Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). The famous definition of faith with which the eleventh chapter of Hebrews opens has received a number of different interpretations. The crux of the problem is the interpretation of the words translated in…
This essay is an exploration of one element of the final of the four Gospels, the Gospel of John. My thesis is that the Gospel of John answers the issue of "friendship" being a homoerotic category. It challenges the "Greek Way of Love and Friendship" 1 It is indeed the…
"And I also way to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it" (Matthew 16:18). Matthew 16:13ff. has historically been one of the most oft-cited passages of Scripture. Throughout the Middle Ages, it was used…
Matthew 8-9 records three clusters of miracles, interspersed with snatches of Jesus’ teaching about various aspects of discipleship. Just as the Sermon on the Mount displays the authority of Jesus’ Word in teaching, these chapters display the authority of Jesus’ Word over sickness, uncleanness, the creation, demons, and death. In…
The association of women and wells in the Scriptures has long been noted by theologians, a symbolism closely connected to marriage which begins in Genesis and climaxes in Revelation. There is a lesson drawn in the water of wells that I’d like to explore, but before that I must trace…
Of course, since the Israelites had agriculture, Solomon was not paleolithic as that term is used today. But "paleo" is simply a prefix meaning old or previous , the opposite of "neo." In that sense, I wonder if we might understand Solomon better if we interpret his statements and riddles…
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The following is an abstract for a conference paper that I will be presenting in January 2005. Church history has often been regarded by the professional historians as a quaint hagiographic outpost for the pious. Globalization, along with developments within the historical profession, suggest that the time is propitious for…
Here are some quotations from Clifford Ronan’s fascinating study of Roman plays in early modern England, Antike Rome (University of Georgia, 1995). “We moderns often overlook the playfulness and garishness of Antiquity, thinking instead of weather-beaten bleached marble Doric columns, gleaming in the noonday Mediterranean sun. But to the Renaissance,…
When, in the European consciousness, did the Roman Empire end? 404 or 476 make sense, but I wonder if the Reformation was the true end of imperial Rome. Protestants frequently saw continuities of some sort between the Roman imperial authority and papal authority, and what they saw opening before their…
J. H. Bavinck’s An Introduction to the Science of Missions (first published in English in 1960) is superb. Bavinck is flexible and balanced, yet principled, in dealing with the myriad complications of missionary work. He is aware of developments in cultural anthropology and other fields that give assistance to missionaries.…
Perhaps we could call it a sanctified form of paranoia. In his Introduction to the Science of Missions , J. H. Bavinck calls attention to Israel’s striking awareness of being watched by the nations around them. If Israel perishes at Sinai, flamed by Yahweh’s wrath, the nations will blaspheme (Ex…
Perhaps we could call it a sanctified form of paranoia. In his Introduction to the Science of Missions , J. H. Bavinck calls attention to Israel’s striking awareness of being watched by the nations around them. If Israel perishes at Sinai, flamed by Yahweh’s wrath, the nations will blaspheme (Ex…
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