Trial Access to British Online Archives

Trial access is available to the British Online Archives between now and 15 November.

Drawn from recently scanned or microfilmed manuscripts and archives, the British Online Archives comprises collections for research in territories colonised by Britain, including records made by the East India Company and the records of missionaries from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.

Access is via the Tyndale wireless network (or through the wired network if you have a Raven password).

Please note that the number of people accessing it will help the University Library decide whether or not to keep this resource.

Open Access Journal: The Biblical Annals

The journal of the Institute of Biblical Studies (Poland), dedicated to biblical studies on the Old and New Testament and intertestamentary literature, and covers fields of research such as exegesis, philology, and history. So far, issues from 2010 onwards have been made available free online.

House swap in Wheaton

Are are current Tyndale House members interested in a house swap with
a family in Wheaton during July/August 2011?
If you are, contact Peter Williams for more details.

News Update March 2010

Bible and Church on the Road
Following the success of the Bible and Church day conference in June 2009 at Westminster Chapel we have exciting plans afoot to run a new day conference on 12th June 2010, at St Helen's Bishopsgate in London.
Bible and Church is aimed at equipping Christians to understand the historical basis of the Christian faith and to share it with confidence. To book the June 12th event please send us an email.


We are also delighted to announce a visit to Edinburgh on Saturday 29th January 2011 when Charlotte Chapel will host our first Scottish Bible and Church day.
As a taster for these events you can get a DVD of the 2009 talks here.

Thanksgiving Service for Professor Donald Wiseman
A Service of Thanksgiving for the Life and work of Professor Donald Wiseman has been arranged for Friday, 4th June at 2.30 p.m. in All Souls' Church, Langham Place, London, W1B 3DA.

HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan contacted Tyndale House to pass his condolences to Professor Wiseman's family. His Royal Highness said:
"Donald Wiseman was in many ways a pioneer in the field of Oriental Studies. His belief in the importance of scholars studying religious texts in the original language and within the historical and cultural context of their provenance, irrespective of the difficulties and intellectual rigour this might demand was paramount. It is one that we would do well to emulate.
Ever a devout Christian, he was nonetheless prepared to be courageous in his re-examination of religious texts, refusing to countenance unjustified dogmatism in defence of even the most favoured theories, to wit the collection of scholarly contributions he brought together as Notes on Some Problems in the Book of Daniel (Tyndale Press, 1965).
It is my hope that today, when all and sundry are prepared to comment on our religious texts, that his commitment to true scholarship will be a legacy and inspiration to future generations."
Simon Chi-chung Cheung is a Hong Kong Chinese PhD student training in Old Testament. He qualified for the pastoral ministry in 2003 and worked full-time for four years. He plans to return to the Graduate School of Theology in Hong Kong to train pastors and lay people for ministry in Hong Kong and mainland China. Simon lives on-site with his wife Bonnie and son Lucas.

Simon's most unusual experience was a communal Gardening Day, high-rise Hong Kong homes not having gardens:
"People used to working with books ran around with gardening tools and dirty hands, a monastic integration of studies and labour. My first time experience with weeds leaves me with the motto: dig deep and wide, helpful for my scholarship and spirituality."


In the Press
Dr Jonathan Chaplain is in the Guardian newspaper for the third time in recent weeks.
The director of the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics has been engaging in the debate over a new UK Equality Bill.

Dramatic Rescue
Australian reader Murray Smith helped rescue a man from the River Thames under Tower Bridge in London. While a group of onlookers tried to throw him a lifebelt, Murray called the police who attended very promptly in a patrol boat, and called him back later to thank him for reporting the incident.


Winning Team
PhD scholar Jonathan Gibson from Northern Ireland has been keeping fit by playing hockey for one of the University of Cambridge teams, recently winning against an Oxford University team.

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Good News to Share

THAT'S EASTER - DEATH TO LIFE
Evidence for the Resurrection

As we near Easter we thought it would be good to share a video on the Resurrection made last Easter featuring Tyndale House scholars Peter Williams (above) and Peter Head.

Tyndale YouTube Channel

"What is it like working at Tyndale?"

This is one of the questions posed by Peter Williams to Dr Daniel Block who has been at Tyndale House on sabbatical. He said,

"What is really special is meeting the next generation of scholars. There are always some senior scholars here, but the real excitement is meeting the younger scholars who are doing cutting-edge work."

You can see two short videos of their conversation on our YouTube channel.

Prof. Donald Wiseman Thanksgiving Service

There will be a Service of Thanksgiving for the Life and work of
Professor Donald Wiseman on Friday, 4th June at 2.30 p.m. in All
Souls' Church, Langham Place, London. W1B 3DA

Bible and Church 2010

Welcome to St Helen's

Following on from the first Bible and Church Conference in London in 2009, the same three scholars unite together again to seek to confront head on the big questions about the reliability of the records about Jesus. These day conferences are aimed at equipping ordinary Christians to understand the historical basis of the Christian faith and to share it with confidence.

