Recently in Lecture Series Category

If you have never made it to one of the Logos lectures, I would really encourage you to come out to the Mount Baker Theatre on Thursday as Dr. Bryant Wood, Director of Research with the Associates for Biblical Research, will present on the topic "What Does Archaeology Say about the Fall of Jericho?"

About the Lecture

Did the walls of Jericho really come tumbling down? Biblical archaeologist Bryant Wood will present an illustrated talk on archaeological findings at Jericho, a site which has been a problem in biblical archaeology since scholars claimed that there was no city there at the time of Joshua. As a result, most archaeologists claim the Bible must be in error. Dr. Wood shows that not only was there a city at Jericho at the time of Joshua's Conquest, but that when the findings are correctly dated, it is seen that the archaeological discoveries and the biblical narrative in Joshua 2–6 harmonize in an amazing way.

Event Details

• Date: Thursday, March 19th
• Time: 7:00 PM
• Title: "What Does Archaeology Say about the Fall of Jericho?"
• Speaker: Dr. Bryant Wood
• Location: Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham, WA
• Admission: FREE!

About This Month's Speaker

Dr. Wood earned an M.A. in Biblical History from the University of Michigan in 1974, and a Ph.D. in Syro-Palestinian archaeology from the University of Toronto in 1985. His extensive archaeological field work includes surveying in Jordan, Egypt, and Israel, and he has been awarded grants to carry on his research. He is a member of the Near East Archaeological Society and a Fellow of the Institute for Biblical Research. Dr. Wood is currently Director of Research with the Associates for Biblical Research, Akron, PA, and editor of their quarterly publication Bible and Spade.

Mark your calendar, tell your friends, and we will see you soon.

Update: The audio is now available on the Lecture Series page.

Today's guest blogger is Adam Navarrete, who works in the marketing department here at Logos.

As the 2008 Logos Lecture Series comes to a close, I would like to personally thank our loyal attendees for making the lectures a wonderful time. Our final lecture for 2008 is only days away—so I invite you to join us this Monday!

Dr. Peter Jones of truthXchange will be speaking about the upsurge of neo-paganism.

With an overview on the rise of neo-pagan thought in the United States and abroad, Dr. Peter Jones shows that a neo-pagan pantheistic worldview is steadily displacing atheism and its materialistic secular humanism as the dominant mode of thought in contemporary culture. He'll argue that conversions from secularism to pagan spirituality occur without too much difficulty because both deny the living personal God of the Bible.

Please note that this lecture will be held at the Mount Baker Theater in Bellingham, WA.

Event Details

• Date: Monday, December 8th
• Time: 7:00 PM
• Title: "Neo-pagan Religion: Stepchild of Secular Humanism"
• Speaker: Dr. Peter Jones
• Location: Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham, WA
• Admission: FREE!

About This Month's Speaker

Dr. Peter Jones, born in Liverpool, England, was educated at the University of Wales, Gordon Divinity School, and Harvard Divinity School. In 1971, he married and was a Ph.D. candidate at Princeton Theological Seminary before heading to France where he taught New Testament. There he also wrote, spoke, and helped start a Christian school and a church. Invited to teach at Westminster Seminary, California, Dr. Jones re-entered the U.S. where he experienced culture shock as a new spirituality had taken over America. This led him to write The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back. Dr. Jones is currently executive director of truthXchange.

His writings include Gospel Truth, Pagan Lies, The God of Sex: How Worldview Determines Sexuality, and Capturing the Pagan Mind. He also co-authored Cracking DaVinci's Code and followed up with Stolen Identity: The Conspiracy to Reinvent Jesus.

Today's guest blogger is Adam Navarrete, who works in the marketing department here at Logos.

I want to thank everyone that came out to our last lecture with Arnold Fruchtenbaum—it was a packed house! Can you believe that it's time for another lecture already? I am really excited about this lecture as I have heard nothing but great things about Professor Zylstra—and the topic looks to be quite interesting: "Understanding Radical Islam."

About the Lecture

Many people in Western democracies know little about Islam, especially the beliefs of some of its minority groups. Professor Clarence Zylstra of Whatcom Community College has taught political science and history for over thirty years. In this lecture, professor Zylstra focuses on the beginnings of Islam, its historical radicalization, and how Islamic eschatology is a driving force behind the Islamo-fascism mounting a threat to the West today.

