Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The story of Judges 19 and the subsequent chapters are some of the most shocking and appalling accounts in all of Scripture. The callousness of the old host and the Levite, and the monstrous brutality of the men of Gibeah, leaves us feebly scrabbling for words by which to surmount…
David has become king. He has conquered the capital city of Jerusalem. He has brought the ark of Yahweh into the city and placed it in a tent. He has stationed Levites at the tent to offer sacrifices of praise. An anomaly hits him: He has a cedar-paneled palace, and…
In Part 2 of this series we traced what we have of the development of the epiclesis in the liturgy of the Church. In this third and final part we’ll look at the theological implications of this and how we may apply what we’ve learned. As we saw in Part…
In a 2014 piece published in First Things , I offered a "wish list" for Protestant churches, a checklist for a future catholic Protestantism. The wish list doesn't cover everything. It doesn't mention those things that Protestants, especially Evangelicals, already do, often exceedingly well, things like missions and evangelism and…
In the first part of this series we examined the meaning of “blessing” in Scripture and its parallels in Jewish liturgical tradition, but did not find anything that we could properly call an epiclesis (an invocation of the Holy Spirit). We did find examples of invocation of Jesus to “come”…
When the Aaronic priests were ordained, the blood of the ram of "filling” was placed on the lobe of the right ear, the right thumb, and the right big toe (Lev. 8:22-24). Similarly, the cleansing rite for a leper included smearing the right ear lobe, thumb, and big toe with…
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In a speech delivered on April 29 to the Fulcrum Conference at Islington, NT Wright notes that the Spirit comes to bring God’s future into the present, and that the Spirit also binds together heaven and earth. This reminds me of Jim Jordan’s claim that the Spirit is the divine…
Warren Gage presents a compelling case for the conclusion that the harlot of Revelation 17-18 becomes the bride of chapter 21, or at least that many escape from the city of the whore to inhabit the bride-city that comes from heaven. Gage rests a good bit of his case on…
The John-Revelation project being developed by Knox Seminary professors Warren Gage and Fowler White (available on the Knox Seminary web site) offers many insights on Revelation. It is just as helpful on John’s gospel. In Study Paper #3, they chart the parallels between the gospel and Revelation. Here are some…
INTRODUCTION Ascension Day doesn?t have the cultural charge that Christmas and Easter do, but it?s equally important. Jesus?Eascension is one of the chief goals of His entire ministry, the day on which the Father installed His king on Zion to rule the nations with a rod of iron and to…
In a fine article in the May 2 Weekly Standard , Joel Kotkin emphasizes the historical prominence of religion in urban life. He argues that “places like Fargo, a booming high-tech city on the Great Plains, are more in sync with ancient urban tradition than are supposed paragons of American…
And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me; and I will offer in His tent sacrifices of shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh (Psalm 27:6). Chronicles gives us a guide for placing song in our liturgy. The liturgy…
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