Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Midwives are rarely mentioned in Scripture, but play a prominent role in the first chapter of Exodus. The word midwife is used seven times in verses 15-22, though it is used only twice elsewhere in the Old Testament. The reason, I think, is not merely that the midwives were heroic…
Leviathan (41:1-11) is the climax of the theophany, the culmination of the Lord’s speech. His final answer to Job’s injudicious charges against God’s justice. After hearing God rehearse the characteristics of Leviathan and His absolute power over him, Job instantly repents in dust and ashes. He confesses, "I know now…
Our purpose in this study is to lay out the chronology and history of the Kingdom of Judah from the reign of King Josiah to the completion of the exile of the Jews under Nebuchadnezzar, with particular attention to the events recorded in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The Empire of Assyria…
Protestants have always insisted that the sacraments bring no benefit without a response of faith, but this seems to undermine infant baptism, since infants do not appear to be able to exercise faith. Luther and Calvin held together their insistence on faith with infant baptism by claiming that infants can…
Traditional Presbyterian theologians regularly cite 1 Corinthians 11:28 as an argument against the practice of paedocommunion. Children must be able “to examine themselves” before they come to the table. Supposedly this text demands a certain level of intellectual capability as well as the capacity to engage in self-conscious introspection, both…
Yahweh’s two speeches at the end of the book of Job (38-41) should bring some closure to the book. The prologue has the whole cosmic order arrayed against the blameless and upright Job, "a man who feared God and shunned evil" (1:1, 8; 2:3). Yahweh’s capstone speeches affirm God’s absolute…
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Some more quotations from the same Auden essay (the whole thing is wonderful): He is, like CS Lewis in Allegory of Love , comparing Greek conceptions of love with medieval and modern romantic conceptions, but adds a dash of de Rougemont: The Tristan-Isolde myth is unGreek because no Greek could…
In an introduction to a volume called The Portable Greek Reader , W. H. Auden made these comments about Greek philosophy: The great difference between the Greek conception of Nature and later ones is that the Greeks thought of the universe as analogous to a city-state, so that for them…
Who was the most spiritual man of the Old Testament? Judging from word count alone (admittedly not an infallible guide), the answer would have to be Samson. The Spirit comes on him four times, more than any other OT character. Samson was the most spiritual man prior to Jesus.
An insight on the conversion of Levi in Luke 5:27-32, suggested by my wife: Levi is called away from his tax booth, leaves everything to follow Jesus, and in the very next scene is hosting a banquet. There are two dimensions to this: first, Levi leaves a profession notorious for…
Sermon notes for August 24, 2003 What Shall We Do? Luke 3:1-38 INTRODUCTION John’s message of impending judgment on Israel is not some side issue for him or for Jesus. Both are prophets of doom, warning Israel as Moses warned Pharaoh. This message is an essential part of “preaching the…
Some very interesting material in Richard Muller’s book on the Trinity, the fourth volume of his monumental Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics . First, a couple of quotations about the treatment of the Trinity in early Reformed Orthodoxy: One of the major features of this period was “a broadened sense of the…
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