The Authentic Gospels: More Evidence Old and New

Talk 1: Evidence of eyewitnesses: Whose testimony can we trust?: Peter J. Williams
Talk 2: Evidence of manuscripts: The four gospels and the other gospels compared:  Dirk Jongkind
Talk 3: Evidence of history: Who has the true message of Jesus?: Simon Gathercole

In Bible and Church 2010 attendees will not only be presented with classic evidence for the faith, but also with previously unheard arguments for the reliability of the canonical gospels.
 

Details:

June 12, 2010, 10.30 a.m. to 4.45 p.m. 
Venue: St Helen's Bishopsgate
Price: £5, unwaged £2.50

Speakers
Dr Peter J. Williams
Dr Dirk Jongkind
Dr Simon Gathercole

www.BibleandChurch.com

Sad news of Donald Wiseman

It is with a real sense of loss that I bring to you news of the homecalling on Tuesday of Professor Donald Wiseman (1918-2010) OBE DLit FBA FKC FSA, who played a vital role in the early development of the Tyndale House and Tyndale Fellowship and made a massive contribution to our work, to biblical scholarship, and to the study of the ancient Near East. There will be a private funeral, but we anticipate that a public memorial service will be arranged later in the year. Below you will find a tribute by Professor Alan Millard, followed by some highlights I found in his autobiography. Professor Wiseman was predeceased by his dear wife Mary and is survived by three daughters Gillian, Mary and Jane. He will be much missed.

You can read a notice in the Times here and a detailed obituary from the Telegraph here.



In Christ's service,
Peter Williams
Warden, Tyndale House

[]  
   Left to right: Donald Wiseman stands next to his good friend
Agatha Christie, her husband Max Mallowan, and Neville Chittick,
while carrying out archaeological excavation at Nimrud.

Professor Donald Wiseman (1918-2010)
The passing of Donald Wiseman on 2nd February, 2010, marks the end of an era in the story of Tyndale House and the Tyndale Fellowship. After a year reading history at King's College, London, W. J. Martin persuaded him that study of the biblical world and its languages would be more valuable to the church and biblical studies, so he turned to Hebrew and Assyriology. Martin had been the major stimulus in the creation of Tyndale House and Donald Wiseman saw its strategic potential. He gave much time and thought to the affairs of the House, serving as Chairman of the Biblical Research Committee, which had the initial responsibility and of the Tyndale House Council, which inherited it, from 1957 to 1986. As Chairman of that and other committees, he guided discussion with wisdom, patience and humour, ensuring sensible decisions were made. When there were doubts in UCCF (then IVF) circles about continuing financial support, he insisted that the House was providing a service which no other evangelical institution offered and had potential for much more. When problems of space for the Library arose, it was Donald who suggested the annexe which was built as The Hexagon in 1984.

He saw the priority for Tyndale House lay in biblical research, supplying positive information and arguments to oppose widely taught liberal views about Scripture. His vision was well expressed by John Stott in 1992, 'We shall never capture the church for the truth of the gospel unless and until we can re-establish biblical scholarship, hold (and not lose) the best theological minds in every generation, and overthrow the enemies of the gospel by confronting them at their own level of scholarship' (Quoted by Tom Noble, Tyndale House and Fellowship, 239).

Like Martin, Donald Wiseman was a great enthusiast and encourager of others, in Britain and abroad. He chaired the Tyndale Old Testament Study Group from 1951 to 1981, taking time and trouble to find young scholars whom he could introduce to the Group so that they would know there were others who could support them in their often lonely  research. The Bible is a product of the ancient Near East, so he recognized that it should be read and assessed in the light of knowledge about that world. With that in mind, aware of the value of the archaeological contexts of ancient artefacts, he set up the Tyndale Biblical Archaeology Study Group in 1958, which, although not functioning regularly in recent years, brought together linguists and archaeologists to evaluate and apply new and old discoveries to biblical studies. On his initiative papers were brought together as Notes on Some Problems in the Book of Daniel (1965) and Essays on the Patriarchal Narratives (1980) and he stimulated other publications by fellows of Tyndale House (e.g. David Tsumura, The Earth and the Waters in Genesis 1 and 2, 1989). A volume of  essays by members of the Old Testament Study Group was dedicated to him in gratitude for his many years of devotion (R. S. Hess, G. J. Wenham. P. Satterthwaite, eds., He Swore an Oath (1994).

His experience and knowledge marked Donald as a major contributor to, and Editor of, the New Bible Dictionary (1962, 1982, 1996) and The Illustrated Bible Dictionary (1980). For many years he was Editor for Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries and gave his skills to a variety of other Christian publications.
        
