Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Mrs. Marguerite Lane of Grand Rapids writes to ask if I have ever noticed a correlation between the eight beatitudes of Matthew 5 and the eight woes of Matthew 23. I confess that I have not. A glance at various commentators reveals that such a correspondence does not seem to…
1. The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, the burden. The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal: 2. Surely I am more stupid than any other man, And I do not have the understanding of a man. 3. And I have not learned wisdom, But I have…
Psalm 137 is widely regarded as one of the meanest of the imprecatory psalms. Certainly as we read it it is seems to be a song of pure vengeance. The exiles in Babylon, in grief over the judgment that Babylon has brought upon them, pray for the destruction of that…
In the Levitical law, the priests received two particular portions of each peace offering: the "wave offering" of the breast and the "heave offering" (or better, "contribution") of the right thigh. The purpose of this essay is to attempt to determine the reason why the second of these, the thigh,…
The story of Jesus’ visit, early in His ministry, to the synagogue in His home town of Nazareth is recorded for us in Luke 4:16-30. You may remember that Jesus read from Isaiah about how the Messiah would preach the gospel, care for the poor, work miracles, and bring in…
(The essay that follows concerns a rather touchy subject: how the Lord’s Supper is to be done. I am not writing to insult or offend, but to challenge. To that end I have not "held back" but have "gone ahead" and said what I think needs to be said —…
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In a 1917 article, Joseph William Hewitt notes that the Greeks did not view ingratitude with the same horror as modern writers (among modern writers, he lists Thomas Elyot, Shakespeare, and the Spectator ). From the sixteenth century to the early twentieth, “we find a deep, indeed an extreme, horror…
Kenneth Burke wisely remarks that “Every document bequeathed us by history must be treated as a strategy for encompassing a situation,” an “answer or rejoinder to assertions current in the situation in which it arose.” He goes on to compare our entry into history to a late arrival to a…
Philosophers claim that European/American thought has gone through a linguistic turn in the last several decades. The truth is the opposite. Rorty says, “The world does not speak. Only we do. The world can, once we have programmed ourselves with a language, cause us to hold beliefs. But it cannot…
INTRODUCTION While Herod and Jerusalem fear the news of the birth of Jesus, the Magi worship Him and rejoice (2:10). Here is another inversion of the original exodus story, and a preview of the gospel story: Jews reject their deliverer, but the Gentiles embrace Him. THE TEXT “Now after Jesus…
1 Corinthians 10: Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of…
For most Americans, Christmas means warm feelings, forgiveness, kindness, generosity. It means putting our differences aside and getting along. Celebrating Christmas means celebrating liberalism and toleration. As in so many ways, our celebration of Christmas borrows scraps from the table of Christian faith. We like “peace on earth, good will…
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