November 15, 2018
Dr. David Schreiner, assistant professor of Old Testament at Wesley Biblical Seminary, recently served as the guest editor for a volume entitled Is the Old Testament Dying? The collection of essays comes from a panel discussion, which Dr. Schreiner co-chaired, at the Society of Biblical Literature’s southeast regional meeting.
“There are signs in America’s Christian culture that the Old Testament either takes a back seat to the New Testament or is ignored,” Schreiner said. He points to recent comments made by Andy Stanley, a prominent pastor, who advocated “unhitching” from the Old Testament.
The comments were troubling to Schreiner. “Here we have a very influential pastor that is advocating, at the very least, a subordination between testaments,” he said.
The direction of the American Church away from valuing the Old Testament is seriously problematic, Schreiner contends. In his essay, Schreiner warns, “The Church must realize that there is no quick fix to the current state of affairs. Moreover, the work done now will be for the benefit of the subsequent generations more so than the current one.”
Schreiner believes that the collection of essays is valuable for the ministry of pastors and Christian leaders. “If it does one thing, it should encourage every pastor to take inventory on how they use the Old Testament in their preaching, teaching, and discipleship,” he said.
Is the Old Testament Dying? can be downloaded by clicking here.