Donald was always ready to help a cause he thought would be fruitful in the service of his Saviour, preaching and teaching and holding informal groups for Bible Study. The number who faced the claims of the Gospel through meeting him cannot be told, neither can the number whose lives and careers he has influenced or guided.
As one of the latter, I give thanks for his life, his service and his fellowship.

Alan Millard


Select gleanings from the privately published book Donald J. Wiseman, Life Above and Below: Memoirs (2003).

Donald Wiseman led an extremely active and full life and it is not possible to summarize all of this. However, I thought that I would at least pick out a few of many highlights from his autobiography relating to his service in the Second World War:
- PA to Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, who was in charge of the Fighter Group responsible for the defence of S.E. Britain during the battle of Britain, and often finding himself on the phone to Winston Churchill
- trusted to handle large amounts of information from the Ultra Secret source known as Enigma
- chosen to carry maps and plans for first fighters to fly in to Algiers in Operation Torch
- plane crash in Sicily in which he temporarily lost the use of both legs
- recovery to play significant role enforcing German surrender in N. Italy

Here is the text of his citation for the USA Bronze Star Medal (emphasis added):

"Donald J. Wiseman, O.B.E., Wing Commander, Royal Air Force, Headquarters Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force, for meritorious achievement in connection with military operations in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations from 1 March 1943 to 22 June 1944. As Chief Intelligence Officer, Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force, Wing Commander Wiseman displaying a rare analytical and organizational genius was responsible for the creation and development of an Intelligence Force headquarters in the Mediterranean Theater. Upon the Intelligence material gathered through his selfless and earnest work, this Headquarters was able to plan and launch the air operations which brought victory to the Allied Armies in Italy. His brilliancy in collecting and evaluating the necessary operational Intelligence data, his ability to work smoothly with an integrated American and British staff, and his unstinting fulfillment of duty reflect the highest credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the Allied Nations."

Graham Stanton


There will be a Thanksgiving Service at 2.30 pm on Friday 24 July in Emmanuel United Reformed Church, Trumpington Street, Cambridge.

A College Memorial Service (at Fitzwilliam) will be held at a later date.


Sad news of Harold Hoehner

Dr. Harold Hoehner died suddenly on February 12, 2009 at the age of 74. He will be much missed at Tyndale House where he visited regularly. The Warden, Peter Williams, spoke to Harold a couple of days before, making plans for the future. Please pray for Gini and the family for whom this has been a very unexpected shock.

A tribute to Harold has been hosted on the Dallas Seminary site and you are invited to leave comments there or here, recording your memories of his ministry. As the editors said in a book published in his honour in 2006: "Harold has shown us what it means to be a man of God, committed to Christ and His gospel, and reflecting the fruit of the Spirit over a lifetime of faithful service.�

Bart Ehrman debates with Tyndale Warden, Peter Williams

Bart Ehrman was in the UK over Christmas to visit family and promote his book "Whose word is it?", the UK edition of "Misquoting Jesus". In it he calls into question the authority of the New Testament, claiming that scribes have deliberately changed the documents over time.

Premier Christian Radio interviewed him and invited Peter Williams to an hour-long debate with him.

Peter Williams argued that Bart's prognosis about the reliability of the New Testament is far too pessimistic. He agreed that scribal errors have occurred, but they are accidental changes and the original reading is almost always obvious and confirmed by large numbers of manuscripts.

Hear the debate here.

Sad news about Derek Kidner

The funeral of Derek Kidner, former Warden of Tyndale House and author of many OT commentaries, was on Wednesday 3rd December at Histon Parish Church, Cambridge.
 
For a brief history and many messages see Between Two Worlds.
 
 

Sad news about David F. Wright

Copied below is a brief notice from the University of Edinburgh:

We note with sorrow the death of Professor (Emeritus) David F. Wright, who passed away on Tuesday 19 February 2008. Professor Wright was a distinguished member of the New College academic staff from 1964 till his retirement in 2003. He was awarded the DD as a higher doctorate for his many respected publications, and was subsequently awarded a personal chair in Patristic and Reformation Studies. He had suffered from cancer for several years, but maintained a very active in lecturing internationally and in several publication projects until the last few months.

Prof. Wright will be remembered affectionately by many students, including his numerous PhD students. He is survived by his wife, Anne Marie, and their son and daughter. Condolences can be sent to Mrs. Wright care of New College.

Members can add posts

News can be posted by any member of Tyndale Fellowship, Theology for All or Tyndale House.

The types of posts which are welcome:

* News of scholars: honours, appointments, obituaries
* News of publications, reviews, launches
* News about members, prayer requests,

Please email posts to TyndaleNotices@gmail.com
There will be a delay caused by a human who weeds out anything irrelevant, irreverent, or irritating.

Please bear in mind that although the primary viewers of these notices are friends of Tyndale House, they are nevertheless public.

David IB