Posts by Jeffrey Volkmer

Jeffrey Volkmer

Jeffrey Volkmer is an assistant professor of Old Testament at Talbot School of Theology and loves to incite a passion in others for God's Word, especially from the Old Testament. He has served extensively in pastoral ministry all over the country and brings his pastor's heart into the classroom to help his students fall deeper in love with Christ. His academic specialties include the application of the methods of language and computer technology to the textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible in light of the Syriac and Aramaic versions as well as their potential to inform Biblical exegesis and interpretation. He also participates in the Turgama project of the Werkgroep Informatica in The Netherlands contributing to their aim to map the language and text-history of the Peshitta and Classical Syriac. He is married to Jessica and has two children, Grace and John, and is an avid road cyclist in his spare time.

• Talbot Magazine

  Best of the Blog

  Does the New Testament Replace the Old?

  Jeffrey Volkmer — December 02, 2019

  In the Old Testament, the Torah was a set of instructions that told the Hebrews how to stand apart from everyone else so that when the nations...

• The Good Book Blog

  Does the New Testament Replace the Old? A Response to Andy Stanley

  Jeffrey Volkmer — January 15, 2019

  Several days ago I was asked by the Christian Post to respond to a recent opinion column by North Point Community Church senior pastor Andy Stanley...

• The Good Book Blog

  Jesus in Genesis 3:15?

  Jeffrey Volkmer — June 20, 2017

  In a post on his blog, "Jesus Creed," eminent New Testament scholar Scot McKnight seems to agree with some of the findings of Claude Mariottini's book Rereading the Biblical Text: Searching for Meaning and Understanding which argues that Gen. 3:15 is not in fact messianic. McKnight further points out that such a conclusion agrees with Old Testament luminaries Gordon Wenham and Gerhard von Rad as well as some translations. These, says McKnight, conclude that the “seed” mentioned in Gen. 3:15 refers to not an individual, but rather the sum total of the descendants of both the woman and the serpent ...

• The Good Book Blog

  Just Skating By: Skateboarding as Sanctuary in a Fallen World

  Jeffrey Volkmer — October 31, 2011

  The recently convened Searching for Sanctuary Film Festival at Biola University presented significant independent films that explored the meaning of, and human longing for, sanctuary. The films screened were illustrative of the deep yearning all humans have for true sanctuary and the repercussions of its absence, ultimately pointing to the archetype of sanctuary for the Christian, Jesus Christ. One of the films screened was directed by Orlando van Einsiedel entitled, Skateistan: To Live and Skate in Kabul. It provided a beautifully shot and deeply poignant portrayal of the importance of sanctuary in the lives of the children of Kabul, Afghanistan, whose lives are tremendously impacted not only by the notable absence of sanctuary, but also how they were able to find it upon a skateboard. Here is not only an opportunity to view this wonderful film, but a theological reflection of its significance.

• The Good Book Blog

  A Layman's Guide to the Law: Part I

  Jeffrey Volkmer — June 16, 2011

  This is the first part of a two part mini-series that will seek to answer two questions regarding the large portions of legal corpora spread through the Pentateuch, or the first five books of the Bible, known by the Hebrew term Torah and often translated into English as "Law." In Part I we will ask the question "What Is It?" and in Part II to appear next month, we will consider the question "What Is It For?" not only for ancient Israel, but also its relation and significance for modern day Christians.

• The Good Book Blog

  What Being a Theology Professor Has Taught Me About the Church

  Jeffrey Volkmer — April 29, 2011

  I am now in my second year as a faculty member at Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology. Prior to this, I’ve spent the last 16 years of my life doing primarily two things: 1) attending three different universities, and; 2) working for local churches in a variety of capacities. You would think that after that amount of time invested in both theological higher education and church service, I would have learned quite a bit about the local church. Yet, this is anything but the case and not because the curriculum of my seminary lacked adequate focus on ecclesiology. Rather, teaching at a Christian university has opened up an amazing new curriculum for me and afforded me a unique and fresh vista from which to view the Church and learn from one of her most precious treasures – young people – and in this case, undergraduate students. I would like to share some of the greatest lessons this new curriculum has taught me as I seek to teach undergraduates.

• The Good Book Blog

  Theotechnos: Some Reflections on the Intersection of Social Media and Theology

  Jeffrey Volkmer — February 09, 2011

  Along with speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, if one were to peruse the communication literature of most American, Evangelical churches, it would seem that Paul had somehow left off Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia, and blogs of every sort. The ubiquity of “social media” in all its iterations has found quite the tender audience in Evangelicalism with seemingly no parachurch ministry, church (along with each respective ministry therein), pastor, youth minister, or seminary able forge ahead without intermittingly spreading communicative buckshot across the world wide web at a 140 character pace.