About This Month's Speaker

Professor Clarence Zylstra was born in Holland in 1930 and lived there through World War II and the Nazi occupation. In 1948 he immigrated to the United States. He served in the U.S. Army as a linguist from 1951 to 1952. Following his discharge he became a dairy farmer in Everson and student at Western Washington University. Upon obtaining a master's degree in Economics, History and Political Science, he became an instructor at Whatcom Community College where he has taught for more than 30 years.

Event Details

• Title: "Understanding Radical Islam"
• Speaker: Professor Clarence Zylstra
• Date: Monday, October 27
• Time: 7:00 PM
• Location: Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham, Washington
• Cost: Admission is free!

There's just one lecture left before 2009! Check the lecture page for updated information.

Hope to see you there on Monday night!

Today's guest blogger is Adam Navarrete, who works in the marketing department here at Logos.

The Logos Lecture Series is back in action after taking a month off. Tomorrow, September 24, we will host Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum of Ariel Ministries, who will be speaking on "The Basis of the Second Coming." Make a point of joining us at 7:00 PM at the American Museum of Radio and Electricity here in Bellingham, Washington.

About the Lecture

While the rapture of the church has no preconditions and can happen at any moment of time, the second coming for Israel does have a major precondition: Israel's national salvation. This topic is a study of the circumstances of the rejection of the Messiah by Israel and the one prerequisite that must be fulfilled before the Messiah can return.

About the Speaker

Arnold Fruchtenbaum is the author of books such as Jesus Was a Jew, Messianic Christology, and Hebrew Christianity, among many others. He began his formal education at Shelton College, earned B.A. degrees in Hebrew and Greek from Cedarville University, his M.T.S. from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. at New York University. Dr. Fruchtenbaum has lived and worked with the messianic congregation in Jerusalem, ministered for the American Board of Missions to the Jews, was editor of The Chosen People, served as Associate Director of the world's largest Messianic Jewish broadcasting ministry at The Christian Jew Foundation, and currently serves as Director of Ariel Ministries.

Event Details

• Title: The Basis of the Second Coming
• Speaker: Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum of Ariel Ministries
• Date: Wednesday, September 24
• Time: 7:00-8:00 PM
• Location: The American Museum of Radio and Electricity in Bellingham, Washington
• Admission is free!

For those who are unable to attend the lecture, we hope to make the audio available within a few days of the event.

By the way, be sure to check out our collection of books from Dr. Fruchtenbaum in the Ariel Ministries Messianic Collection (11 Vols.).

To get you thinking about our next lecture, our guest will be local professor Clarence Zylstra of Whatcom Community College. He will present his topic, "Understanding Radical Islam," on Monday, October 27. Please check the Lecture Series page, which we'll keep updated as more information becomes available.

Today's blog post was written by Kirk Fengel, the newly appointed facilitator of the Logos Lecture Series.

Our next Logos Lecture Series event will feature Dr. Nicholas Perrin of Wheaton College, who will be speaking on “The Gospel of Thomas in Early Christianity.” Make a point of joining us at 7:00 PM on Friday, July 25, at The American Museum of Radio and Electricity here in Bellingham, Washington.

About the Lecture

If the fairly recent buzz over The Da Vinci Code is any indication, it appears that gnostic thought continues to hold a certain fascination in western culture. One of the most important early (so-called) gnostic texts, the Gospel of Thomas, has also attracted its own fair share of popular and scholarly attention, repeatedly prompting the question as to whether this gospel gives us undiscovered words of Jesus. This lecture will deal both with the scholarly controversy and the speaker's original research on the significance of the Gospel of Thomas within early Christianity.

About the Speaker

Dr. Nicholas Perrin is the author of such fine books as Thomas: The Other Gospel, The Judas Gospel, and Questioning Q, among others, and has also authored many definitive papers and articles. He has extensively researched the Gospel of Thomas, historical Jesus, Paul and Jewish self-definition, and the Gospels. Dr. Perrin holds a Ph.D. from Marquette University, M.Div. from Covenant Theological Seminary, and B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and now serves as Assistant Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College.

Event Details

• Title: “The Gospel of Thomas in Early Christianity”
• Speaker: Dr. Nicholas Perrin of Wheaton College
• Date: Friday, July 25
• Time: 7:00-8:00 PM
• Location: The American Museum of Radio and Electricity in Bellingham, Washington.

For those who are unable to attend the lecture we should have the audio available within a few days of the event. Please check the Lecture Series page for updates.

The Logos Lecture Series is back already with what might be our biggest event yet! On Friday, June 27 Dr. Norm Geisler will present "The Importance of Creation" at Christ the King Church in Bellingham, Washington. The lecture is free to attend—you don't even need a ticket to get in.

Here's a quick description of what Dr. Geisler will be covering.

