Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
I mentioned last month ( BH 82) in my essay "Like a Dove" that Genesis 8 is a recapitulation of Genesis 1. Let me explicate that assertion here. Of course, the world after the Flood is a new creation, so we may expect a recapitulation of the first creation. It…
The book of Esther is one of the most neglected of the books of the Bible. To be sure, sermons are preached on it, and commentaries have occasionally been written on it, but almost without exception Esther has been interpreted in isolation from the rest of Biblical history, chronology, and…
Dear Mr. ______, . . . Here is how I look at the geocentricity question. Since I don’t recall what I wrote you before, I may be repeating some things. 1. The Bible does not teach it. Biblical passages used to support the idea are being misinterpreted. My original paper…
Answer 4 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is often taken as a magnificent answer to the question, "What is God?" It reads: "God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth." Presbyterians are fond of praising this statement, preaching on it,…
The gospels tell us that at Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him "in bodily form like a dove" (Luke 3:22 & parallels). Biblically sensitive commentators have associated this event with three Old Testament parallels: (1) the hovering of the Spirit over the creation in Genesis 1:2; (2) the…
This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. (John 8:6) The story of the woman taken in adultery (John 7:53-8:11) has been part of the canonical Christian Bible from its earliest…
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Since I subscribe to a variety of magazines and journals, I get a wildly diverse range of junk mail. Some assume I’m Catholic, others than I’m Jewish, some that I’m a Democrat, others that I’m a Republican or Libertarian or have signed on with the Constitution Party. One of the…
Raising Priests and Kings, Deuteronomy 6:1-25 INTRODUCTION We have been applying the sequence of priest, king, and prophet to Israel?s history and to our own biographies. God raises us to maturity by leading us through a period of service and a period of rule into an eldership where we guide…
Here is an address I gave at NSA graduation, May 12, 2004. Graduating Seniors, Parents, Friends of the College, Colleagues: It is a great privilege to address you all this evening, especially the graduating seniors. I am more grateful than I can express that I have had the privilege of…
As a student, Erin Linton, pointed out to me, Herod and Pilate are typical pagan enemies: Their enmity is skin deep, and liable to change to alliance and friendship when it is to their advantage. When faced with a scapegoat, the mimetic rivals become friends. (Just so, the windy plains…
The Brothers Karamazov , like many of Dostoevsky’s works, is partly an attack on Western rationalism. For Dostoevsky, this rationalism is manifested in the insistent question, Why? Why should a father love a son, or vice versa? Dostoevsky’s answer is partly taken from the story of Job: Why should Job…
One possible defense of the iconodule position is to draw an analogy between the use of icons in worship and the use of words in worship. The argument would be basically: 1. Venerating the word “YHWH” is superstitious. 2. But we do worship “through” the word “YHWH.” 3. Similarly, venerating…
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