Posts by Kenneth Berding

Kenneth Berding

Kenneth Berding is a professor of New Testament at Talbot School of Theology. He is an author of various books, some academic (such as Polycarp and Paul), some semi-academic (such as What Are Spiritual Gifts? Rethinking the Conventional View), others for-the-classroom (such as Sing and Learn New Testament Greek or The Apostolic Fathers: A Narrative Introduction), and still others for-the-church (such as Walking in the Spirit or Bible Revival: Recommitting Ourselves to One Book). He has published articles in such journals as the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Vigiliae Christianae, New Testament Studies, and Journal of Early Christian Studies. He is the director of Bible Fluency: Sing It, See It, Study It. Before coming to Talbot, Berding was a church planter in the Middle East and taught at Nyack College just north of New York City. He has a heart for God and ministry, has written many worship songs, and has served as a worship pastor in local church ministry.

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The Good Book Blog
Revival Without the Bible Won’t Last
Kenneth Berding — September 18, 2018
In 1859 and then again in 1904 a deep and penetrating work of the Holy Spirit engulfed the country of Wales. Wales had already seen many other...
The Good Book Blog
Listening and Instructing in Counseling: How Much of Each?
Kenneth Berding — September 12, 2018
I’m not writing this post as a counselor, but rather as a student of the Bible. Today I’m less interested in what is effective in counseling,...
The Good Book Blog
What the Bible Teaches About Fasting
Kenneth Berding — September 10, 2018
Starting last night and continuing into this evening a group of Biola students has gathered together to fast and pray. These precious students...
Think Biblically
Learning from the Church Fathers
with Ken Berding
Kenneth Berding, Sean McDowell, Scott Rae — September 08, 2018
The Church Fathers provide a vital link from the time of Jesus and the apostles to future generations. Who were they? What did they care about? And...
The Good Book Blog
If You Could Do It Differently: Tim Keller and Sinclair Ferguson Respond
Kenneth Berding — September 05, 2018
“If you could go back in time to when you were in your 30s, is there anything you would do differently with the wisdom you have now?” This...
The Good Book Blog
How God Awakened my Friend to the Grace of God and the Transformative Power of the Bible
Kenneth Berding — July 25, 2018
Here is a powerful testimony from my friend, Dale Schneeberger, of how God worked a personal revival in his own life through a dream and his...
The Good Book Blog
Spiritual Tools for Car Trouble on Vacations
Kenneth Berding — July 16, 2018
“It wouldn’t be a Berding vacation without car trouble!” So remarked one of my adult daughters two days ago just after her tire shredded on the...
The Good Book Blog
Psychiatric Diagnoses and Psychoactive Medications
A Short Book Review
Kenneth Berding — July 09, 2018
What do you do when someone in your church tells you that he or she has been diagnosed with _____________ (fill-in-the-blank) psychiatric disorder?...
The Good Book Blog
When C.S. Lewis Goes Astray: How to Resolve the Tension
Kenneth Berding — June 20, 2018
Many of us admire C.S. Lewis for his unusual ability to clearly, intelligently, and winsomely explain and defend various Christian doctrines. Think...
The Good Book Blog
Is the New Testament Historically Reliable?
Kenneth Berding — June 11, 2018
Christians have always had to deal with skeptics, but the frequency of public attacks against the Bible’s reliability seem to have increased in...
The Good Book Blog
New Blog and Website Launch
Kenneth Berding — May 30, 2018
I’ve just launched a new blog and website: Kindle Afresh . For those interested, my first post is now available to read. If you want to receive an...
The Good Book Blog
The Famous 75 Second Greek Challenge
Kenneth Berding — May 23, 2018
Can you chant by memory through all of beginning Greek grammar in 75 seconds?[1] Everyone in my Greek classes can do it in 90 seconds, but...
The Good Book Blog
A New Bible Translation for Young Children
Review of "The Best News Ever"
Kenneth Berding — March 07, 2018
I wrote the following review in a similar register as the translation being reviewed. Enjoy! A woman named Jan Harthan lived in a different...
The Good Book Blog
The Meaning of a Text is Not in the Reader
Kenneth Berding — February 15, 2018
What is the “locus” of meaning of a biblical text? (In other words, where is the center and source of meaning?) There are three possibilities: The...
The Good Book Blog
Sophomore Syndrome
Kenneth Berding — September 14, 2017
About ten years ago, some of my fellow professors and I began to observe a trend among undergraduate Biblical & Theological Studies majors at Biola. We noticed that freshman students arrived on campus eager and ready to learn, but at some point during their sophomore year, these Biblical Studies majors became aware that on average they generally knew more theology than did the average Biola student ...
The Good Book Blog
Speaking in Tongues in Church
Kenneth Berding — July 11, 2017