"With the explosion of the Intelligent Design movement, many Americans are once again forced to take sides in the long-standing battle between creation and evolution. Yet many feel inadequately educated on the judicial process of this battle. This lecture will discuss the biblical, Constitutional, ethical, legal, and educational importance of teaching creation. During the lecture Dr. Geisler will draw from 30 years of research and his experience as an expert witness in the "Scopes II" trial in Little Rock, AR."

Norman L. Geisler is author or coauthor of some sixty books, including The Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics and his four-volume Systematic Theology. He has taught at the university and graduate level for nearly forty years and has spoken or debated in all fifty states and in twenty-five countries. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Loyola University and now serves as president of Southern Evangelical Seminary. A few of Dr. Geisler's works are also available for Logos Bible Software. Titles include Norman L. Geisler's Systematic Theology (4 Volumes), The Norman L. Geisler Apologetics Library, I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, and A General Introduction to the Bible.

Event Details

• "The Importance of Creation"
• Dr. Norman L. Geisler
• June 27, 2008 at 7:00 PM
• Christ the King Church in Bellingham, Washington

If you are able please join us at the lecture. After all, it's not every day one of the biggest names in apologetics rolls into Bellingham.

It’s time for another Logos Lecture Series event. This one features Dr. John Walton of Wheaton College, who will be speaking on “Genesis One As Ancient Cosmology.” If you’re in the area, join us at 7:00 PM on Monday, June 23, at the Mount Baker Theatre here in Bellingham, Washington.

About the Lecture

Dr. Walton will be discussing the controversy that rages between secular science and people of biblical faith concerning the origins of the cosmos. Whether the biblical account in Genesis 1 is being defended or questioned, it has often been treated as if it could or should be adapted to modern scientific terms as an account of material origins. In this lecture Dr. Walton will argue that reading Genesis 1 as an ancient text resolves the presumed problems that are the focus of modern controversy.

About the Speaker

Dr. John Walton is a professor of Old Testament studies at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He earned his Ph.D. in 1981 at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio. Since that time he has published numerous works through Zondervan and Baker publishing houses including the Expositor's Bible Commentary on Jonah, NIV Application Commentary on Genesis, and Obadiah-Jonah: A Bible Study Commentary.

Event Details

• Title: “Genesis One As Ancient Cosmology”
• Speaker: Dr. John Walton of Wheaton College
• Date: Monday, June 23
• Time: 7:00-8:00 PM
• Location: Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham, Washington

May's lecture in the ongoing Logos Lecture Series is titled "The Septuagint: The Bible of the Early Church." The event will take place on Monday, May 26 at 7:00 P.M. at the American Museum of Radio and Electricity in Bellingham, Washington.

In this lecture Dr. Peter Gentry will provide an overview of what is meant by the term 'Septuagint' as well as a brief description of its origins, history, and character as a first translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. Dr. Gentry will then examine the Septuagint's adoption by the Christian Church. More specifically, he will analyze James' citation from Amos in Acts 15 as an example of the issues and problems entailed in the use of the Septuagint by the early church.

Dr. Peter Gentry currently serves as Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Gentry is the author of many articles and book reviews and has given presentations to groups such as the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament and the Society of Biblical Literature, of which he is also a member. He is currently editing Ecclesiastes and Proverbs for the Göttingen Septuagint Series and is giving leadership to the Hexapla Institute.

Event Details

• Title: The Septuagint: The Bible of the Early Church
  
• Lecturer: Dr. Peter Gentry of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
  
• Date: Monday, May 26
  
• Time: 7:00 PM
  
• Location: The American Museum of Radio and Electricity in Bellingham, WA

Dr. Craig Broyles of Trinity Western University will be this month's lecturer in the ongoing Lecture Series. On Monday, April 28 Dr. Broyles will be presenting a lecture titled "Discerning God's Intervention in Tragedy and in Triumph: The Case of Sennacherib's Invasion of Judah in the Bible and Archaeology." As usual, the event will be held at the Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham, Washington.

How can we identify God’s activity amidst the events that befall us? If things go in our favor, do they indicate God’s favor? If life brings us hardships, do they indicate his judgment or discipline? Or, should we trace these circumstances to human choices? God’s revelation in the Bible, being mostly narrative and poetry, does not give us pat answers. Instead, this canonical anthology reflects a complexity of perspectives on divine intervention, from which we begin to appreciate God’s panoramic perspective.

