The Old Testament and the Church: an Interview with Dr. Carol Kaminski
PneumaReview.com: Please tell our readers briefly about your conversion experience.
Carol Kaminski: I grew up in Australia in a Christian family, but my parents got divorced when I was young, and they stopped going to church. I continued to attend youth group at the local Baptist church and God provided wonderful “spiritual parents” who invited me to events and youth group camps. I received great Bible teaching, and when I was in my late teens, I responded to a gospel message and met Jesus. My life changed that day, and I have been walking with the Lord for over four decades.
PneumaReview.com: What ministries have you participated in since you became a Christian?
Carol Kaminski: Shortly after becoming a Christian, I got involved in youth ministry in my local church and helped to lead worship. I also led Bible studies and lived in a Youth for Christ home for homeless young women. When I was in my mid-twenties, I felt God calling me to go to Bible college. I studied at the Bible College of Victoria (now called Melbourne School of Theology) for several years, and then God called me to study overseas, which is what led me to study at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. After completing two master’s programs at the seminary, the Lord opened up an opportunity for me to do further study at Cambridge University in England. After completing my doctorate, I began teaching at the seminary, which is what I’ve done for the past two decades.
PneumaReview.com: A major focus of your work now is CASKET EMPTY. Please tell us the significance of the name as well as a bit about the ministry.
Our goal is to help people understand the Bible as one redemptive story with Jesus at the center.
PneumaReview.com: Casket Empty is being used around the world. What languages have portions, or in some cases the complete CASKET EMPTY timelines been translated into?
Carol Kaminski: The Casket Empty material has been translated into several languages, including Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Farsi, Thai, and more recently, Spanish. God has been blessing this material and it has been a wonderful way to contribute to the global church. I was in Thailand at the beginning of this year and had the opportunity to train pastors and church leaders using the Casket Empty curriculum. What a blessing!
PneumaReview.com: You recently had a major commentary on 1 & 2 Chronicles published. Please tell us about some of the features of that commentary.
Carol Kaminski: Sometimes people are surprised to learn that I have written a commentary on Chronicles because it is one of the more neglected books in the Old Testament. I’ve always loved the stories of Israel’s kings like Asa and Jehoshaphat. They are such great kings who trusted in God amid insurmountable circumstances. It was great blessing to write a commentary on this theologically rich book. My commentary has been published in Zondervan’s Story of God Bible Commentary. What I love about this series is that each book is interpreted within the redemptive story of the Bible, so this means that books are not interpreted in isolation, but each one is interpreted in the context of Scripture. Another distinctive feature of the series is that each volume has forty percent devoted to application. This is unusual for a commentary on the Old Testament, but it is one of the great benefits of the series. This means that every chapter in Chronicles has a section on application!
PneumaReview.com: In addition, you have also written an eight-week Bible study based on these books. What is the format of the study, and how can it best be used?
Carol Kaminski: I wrote a Bible study on Chronicles because I wanted to make sure that the material would be accessible in the local church. My Bible study is called Cultivating Godliness because this title highlights so many of the important themes in Chronicles, like prayer, seeking the face of God, crying out to God for help, and singing joyfully to God. Through this book, God is calling his people to focus on his kingdom, and to cultivate prayer, seeking God, and trust in him. The Bible study is eight weeks, and each week one of these key topics is explored, so it’s a great opportunity for people to dive deeper into Chronicles in a small group setting.
PneumaReview.com: Do you think most Christians read 1 & 2 Chronicles in the course of a year? If you don’t think they do, why are these books neglected?
Carol Kaminski: I think Chronicles has been neglected for two reasons. First, since some of the stories are already in Samuel and Kings, people assume that there is nothing new in Chronicles or that it simply repeats material from these other books. But there are many additional stories in Chronicles that are not found in Samuel or Kings. Most importantly, the familiar stories have been applied to Israel’s new context, and we find may sermons and sermonettes in Chronicles that are rich in theology and applicable for our lives
The second reason why Chronicles has been neglected is that it begins with nine chapters of genealogies, and that tends to put off most people! But in the commentary, I explain how to understand the opening genealogies because they really do have a theological purpose. I think once people start to understand why they are included, the genealogies make more sense.
PneumaReview.com: What advice would you give to believers to help them see the value of these two biblical books?
Carol Kaminski: I would encourage someone to start to read through Chronicles, perhaps initially skipping over the genealogies to begin with, but to focus on the lives of Israel’s kings and the themes that are highlighted. People will find that these topics are highly relevant for our lives, and they provide wonderful examples for us, showing us what it means to walk with the Lord and trust in him.
PneumaReview.com: Please identify some of the major themes in 1 & 2 Chronicles for us.
Carol Kaminski: I’ve already mentioned some of the themes like prayer, seeking the face of God, crying out to God for help, but there are also other themes like generosity, listening to wise counsel, and unity. The book also presents a vision for God’s people, who are called to be a worshipping and witnessing people among the nations. So, there’s also a global vision in Chronicles, this is why it begins with all those genealogies!
PneumaReview.com: What do these books have to say to the church today?
Carol Kaminski: The book of Chronicles was written during the final period of the Old Testament. God’s people had been in exile in Babylon for seventy years and now they have returned and rebuilt the temple. But life has not been easy back in Jerusalem. God’s people are living under the Persian Empire. They must rebuild their homes and start all over again. And there is no king ruling on the throne in Jerusalem. But it is during this time of transition and upheaval that God calls his people to focus on his heavenly kingdom and to cultivate godly habits in the covenant community. In our context, we haven’t been into exile, but we are facing a major transition because our Christian values that used to be so much part of our culture have become increasingly secular. The question for us is: How do we live in this new context? The book of Chronicles can help us. The Chronicler, inspired by God’s Spirit, is presenting a vision of God’s everlasting kingdom with worship at the center. This is surely a much-needed vision for us today!
PneumaReview.com: Where can people learn more about Casket Empty and your books on 1 & 2 Chronicles?
Carol Kaminski: People can find out more about Casket Empty by going to our website casketempty.com. My commentary on 1-2 Chronicles is available on Amazon simply by Googling “Chronicles” with my last name “Kaminski.”
Category: Biblical Studies, Fall 2024
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