Keith Giles and Exomologeo

For those of you who may not be aware, I had a tiff with Keith Giles a few months ago. This is arguably the most endorsed progressive Christian individual that I've ever spoken with or that I've ever read. Literally, if you look at his books, there’s a who's who of Progressive Christian professor, influencer, and author endorsements and forewords: Thomas Jay Oord, David Bentley Hart, Randal Rauser, Jim Palmer, etc. So I got into a tiff with him about some of his claims for his argument that every single English translation of the Bible is wrong on the basis of… Well, not his competency in the original biblical languages or translation practices. In one of his cases, he literally points to an interlinear as his proof… Anyways…

For this particular claim, about the Greek word exomologeo, he pointed to David Bentley Hart, a University of Notre Dame scholar. And so I did what I typically do: fact-checked Keith by looking up Hart’s explanations. I didn't see much that David Bentley Hart had written on this particular issue with Philippians 2:11. So I did a little bit of digging, and I ended up emailing this to David:

Sir,

I'm researching some things that Keith Giles has published, including Philippians 2:10. In the following articles, he argues that exomologeō is translated as "gladly confess" but provides no original language work to demonstrate why that is the right translation as opposed to other definitions in the lexicon.

**https://www.patheos.com/blogs/keithgiles/2021/02/how-evangelicals-changed-the-bible-to-support-their-beliefs/**

**https://www.patheos.com/blogs/keithgiles/2023/07/whats-the-best-version-of-the-bible/**

In the second article, he points to your 2nd Edition New Testament Translation; I checked, and I don't see a footnote for why you chose to translate it as "gladly."

I'd like to ask why you chose to translate it that way. If you have already published an explanation, please point me in that direction, but my initial search didn't point me to any specific book you've published that covers this.

Thank you for your time.

This is how I typically approach challenges like this. I know I'm not an expert on Hebrew and Greek. I've never pretended to be an expert on Hebrew and Greek. I am learning them, so I'm a step ahead of someone who has never taken the time to try to learn them, as appears to be the case with Keith. But I know I'm not the scholar, so that's what I do: I read scholarly material, I try to talk with scholars, I try to seek understanding of what's going on.

Well, that didn’t go well. As Keith published on David Bentley Hart's behalf, apparently asking for the opportunity to buy one of David Bentley Hart's books so that I can learn about this subject makes me a simpleton, among other things. You can read the full account here, but here are some select quotes:

“Whoever your critics are, they are frauds.”

“Tell your critics that they are uneducated hacks.”

“I take it your critics are the sort of simpletons who imagine that Paul is describing a forced confession. The verb NEVER EVER had that meaning. But what warped little souls they must have to think Paul’s God such a petty tyrannical little creep.”

“Clark and Wolcott obviously are not classicists, much less specialists in late antique koine, so treat them with withering disdain.”

What’s really strange is that Keith also said this:

I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon. Those who embrace the Universalist View of Salvation tend to be more loving and accepting of those who are unlike them.

shrugs

What I find very interesting, though, is that it seems Keith didn’t consider that he's not the only one with scholars. You see, Keith and his “loving and accepting” community apparently don’t realize that other people exist who are also qualified and credentialed and studied and published and who may have something to say about these subjects, who may have smart things to say, and maybe, and this is going to be an extremely tenuously maybe, they might get something right once in a while. Just bear with me, because Keith doesn't know that on this particular issue, I actually have my own scholar on this subject.

…

cue drumroll

…

I would like to introduce you to David Bentley Hart from the University of Notre Dame. You've probably never heard of him. He's not nearly as self-important as Keith's David Bentley Hart. But this David Bentley Hart has published his own 2nd Edition New Testament Translation, by Yale University Press. And I want to share with you some of that translation:

• Matthew 3:6 and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.
• Matthew 11:25 At that time, Jesus spoke out and said, “I give you fullest thanks, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you hid these things from the wise and sagacious and revealed them to infants;
• Mark 1:5 And all the region of Judaea and all the Jerusalemites went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
• Luke 10:21 In that same hour he became exultant in the Spirit, the Holy One, and said, “I praise you, Lord, because you concealed these things from the wise and clever, and revealed them to infants; yes, Father, because such was pleasing before you.
• Luke 22:6 And he consented entirely, and sought an opportunity to hand him over to them away from any crowd.
• Acts 19:18 And many of those who believed came forward confessing and openly acknowledging their deeds.
• Romans 14:11 For it has been written, “‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall joyfully praise God.’”
• Romans 15:9 and so that the gentiles might glorify God on mercy’s account, as has been written: “I will therefore joyfully praise you among the gentiles, and will sing psalms to your name.”
• Philippians 2:11 and every tongue gladly confess that Jesus the Anointed is Lord, for the glory of God the Father.
• James 5:16 Therefore fully acknowledge your sins to one another, and pray on one another’s behalf, so that you might be healed. An upright man’s petition, when it is put into effect, is very powerful.

So, is Keith right, that:

Evangelicals who claim the Scriptures are inerrant and infallible don’t care that changes like this were made because it supports their toxic theology.

Wait… Does David Bentley Hart know that he’s now an Evangelical?