This is a heads-up about an upcoming lecture for anyone in the Rochester area.

This Friday afternoon (September 4, 2015) there will be a public lecture on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan College, entitled: “Yahweh, a God of Violence? Understanding God’s Old Testament Reputation.”

The lecture will be held at 3:00 pm in the Ellen Stowe dining room.

The speaker is Tyler Williams, an excellent Old Testament scholar, who is currently lead pastor at Greenfield Community Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He previously taught at Taylor University College and Seminary and at The Kings University College. he continues to serve as an adjunct professor at King’s.

I got to know Tyler Williams some years ago when he was teaching full-time, before he began his pastoral position at Greenfield. He has amazing expertise in biblical languages, and has done a lot of work on the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament.

I still remember his paper at a biblical studies conference, where he demonstrated that the Greek version of Psalm 151 (found in the Septuagint) was original, and the Hebrew version in the Dead Sea Scrolls was derivative (an expansion of the Greek). He argued this counter-intuitive point so well, by careful exegesis of the psalm, that I have been convinced ever since.

This is his website with resources on biblical studies, including some of his course syllabi.

In his lecture at Roberts, Tyler will address the impression many people (both Christians and non-Christians) have, that the God of the Old Testament is a violent deity.

Please join me in attending this fascinating lecture, if you are able to. It is free and open to the public.

Click here for a flyer of the event.