The invasion of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, into Hezekiah’s Judah in 701 BCE serves as a wonderful illustration of this web of perspectives. This crisis is one of the best documented events in the Bible and in archaeology. We can hear from Sennacherib himself and see his wall reliefs of the invasion (the lecture is illustrated). The archaeology of Jerusalem and Lachish, a fortified city of Judah, tell a story. The Greek historian, Herodotus, presents us with a third-party account from Egyptian sources. The writer of 2 Kings 18-20 provides his own spin on the events, as do Isaiah, whose city of Jerusalem is delivered, and Micah, whose hometown in the countryside is not. The stories surrounding Hezekiah’s rebellion against the Assyrian Empire and Sennacherib’s invasion testify powerfully to the consequences of ignoring Yahweh’s prophetic word, on the one hand, and to Yahweh’s faithfulness at the eleventh hour, on the other.

Event Details

• Discerning God's Intervention in Tragedy and in Triumph: The Case of Sennacherib's Invasion of Judah in the Bible and Archaeology
• Dr. Craig Broyles
• April 28, 2008
• 7:00 PM
• Mount Baker Theatre
• Free and open to the public

It's already time for another Logos lecture! The March edition of the Lecture Series features Dr. Darrell Bock of Dallas Theological Seminary. Dr. Bock will be speaking on "Two Stories about Jesus and the Public Square." The lecture begins at 7:00 PM on Saturday, March 1 at the Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham, Washington.

The talk will discuss the origins of the alternative Jesus story in our culture. Dr. Bock will also explore the term "Jesusanity" (which for many people in American culture is Christianity). The lecture will conclude with some responses to this type of Christianity and some time for Q&A.

Dr. Bock has earned international recognition as a Humboldt Scholar (Tübingen University in Germany) and for his work in Luke-Acts and in Jesus’ examination before the Jews. He was president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) for 2000–2001, and serves as corresponding editor at large for Christianity Today. His articles appear in leading journals and periodicals, including many secular publications such as the Los Angeles Times and the Dallas Morning News. He has been a New York Times best-selling author in nonfiction, and is elder emeritus at Trinity Fellowship Church in Dallas.

Event Details

• Date: Saturday, March 1
  
• Time: 7:00 PM
  
• Location: Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham, Washington
  
• Admission: FREE!

For those who haven't attended any lectures, these events are free and open to the public. Each talk is designed to be interesting and accessible to a broad audience.

Several of Dr. Bock's titles are available in Libronix. You'll definitely want to check them out.

• Luke 1:1-9:50 and Luke 9:51-24:53 in the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament
• Luke in the IVP New Testament Commentary Series
• A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament
• A Biblical Theology of the New Testament
• Breaking the Da Vinci Code

The Logos Lecture Series returns tomorrow with another free event at the Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham. This month’s lecture will be presented by Dr. Steve Delamarter of George Fox Evangelical Seminary. Dr. Delamarter’s talk is titled “Between the Rock and the Hard Place – Fighting for Faith in Second Temple Judaism.”

Dr. Delamater offers this lecture description:

The history and literature of the people Israel in the second temple period (ca. 515 BCE-70 CE) is an amazing witness to the struggle between faith and culture. Beset by invading armies from without and racked by internal division within, the times called forth a host of responses from various members of the Jewish community. In this illustrated lecture we will explore a representative cross-section of the writings produced during this time. Some are known to us in the collection of the Apocrypha. Others are known to us in the collection of the so-called Pseudepigrapha. They include the names of such fascinating characters as Philo of Alexandria and Josephus, a one-time general in the Judean army. Still others have only recently been excavated from places like the caves of Qumran and the sands of Egypt. Taken together, these texts give profound testimony to the ways in which people of faith have always tried to make sense of their worlds, armed only with the authoritative traditions of the past and with the best ideas in their present. If we listen carefully to these texts from the past, we may gain some insights for our own struggles to wrestle meaning out of the chaos in our present.

Event details

• Date: Tuesday, February 19, 2008
• Time: 7:00 PM
• Location: Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham, Washington
• Admission: Free!

Stay tuned to the Logos blog for updates about this lecture and information about future events.

The Logos Lecture Series is one year old – and after 11 lectures we’re still going strong!

Tonight we will kick off another year of lectures, with Dr. Sam Lamerson of Knox Theological Seminary in Florida. The lecture, titled “Jesus’ Use of Comedy to Combat Religious Errors” will start at 7:00 PM at Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham, Washington. The lecture is free and tickets are not required.