A few years ago I received an email from a former student (now a young pastor) asking some questions about speaking in tongues during corporate worship. Let me excerpt his e-mail and then include my reply (with his permission): Dr. Berding, I am emailing you because I have a question about ‘service of worship’ for the church. Recently I have taken upon myself to work out some position papers on where I stand on a few ecclesiology topics. I have spent time reading from Horton, Grudem, Bloesch, and some of Clowney's works on ecclesiology. However, recently at our corporate worship one of the elders prayed in tongues and this was followed by what appeared to be an interpretation. As I have been reading through these books and wrestling with scripture, I have come to wonder if tongues plays a role in corporate worship or not ...
Talbot Magazine
Best of the Blog
Biblical Necessities? Or Theological Explanations?
Kenneth Berding — June 15, 2017
In recent years, I have been helped in my study of the Bible by employing an informal distinction between “biblical necessities” and “theological explanations.” Of all the classes I teach at Talbot, this distinction has been most helpful to students taking a class I teach called “Pauline Theology: Romans.” Since some of my students have benefitted from this distinction, I thought you might appreciate reading about it.
The Good Book Blog
What Pliny the Younger Learned When He Interrogated Christians (ca. A.D. 110)
Kenneth Berding — June 15, 2017
For many years I have been curious about a Roman governor known to us from history as Pliny the Younger. My interest initially arose because I resided for four years in one of the principal cities he governed—not to mention that one of my four daughters was born in that city. Moreover, since I have expended significant effort studying the writings of the earliest Christian authors after the period of the apostles (those authors known as the “Apostolic Fathers”), I continue to be intensely interested in learning anything I possibly can about the lives of Christians who lived during the first half of the second century ...
The Good Book Blog
How to Remain a Truly Christian University
Kenneth Berding — June 06, 2017
I just finished reading Owen Strachan’s book, Awakening the Evangelical Mind: An Intellectual History of the Neo-Evangelical Movement. He has some good words for how to keep evangelical universities, well … evangelical. These three paragraphs are worth the three minutes it will take you to read them ...
The Good Book Blog
Why So Many Metaphors for the Holy Spirit?
Kenneth Berding — April 27, 2017
Why does the Bible use so many metaphors and analogies to describe the Spirit’s activities and our relationship to those activities? Why not employ concrete language to teach us what we need to know about the Holy Spirit and our relationship to him? ...
The Good Book Blog
It Must Have Been So Painful
Kenneth Berding — April 03, 2017
Have you ever experienced pain from someone you deeply love? I have. Few things in life are harder. The hurt penetrates even deeper when the person who has spurned you also turns his back on the Lord. Following is a list I drew up in my journal some time ago during a period when I was facing rejection from someone I deeply loved. This list helped me remember that there are examples in the Bible of others before me who experienced relational pain from close family members, friends, or mentees, but who continued to look to the Lord in the midst of their sorrow ...
The Good Book Blog
Biblical Necessities? or Theological Explanations?
Kenneth Berding — March 16, 2017
In recent years, I have been helped in my study of the Bible by employing an informal distinction between “biblical necessities” and “theological explanations.” Of all the classes I teach at Talbot/Biola, this distinction has been most helpful to students taking a class I teach called Pauline Theology: Romans. Since some of my students have benefitted from this distinction, I thought you might appreciate reading about it today. A biblical necessity is a truth that you find yourself compelled to affirm after a careful reading of Scripture that pays attention to the appropriate literary, historical, and canonical contexts. You may not know how to explain all the what-abouts of the subject, but you cannot get around the fact that this particular teaching seems clearly supported by Scripture. The thing that you must affirm after a careful and contextual reading of Scripture is a biblical necessity ...
The Good Book Blog
How to Kill an Intercessory Prayer Meeting
Kenneth Berding — February 06, 2017
Actually, there are lots of ways to kill a prayer meeting. Display bitterness or hostility to someone just before you start praying; that’s sure to do the job. Or thoughtlessly rush into a prayer meeting, without any spiritual preparation, cracking jokes up until the moment you bow your head. That, too, has a good chance of killing a prayer meeting ...
The Good Book Blog
How to Love Your Wife When You’re Not With Her: 10 Ways
Kenneth Berding — January 17, 2017
Is it possible to love your wife when you're not with her? Here are 10 ways:
The Good Book Blog
Why do We Sing in our Worship Service?
Kenneth Berding — January 03, 2017
I started the New Year by worshiping, fellowshipping, and preaching at Taft Avenue Community Church in Orange, California. At one point in the service, Pastor Bob Burris read aloud a short explanation of why Christians sing during times of worship. I appreciated what he read and want to share it with you today. The reading was adapted from a blog post by Kevin DeYoung, cut down to a length that could be used in a worship service. Why do we sing when we worship together?