Come now, let us reason together.

In final review

Is God Responsible?

Reading Scripture on Evil, Darkness, and Wrath · by M. A. Cosgrove

There are passages in the Bible that can stop us in our tracks. We read about God’s goodness, then meet words that seem hard to reconcile with it. When suffering touches our lives, the question becomes harder to set aside: is God responsible?

This short study in four chapters gives that question a patient hearing. It begins with how the biblical writers speak about who acts, who permits, and who announces what will happen: metonymy, the Hebrew idiom of permission, and the habit of naming the sovereign cause while leaving secondary causes unstated. It then reads Isaiah 45:7 in its historical setting and asks why evil and darkness exist, before turning to faith, fear, and the experience of Job. No Hebrew is required; terms are explained, and footnotes identify the sources.

• 1How Biblical Language Describes Agency and Permission
• 2Why Do Evil and Darkness Exist?
• 3Faith and Fear: Lessons in the Book of Job
• 4More Lessons in the Book of Job

A standalone study, also incorporated in A Millennium Apart, where it helps situate biblical wrath within the larger treatment of Christ’s return, resurrection, and judgment.

Forthcoming

A Millennium Apart

The line Scripture draws and traditions that blur · by M. A. Cosgrove

A book-length study of the two distinct resurrections, the millennium of Revelation 20, and the line Scripture draws between them that later traditions have blurred. It moves past conflated traditions to assemble the sequential puzzle of biblical eschatology, works from the Greek text, weighs the major scholarly positions fairly, and is written for readers who want the reasoning, not just the conclusion.

Chapters are being finalized with the editorial team. Sign up below and we will tell you the moment it is available in print and digital editions.

In progress

The Faith We Lost

Rediscovering Trust, Loyalty, and Faithfulness · by M. A. Cosgrove

What did Jesus and Paul mean when they spoke of faith? In their world, pistis and fides were everyday words for trust, loyalty, and faithfulness: the bond between friends, patrons and clients, rulers and their people, a God and His people. Centuries of stained-glass tradition have narrowed that rich word to a private mental assent, and much of its meaning has been lost along the way.

This book goes back to the sources to recover what faith meant in the world of the New Testament: the Greek and Latin usage, the Hebrew background, and the passages where Jesus and Paul put the word to work. It clears away the misunderstandings that have obscured their meaning and invites readers to rediscover a faith that is relational, active, and faithful in both directions.

What pistis and fides meant in the world of Jesus and Paul.

In progress

Gifted for Whose Glory?

Spiritual Gifts, Honour, and Status in the World of Paul · by M. A. Cosgrove

The Corinthians were rich in the gifts and manifestations of the Spirit, and Paul says so. The trouble was what they did with them. In a Greco-Roman culture built on honour and shame, where status was won by display and rank was measured by the applause of others, spiritual gifts became one more way to rise above your neighbour. The church began rejoicing in itself instead of glorying in the Giver who had endowed it.

This book reads Paul's teaching on the gifts against that background. It looks at how honour, patronage, and public boasting shaped life in Corinth, why Paul kept returning to the body, the cross, and love, and what it means to hold treasure in a clay jar so that the glory belongs to God and not to us. Written for believers of every tradition who want the gifts of the Spirit without the pride that spoiled them in Corinth.

Spiritual gifts, honour, and status in the world of Paul.