In his talk Dr. Lamerson will examine Jesus' use of comedy (in the Aristotelian/Aristophanic sense) as a tool for exposing the political or religious errors of his day. Dr. Lamerson will show that Jesus did indeed engage in the use of comedy. After defining comedy, Jesus’ use of this tool in parables, short sayings, and actions will be pointed out and examined for principles that might be transferable to the Christian combating errors in the public square today.

Dr. Sam Lamerson is currently associate professor of New Testament at Knox Theological Seminary and Assistant Pastor at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. As a member of several scholarly societies, he is a frequent lecturer and has presented papers on various topics including the parables, contextualization of the Gospel, and ethics. His areas of special interest include the synoptic Gospels, the historical Jesus, forgiveness in Second-Temple Judaism, and the parables. Not only this, but Dr. Lamerson is likely to be our only speaker who has appeared on Nickelodeon.

This is sure to be an interesting event, so don’t miss out. We’ll see you at 7:00 at Mount Baker Theatre!

On Tuesday, December 4 Dr. Peter Flint of the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute at Trinity Western University will present his lecture "The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament." This long-awaited lecture will be held at Fraser Hall 4 on the campus of Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. The event will begin at 7:00 PM and admission is free.

In this stunning presentation illustrated with PowerPoint pictures, Dr. Flint will introduce the Dead Sea Scrolls, focusing on the biblical scrolls found at Qumran, and discuss the implication of these ancient manuscripts for the Bible. Some of the vital issues raised by the Scrolls are the antiquity, the accuracy, and the canon of the Bible in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The lecture will also reveal several new readings from the Dead Sea Scrolls. These readings are so powerful and so important that they are being included in recent English translations of the Bible.

As Dr. Flint will note in his lecture, there have been major advancements in the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the past few years. At Logos we're doing our part to increase the distribution and in-depth study of the scrolls through the upcoming Qumran Biblical Dead Sea Scrolls Database.

About the Speaker

Peter W. Flint received his Ph.D. (1993) in Old Testament and Second Testament Judaism from the University of Notre Dame and is Professor of Religious Studies and Co-Director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute at Trinity Western University in British Columbia. He is the author of numerous studies on the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the critically acclaimed The Dead Sea Psalms Scrolls and the Book of Psalms (E. J. Brill, 1997), co-author of the widely-read Dead Sea Scrolls Bible (Harper San Francisco, 1999), and editor of the major two-volume collection The Dead Sea Scrolls After Fifty Years: A Comprehensive Assessment (E. J. Brill, 1998-99).

Parking Information

The lecture will take place in Fraser Hall 4 at Western Washington University. On the WWU campus map you will notice that Fraser Hall is located between Red Square and East College Way. There will be pay parking available along East College Way and free parking is available after 5:00 PM in the large south lot on campus. Please note that the south lot is a 5-10 minute walk to Fraser Hall.

This past Monday (October 22) Dr. H. Wayne House gave his lecture "The Jesus Who Never Lived: False Christs and the Authentic Jesus."

Click here to listen to Dr. House's lecture.

Dr. House spoke for approximately one hour and then took questions for another 15 minutes. One of the highlights of his lecture was the incorporation of content from the Dead Sea Scrolls into New Testament interpretation. Dr. House had some amazing things to say regarding what the Jews would have expected from a Messiah, and how Jesus fulfilled those expectations in his life and teaching.

This lecture is highly recommended for those who want to combat the inaccuracies of some modern thoughts on the identity of Christ - including the Da Vinci Code, the Jesus Seminar, and the late Peter Jennings' documentary on the historical Jesus.

Enjoy the lecture!

Tonight Logos welcomes author and professor Dr. H. Wayne House to Bellingham for the Logos Lecture Series. Dr. House will present on "The Jesus Who Never Lived: False Christs and the Authentic Jesus."

Ever since Jesus came to earth there has been a variety of ways in which He has been understood by those who have supposedly been His followers and by others who have had only a curiosity about Him. Some early Jews viewed Him as a prophet, while some early followers considered Him only a man (Ebionites), not a man at all (Gnostics) or a lesser god than the Father (Arians). Later Islam embraced Jesus as one of their prophets, and eastern mystics have considered Him as a guru. Since the enlightenment there have been four historical quests to discover the real Jesus, one who is only human in contrast to the voice of the orthodox church since its earliest days. Contemporary liberal scholars, news pundits, and Hollywood have had many opinions about Jesus, all different from how Jesus is presented in the earliest historical records of the Gospels and eyewitness accounts of those who walked with Him.

The purpose of this talk is to explain what has been said about Jesus over the centuries, particularly in the popular culture and press, why the picture of Jesus has emerged from various groups and people, and how we should best understand Jesus as He really was from the best evidence that we have about Him from those who knew Him.

