Aspire 2
Dr Sandra Glahn is an author, journalist, and a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS). Sandra has written more than twenty books on topics such as bioethics, sexuality, and biblical women. She has also written eleven Bible studies in the Coffee Cup Bible Study series. I recommend Vindicating the Vixens: Revisiting Sexualized, Vilified, and Marginalized Women of the Bible, edited by Sandra and published in 2017.
Update: Sandra’s book Nobody’s Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament was released in October 2023. I look forward to reading it.
Twitter: @SandraGlahn
Facebook: @Aspire2
Claude Mariottini (Self-titled blog)
Dr Claude Mariottini is Emeritus Professor of Old Testament at Northern Baptist Seminary in the USA. He blogs on the Hebrew Bible from a Christian perspective and has many articles on Bible women.
Twitter: @DrMariottini
Facebook: @DrClaudeMariottini
Ben Witherington: Bible and Culture
Dr Ben Witherington III is a New Testament scholar, author, and an ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church. The subtitle of Ben’s blog is “A One-Stop Shop for all Things Biblical and Christian.”
Facebook: @Ben.Witherington.5
Scot McKnight: Scot’s Newsletter
Dr Scot McKnight is a theologian, New Testament scholar, historian of early Christianity, and an ordained minister. He is also an author who has written widely on the historical Jesus, early Christianity and Christian living. Scot’s latest books are A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing written with Laura Barringer, and To You All Hearts Are Open: Revitalizing the Church’s Pattern of Asking God.
Twitter: @ScotMcKnight
Facebook: @Scot.McKnight
Roger E. Olson (Self-titled blog)
Dr Roger E. Olson is Emeritus Professor of Christian Theology at Baylor University. He is the author of over twenty books including The Story of Christian Theology and The Journey of Modern Theology (both published by InterVarsity Press). His latest book is Unsafe Sects: Understanding Religious Cults (2023). The subtitle of his blog is “My Evangelical Arminian Musings.”
Various Authors: Theological Miscellany
Theological Miscellany is a blog by the faculty and friends of WTC (Westminster Theological College) who post theological reflections on scripture, life, culture, politics, society, gender, and pretty much anything. WTC has faculty members from around the world with different interests and theological leanings and who are committed to a Christ-centred theology, taught in a Spirit-led fashion in partnership with the local church.
Many blog posts are written by Dr Lucy Peppiatt who is a systematic theologian and pastor of a charismatic church. I recommend her 2019 book Rediscovering Scripture’s Vision for Women.
Twitter: @LucePeppiatt and @wtctheology
Various Authors: The Anxious Bench
The Anxious Bench is a Christian history blog rather than a Christian theology blog. It features reflections on contemporary faith, politics, and culture in the light of American and global religious history. Dr Beth Allison Barr, author of The Making of Biblical Womanhood, and Dr Kristen Kobes Du Mez, author of Jesus and John Wayne, were former contributors. A list of current contributors is on the website.
Twitter: @AnxiousBench
Facebook: @AnxiousBench
Various Authors: Catalyst Resources
Catalyst Resources is an online newsletter for seminarians, pastors, and other Christian leaders, especially for those in the Wesleyan and Methodist traditions. Their interests are broadly focused on the classical Christian tradition as the context for thinking, serving, and living as Wesleyan-Methodist leaders. Catalyst Resources is edited by New Testament scholar Dr Joel B. Green.
Twitter: @JoelBGreen
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Thanks so much Marg for this brilliant list. You have done all the hard work!
Thank you for this refreshing list. Where so much patriarchal perspective abounds, it’s good to find voices that express biblical equality.
You might add mine, Acts and More. https://stevewalton.info/
Thanks, Steve. I visited your blog the other day via the Biblical Studies Carnival. It looks great.
Marg, can you give me a good recommendation on an interlinear Bible. I am looking for one that is the most accurate to the original text.
I have used Bible Hub’s interlinear Bible but I read that it has some problems with accuracy.
Then I switched to this ESV interlinear Bible after I read that it was more accurate.
https://www.stepbible.org/?q=version=ESV|reference=Matt.5&options=NVHUG
Hi Dana,
I like the Bible Hub interlinear. There are some errors, but they are easily identified by clicking on words to check. Plus they show other Greek (and Hebrew) texts for comparison. For example, scroll to the bottom of this page: https://biblehub.com/text/ephesians/5-22.htm
Note that there are errors with accents in their Greek concordance, and I don’t recommend Strong’s and HELPS Words Studies which are linked to it. I’ve written a bit about this here: https://margmowczko.com/using-a-greek-english-dictionary-and-moving-bones/
How is the ESV interlinear more accurate? I have a strong dislike for the ESV. It is a deliberately biased translation. I have a few articles on the ESV here: https://margmowczko.com/tag/esv/
I can’t see that this, copied from STEP, works as an interlinear.
Eph 5:22
(ESV) Wives submit to your own husbands as to the Lord.
(SBLG) Αἱ γυναῖκες τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ,
Eph 5:23
(ESV) For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
(SBLG) ὅτι ἀνήρ ἐστιν κεφαλὴ τῆς γυναικὸς ὡς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς κεφαλὴ τῆς ἐκκλησίας, αὐτὸς σωτὴρ τοῦ σώματος.
Eph 5:24
(ESV) Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
(SBLG) ἀλλὰ ὡς ἡ ἐκκλησία ὑποτάσσεται τῷ Χριστῷ, οὕτως καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἐν παντί.
It’s just the ESV translation and the SBL Greek New Testament, and they don’t “match.” I’ve highlighted in bold words that the ESV adds or mistranslates.
If you want a book, I recommend this one: https://www.amazon.com/New-Greek-English-Interlinear-NT-Hardcover/dp/1496443985
Thank you, Marg,
I will certainly take that into consideration. I am glad to hear that Bible Hub interlinear is more reliable than I thought. I agree with you about the English Standard Version being biased and I do not like it either. I was using the website for its’ Greek Bible dictionary. I will remember you in my prayers.
Dana
Thanks, Dana. I appreciate that.
Here are a couple of online magazines that have been recommended to me.
Fathom
https://www.fathommag.com/
Light + Life Magazine — the online magazine of the Free Methodist Church – USA.
https://lightandlife.fm/
Roger Olson blogs at Patheos — https://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/author/rogereolson/
His specialty is “Historical Theology.” He’s a lifelong egalitarian, but it’s not his primary focus, so he only occasionally writes on it. However, he’s written on it at least twice this month (June 2022) — once giving a decidedly mixed review (which he stipulates is not so much a formal “review” as a “personal response”) of “Jesus and John Wayne” by Du Mez; and once expressing concern that ALL masculinity is coming to be viewed as “toxic.”
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