Leap of Faith - My former job!

Before I got into NT scholarship, this is what I used to do for a living! So don't mess with me folks!! BTW, those landings hurt!!!

Is Michael Bird Scottish?

Is Michael Bird Scottish? Well, according to "World Magazine" I am! Over at WM, Marvin Olasky reviews Introducing Paul, and he sounds pretty excited by it, but I have to tell Marvin: ochai laddy, ya a wee bit off da mark on dat un. But an easy mistake to make since I do have red hair and I am in Scotland! If anyone has an on-line subscription to WM, I'd love to read the whole review.

Bird's "Playdoyee" book

The best line in the Martin Meiser's recent review of Bird's SROG is the last: 

In sum, this well-reasoned playdoyee for reconciliation deserves many attentive readers. 

I'm not sure what the word "playdoyee" means, but I wonder if this is a typo by Meiser for "playdoughee"? This is surely more characteristic of Bird. 

Michael Bird is Everywhere

Today I came across Michael Bird's name in three different contexts. Is there anywhere Bird is not?! First, I noticed the most recent issue of Currents in Biblical Research where he has an article co-authored by Preston Sprinkle on Jewish interpretation of Paul. Then I was given a new book edited by Scot McKnight titled Who Do My Opponents Say That I Am?: An Investigation of the Accusations Against Jesus and Bird has an essay there. Finally, when I was sitting down to watch my beloved Yankees and do some "fun" reading I saw that he had read and given "critical feedback" on the first draft of Piper's new book The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright. It appears he has made good use of insomina. I don't think even with insomina I would be as productive!

God bless you Mike!

The Pre-Christian Michael Bird

I know that given recent events in America this is probably not the best time to post this, but to give my friends in the blogosphere a laugh I thought I would upload this photo of me from my Army days, just to show that I was not always a NT Geek. For the record, I believe in stringent gun control laws. When I first joined the Army I weighed a remarkable 45 kg and moved up to 65 kg in about two months. It was actually during my time in the Army that I became a Christian and being a Christian in the Army was not always easy! The Army philosophy is what I call Cartesian Alcoholism: "I drink, therefore, I am!" But I developed skills (public speaking, discipline, and confidence) that prepared me for an academic career and I learnt very quickly to be able to provide an answer for the hope that you have (1 Pet. 3.15). My time in the Army (13 years all up) shaped a lot of my character and taught me how to cope with adversity, so in that sense, I am grateful for it. From now I am only a soldier of Christ and I carry a NA27 instead of an M-60 - Amen!