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Writing

Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.

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Biblical Chronology

Meredith G. Kline Strikes Back, Part 2

In our first essay we looked at Kline’s flawed exegesis of Genesis 2:5 as it relates to Day 3 of creation. Now we turn to Kline’s new argument against a chronological reading of Genesis 1, as found, again, in "Space and Time in the Genesis Cosmogony," Perspectives on Science and…

by James B. JordanMarch 29, 1997
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Hermeneutics

Bathsheba: The Real Story

One of the advantages of paying very close attention to the details in the Bible, especially chronological and genealogical details, is that they can shed light on situations that don’t seem to make much sense apart from them. One such situation is that of Bathsheba. It appears that Bathsheba willingly…

by James B. JordanMarch 28, 1997
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Church Calendar

Is the Church Year Biblical? | A Parking Lot Parable

Once upon a time, Jeff Meyers and Tony Rollins–old friends who had not seen each other for a few years–met in the parking lot of a neighborhood church. They were dropping off their pre-school children at the church for Mother’s Day Out. They were such conscientious and helpful fathers. As…

by Jeff MeyersMarch 20, 1997
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Daniel

The Allegory of Susanna

Years ago, when I was at the briefly-existing Geneva Divinity School, I taught a course in the Apocrypha. One thing that struck me at that time is that two of the stories are almost certainly religious allegories (as well as moral tales): Judith and Susanna. Since "Susanna" means "Lily," this…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1997
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Biblical Horizons

A Blossom of Yahweh’s Field

Peter’s essay inspires me to write up some similar thoughts about the flower of the field. Rightly does Peter associate the almond with Yahweh’s garden, because the Garden of Eden is symbolically positioned as parallel to the Holy Place of the Tabernacle and Temple. To wit: Since Aaron’s rod blossomed…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1997
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Biblical Chronology

Meredith G. Kline Strikes Back, Part 1

We have had occasion to discuss the views of Meredith G. Kline previously in these newsletters, and now it is time to do so again. Kline teaches at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and also at the Westminster Theological Seminaries (Philadelphia and San Diego). He is the author of some interesting insights…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1997

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Man Must Teach

Rosenstock-Huessy’s essay “Man Must Teach” begins as an analysis of Augustine’s dialogue with his son Adeodatus, the De Magistro , and then broadens out to a treatment of teaching as a paradigmatic social relation, as well as a treatment of the social construction of time. One of the key moves…

October 19, 2015

Tradition and the Theological Virtues

“There is a subtle intrigue going on between the generations,” writes Otto Kroesen in Planetary Responsibilities (120). “It is an intrigue of separating from, and inheriting, and convincing, and letting go of each other.” The recurring question is “whether only one generation can be the owner of the truth and…

October 19, 2015

Showing

The verb deiknuo , “show,” is used eight times in Revelation. Four of the uses are at the seams of the book, at the beginning of each new in-Spirit vision: 1. Jesus has been given to show John what must shortly take place (1:1). 2. When John sees a door…

October 19, 2015

Tradition and the Spirit

As long as the apostles were alive, writes Robert Jenson, churches could check their understanding of the gospel by asking the living apostles: “Is this the gospel?” Once they died, the church needed something to mediate the apostolic witness: “her self-identity as the church of the apostles would not be…

October 19, 2015

The Happening

Revelation begins (1:1, 19) with the announcement that God showed His bondservants what will soon “happen” or “become” ( ginomai ). It ends on the same note (22:6). What is it that happens? Judging from the scattered twenty-six uses of the verb ginomai , the happening that God unveils is…

October 16, 2015

Circles from the Sky

When the seventh bowl is poured out on the air, the world collapses. The throne of God comes to earth, flashing and thundering and shaking the earth until everything that cannot stand collapses. Cities fall, islands run away, mountains disappear. And hailstones weighing a talent ( talantiaia ) fall to…

October 16, 2015

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