Dr. H. Wayne House has authored or edited 30 books from publishers such as Zondervan, Thomas Nelson, and Kregel. He is the New Testament editor of the Nelson Study Bible and Nelson Illustrated Bible Commentary.

Please join us tonight at Bellingham's Mount Baker Theatre at 7-8:30 PM. The lecture is free and open to the public.

In the famous words of Mick Jagger, "You can't always get what you want." At Logos we take every chance we can get to disprove the wrinkly rocker. That's why we have heeded your requests to make available the most recent installment in the Logos Lecture Series.

Click here to watch Dr. Michael Heiser's presentation, "The Concept of a Godhead in the Old Testament."
Podcast (24.4 MB)
Audio Only (29.7 MB MP3)

For those of you in the Pacific Northwest, be sure to check the Lecture Series web page regularly for updates on future lectures.

Tonight’s edition of the Logos Lecture Series features Dr. Michael Hesier, academic editor at Logos. Dr. Heiser will discuss “The Concept of the Godhead in the Old Testament” at 7:00 PM at Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham, WA.

Dr. Heiser provided this summary of his lecture:

As both extrabiblical historical sources and the New Testament book of Acts informs us, Christianity arose from Judaism. Jesus of Nazareth was a Jew. The apostles and first followers of Jesus were Jews. How is it then, that on one hand, God-fearing Jews, whose holy Scriptures affirmed that there was only one God, could worship both the God of the Bible and Jesus as God? How could any Jew reconcile worship of Jesus with monotheism? And how is it that Jewish Christians were simultaneously willing to suffer death at the hands of the Roman Empire rather than deny monotheism? Rather than consider first century Jews as religiously confused or closet polytheists, as many scholars today would contend, the answers to these questions are found in the Old Testament, which reveals the ancient faith of Israel contained the idea of a godhead long before its expression in the New Testament.

This same topic was the subject of Dr. Heiser’s Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He will approach the subject with an advanced understanding of the original languages of the Bible, which will help uncover some fascinating intricacies in the Old Testament.

What have archaeologists and biblical scholars recently learned about the location of King David's tomb? What are some misconceptions about the tomb's whereabouts? What implications would a discovery of such magnitude have on the Christian faith?

David Sielaff will be driving up to Bellingham from Portland, Oregon to address those questions in tonight's lecture The Lost Tomb of King David. David Sielaff has been the Director of the Associates for Scriptural Knowledge since 2002. The mission of ASK is to strengthen the faith of Bible believers through education and improved understanding of biblical themes. Much like Logos, ASK places special emphasis on studying original documents and primary sources.

Tonight's event will be the seventh lecture in Logos' continuing Lecture Series. The lecture will begin at 7:00 PM at Mount Baker Theatre. As with each previous event, The Lost Tomb of King David is free to attend and open to the public.

For those who are not able to attend the lecture, an extended version of it can be found in MP3 format at the Associates for Scriptural Knowledge website. In addition to this lecture, the ASK website has dozens more audio presentations, articles and commentaries. This is one website that should definitely be bookmarked by every pastor and student of the Bible.

For those who live within driving distance of Bellingham, we hope to see you there!

If you've studied biblical Greek, you've heard the name Daniel B. Wallace. His intermediate grammar, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, is used in more than two-thirds of the classrooms where Greek is taught nationwide. Dr. Wallace, a professor of New Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary, is also senior New Testament editor of The NET Bible (an excellent resource I wrote about last fall) and coeditor of the NET-Nestle Greek-English diglot.

We're excited to have Dr. Wallace visiting the Logos office today, in advance of his lecture this evening on the work of The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts. The Center, which Dr. Wallace founded, works to preserve Scripture by taking high-resolution, digital photographs of all known Greek New Testament manuscripts. These images will be around long after the physical manuscripts (no matter how well preserved) finally crumble to dust.

The lecture will be a PowerPoint presentation with photographs of recently discovered manuscripts as well as some that were impossible to capture with microfilm (the older technology that was universally used until a few years ago). Dr. Wallace will be fresh from his third trip to the island of Patmos, and hopes to show some images of some of the more important manuscripts housed at the monastery on the island.

Additional details about the lecture is at the Logos Lecture Series page.

Welcome to Logos, Dr. Wallace!

The next Lecture Series event is just around the corner!

On Monday, June 11 Logos will welcome Dr. Mark Goodacre to Bellingham, Washington. Dr. Goodacre hails from Duke University where he teaches in the Department of Religion. The lecture, titled "Did the Jews of Jesus' Day Expect the Messiah?", will begin at 7:00 PM at the Mount Baker Theatre in downtown Bellingham.

