Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Can it be that it has been two whole years since I contributed a Theopolis Post! I had been pursuing the topic of integration: “Seeking Integration in a Fragmented World.” I had defined “integration,” simply, as creative putting together. I had posed that seeking it calls for a fundamentally integrative…
What is known as the miracle of the “Feeding of the Five Thousand” occurs in Mark’s Gospel in chapter 6. As with other gospel writers, Mark has a few different points to make as he moves through this story (included in all four gospel accounts) and its surrounding material. Three…
To begin with the source of this narrative: Since no human being was present to observe these events, we must assume that this narrative was revealed directly by God to a human author. There are three ways this might have happened. First, we might read, "God said to Abraham (or…
The serious Bible student cannot help but be struck by the deviousness of Jacob in Genesis 27. If one already expected some underhanded dealings from this twin-born-second whose name means “supplanter” and whose bargaining with his brother for the birthright in Genesis 25 seemed incredibly weighted in his own favor,…
From Barna stats to mainstream headlines, it seems as though the discordant nature of this last year has taken such a toll on churches in the United States that, for many, the injuries have been fatal. It has become a regular occurrence to hear about a congregation that continues to…
In The Bad News Bears (1976), a city councilman hires a washed-up minor league baseball player with a drinking problem to coach a little league team of leftover misfits. Underdog sports movies are usually full of sentimentalism and dramatic victories, but this film is a commentary on the failing dream…
Showing page 53 of 309
Showing page 11 of 43
I offer some thoughts on the controversial Rupert Sheldrake at First Things today.
Isaiah searingly indicts the “watchmen” of Judah. They are blind - not a good thing in a watchman (Isaiah 56:10-12). They are like dumb dogs, incapable of barking out a warning when danger shows up. But they wouldn’t bark anyway because they spend their days lying around sleeping. They live…
Isaiah invites two categories of beasts to come to the house of God: Beasts of the field, and beasts of the forest (56:9). What kinds of beasts does he have in mind? Both are wild animals. Beast ( chayyah ) is undomesticated; while cattle ( behemah ) is a general…
According to Isaiah 56:3, sons of strangers ought not say that the Lord has separated him from the people; eunuchs ought not to think of themselves as dry trees. When eunuchs keep Sabbath, they become fruitful (vv. 4-5). The blessings to strangers and eunuchs are spelled out chiastically: A. What…
Sabbath-keeping is about what you do with your hands. Hands are organs for action. We set our hands to tasks. We give or withhold our hands from helping. You keep Sabbath by opening your hands, rather than grasping with them (cf. Deuteronomy 15:3, 7). Sabbath hands release debts, give food…
In an interview with the New York Times Book Review , Clive James anticipates Dan Brown’s Inferno : “Dan Brown’s forthcoming Inferno , of which Dante will be the central subject, has already got me trembling. Brown might have discovered that The Divine Comedy is an encrypted prediction of how…
Showing page 754 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