It is popularly assumed that the Judaism of Jesus' day had a clear, well-defined expectation of a Messiah figure whom God would send to liberate them with military might. It is then assumed that early Christians, and perhaps Jesus himself, revised this expectation and proclaimed a different kind of Messiah, one who was to suffer. But how accurate is this picture? Does it explain the evidence found in the Hebrew Scriptures, early Jewish texts and the New Testament? Or should we instead think of a great variety of expectations, as many scholars argue? In this lecture, Dr. Goodacre will revisit the term "Messiah" and explore evidence that it was used as a synonym for a new Davidic "king" or "ruler". Dr. Goodacre also asserts that when the first Christians called Jesus "Messiah", they were speaking not only about past events and present beliefs, but also about his future return as king.

Dr. Goodacre not only teaches at one of the world's top universities but he also maintains one of the web's best sites on New Testament studies. New Testament Gateway is a web directory of internet resources that is updated each day with blog posts, new information and discussion on anything relating to the New Testament. Dr. Goodacre's blog is written for an academic audience but his lecture will be geared towards a wide range of people.

So far, the Lecture Series has been a major success. Attendees have been impressed not only by the quality scholarship on display at the events but also by the direct application that can be derived from each lecture. As a matter of fact, the lectures have been so good that a few employees at the Mount Baker Theatre have shown interest in attending when they aren't "on duty".

Once again, here are the event details:

• Date: Monday, June 11
• Location: Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham, Washington
• Time: 7:00 PM
• Topic: Did the Jews of Jesus' Day Expect the Messiah?
• Admission: Free!

We look forward to this event being another resounding success and, if you live in the Pacific Northwest, we hope to see you there!

Update 6/7: Mark shares additional details about the upcoming lecture on NTGateway Weblog.

Update 6/11: Follow Mark's journeys in the Pacific Northwest: Travel Diary: Bellingham, WA

On Saturday, May 5 the Logos Lecture Series will feature Dr. Mark Futato of Reformed Theological Seminary. Dr. Futato will be presenting a lecture entitled "The Psalms and Our Destiny: Understanding the Message of the Book of Psalms."

The Psalms contain some of the most beautiful poetry ever written. However, what often goes unnoticed is that they have been purposefully arranged in order to tell the story of God’s grace and mercy. Dr. Mark Futato, one of the nation’s top scholars on the Hebrew language and the Psalms, will illuminate the message of the Psalms and help attendees further appreciate this beloved part of the Bible.

Lecture details:

• Date: Saturday May, 5
• Time: 7:00 PM
• Location: Mount Baker Theatre in downtown Bellingham
• Admission: no charge!

If you can't make it to the lecture, you can always check out some of Dr. Futato's teaching on Psalms in the audio files posted at Third Millenium Ministries or his book Transformed by Praise: The Purpose and Message of the Psalms. Futato's widely acclaimed Hebrew grammar is available for Logos Bible Software.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Mark Futato is currently the Academic Dean at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. He received an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the Catholic University of America as well as an M.Div. from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Dr. Futato teaches courses on Hebrew, the Psalms and other biblical wisdom literature.

This month's lecturer is my friend and former college professor Dr. Jim Herrick.

His lecture, entitled "Exploring New Myths of Science and Science Fiction," will be held at the Mt. Baker Theater here in Bellingham at 7:00pm tomorrow (Saturday).

Professor Herrick's classes on rhetoric and argumentation were some of my favorite classes while an undergraduate at Hope College, which prompted me to declare a major in communication.

One thing I've always admired about Professor Herrick is the scope of his inquiry and his ability to bring together ideas from various disciplines and historical eras. I expect that the lecture tomorrow will provide a fascinating and challenging look at how popular cultural gives expression to significant, spiritual ideas.

Herrick's book The Making of a New Spirituality weaves together Kabbalah, Ayn Rand, Joseph Smith, Marcus Borg, Charles Darwin, Carl Sagan and many other influential figures to make a case that a new spirituality is emerging that "directly calls into question each major tenet of Judeo-Christian tradition and so represents a radical alternative to it."

His chapter on science fiction touches on a Victorian-era science fiction novel, Spielberg's classic movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the Star Trek mythology to show how these cultural artifacts express and reinforce the notion of human evolutionary progress.

If you're in the area, I hope you can make it to the lecture tomorrow night. Click here for further details.

For those who can't make it, I give a hearty plug for Jim's books, including the one on Scientific Mythologies to be released in 2008:

The Making of the New Spirituality: The Eclipse of the Western Religious Tradition (InterVarsity Press, 2003)

• A 2004 ECPA Gold Medallion Finalist and one of Preaching magazine's 2004 "Top Ten Books Every Preacher Should Read"

Scientific Mythologies: How Science and Science Fiction Forge New Religious Beliefs (InterVarsity Press, 2008)

The Radical Rhetoric of the English Deists: The Discourse of Skepticism, 1680-1750 (Univ. of South Carolina Press, 1997)

The History and Theory of Rhetoric, 3rd Edition (Allyn & Bacon, 2005)

Argumentation: Understanding and Shaping Arguments (Strata Publishing, 2003)

Guest blogger Mark Van Dyke works in the marketing department at Logos.

Today Logos Bible Software will present Dr. V. Philips Long in the second event of the popular Lecture Series.

Dr. Long, who is currently a professor of Old Testament Studies at Regent College, will be addressing the question “Is the Old Testament Historically Reliable?”

The Bible has been much in the news recently, not least because some are claiming that its value as a source of historical information is minimal. But is biblical history “bunk,” as Henry Ford once remarked with respect to all history? Is the Old Testament a “False Testament,” as Daniel Lazare asserted in a 2002 article in Harper’s Magazine (basing his views largely on a book entitled The Bible Unearthed, by Finkelstein and Silberman)?

Reasons for questioning the historical reliability of the Old Testament have ranged from the theological to the literary to the archaeological. But none of the reasons cited justify the dismissal of the historical value of the Old Testament. In fact, current advances in the literary study of the Bible, breakthroughs in archaeological discovery and interpretation, and greater awareness of how one’s “background beliefs” (including theological ones) influence textual interpretation, open the door to a much more favorable verdict regarding the historical reliability of the Old Testament.

As always, this event will be free to attend and open to the public. The event will begin at 7:00 PM at Bellingham’s Mount Baker Theatre.

Get there early because seats will be limited.

For more information about this and other lectures visit www.Logos.com/lectures.

Logos marketing assistant Mark VanDyke, who has been instrumental in promoting the Lecture Series, shares this retrospective.

This past Monday, Logos presented the first Lecture Series event to a standing-room only crowd at Bellingham’s Mount Baker Theatre.

More than 160 people turned out to hear featured lecturer Dr. Rod Stiling of Seattle Pacific University, who spoke on “Interpretations of the Genesis Flood Before and After Darwin”. The lecture focused mostly on American geology during the scientific revolution, specifically as it related to Noah’s flood.

One of the highlights of the night was Dr. Stiling’s incorporation of art into his lecture – often referring to how painters in the late 19th century viewed the flood.

The lecture was followed by a stimulating question and answer session filled with pointed questions about the effects that science can have on one’s faith and how Christians should approach the Bible with some knowledge of empirical evidence for what they believe.

The feedback submitted after the lecture was overwhelmingly positive – which is particularly gratifying due to the diverse crowd that had gathered to hear Dr. Stiling speak.

The next three lectures in the series are already lined up, so be sure to visit the Lecture Series page for all the details!

March 26, 2007
Is the Old Testament Historically Reliable?
Dr. Phil Long, Regent College

April 14, 2007
Exploring the New Myths of Science and Science Fiction
Dr. James A. Herrick, Hope College

May 5, 2007
The Psalms and Our Destiny: Understanding the Message of the Book of Psalms
Dr. Mark Futato, Reformed Theological Seminary

Today's guest blogger is Mark VanDyke, who works in marketing at Logos.

Do you ever miss your college or seminary days, when you went from class to class hearing lectures on a seemingly endless array of topics?

Now we are sharing access to some of North America’s top scholars through a new community event called the Logos Bible Software Lecture Series.

These presentations will all be free and open to the public, and are designed to be interesting and accessible to a broad audience.

The inaugural Lecture Series event will feature widely acclaimed speaker, Dr. Peter Flint of the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute at Trinity Western University. Dr. Flint’s lecture will focus on how the scrolls have affected modern biblical translation. The event will be held at Bellingham’s iconic Mount Baker Theatre at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, January 10.

We expect to host a lecture every couple of months and prospective topics range from ancient text analyses to cutting-edge technologies that can be applied to biblical studies.

One of the reasons we’re excited about the event is that we always look forward to meeting our customers. It gives us a chance to learn about our users’ interests and events like this also demonstrate our dedication at Logos for helping people understand the Bible in new and exciting ways.