Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Several weeks ago, a picture of a man working at Trader Joe’s went viral. At first glance, it was hard to tell what was worthy of note in the picture—a man simply standing near a cash register. It turns out, the picture went viral not because of what the man…
Among the many allusions in the transfiguration story, one allusion, or rather, one group of allusions, is especially prominent — allusions to Mt. Sinai. The first and least obvious of the allusions to Mt. Sinai is the expression “high mountain” in Matthew and Mark and “the mountain” in Luke. Ancient…
The revelation of Jesus’ glory at the transfiguration is one of the most important stories in the synoptic Gospels. At Jesus’ baptism — the inauguration of New Covenant baptism with the Holy Spirit and the paradigm for Christian baptism — God the Father spoke from heaven: “You are My Son,…
The first section of Proverbs (chapters 1-9) contains two lengthy descriptions of temptations that a young man should resist and avoid (1:10-19 and 7). The two temptations are recruitment into a robber gang and being enticed by an adulterous wife. I've argued before that these are the two perversions of…
Is there a Gospel invitation? To many evangelical Christians, the answer to that question is an unqualified "yes." Some calvinists, reacting against the misleading character of the "altar call," seem less interested in inviting men to anything than they are in sending men away to think about the message they…
Effective pastoral care helps people progress to maturity. Historically, the Christian church worked out the sacramental system to assist people with the various conversions of life. While we Protestants believe in only two sacraments, it is helpful for us to look at the sacramental system, because there is some wisdom…
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The Lamb’s worthiness to take the book is triple (Revelation 5:9-10). He is worthy because: 1) He was slain 2) He purchased with His blood 3) He made the purchased-ones a kingdom and priests The second and third of these meritorious acts, though, move out into a four. He purchased…
In a subtle discussion of divine repentance, R.W.L. Moberly ( Old Testament Theology , 122-3) offers this complex reading of Jeremiah 18:1-10. Rather than a contradiction, he suggests that it offers a “striking paradox.” The imagery “strongly emphasizes divine power,” yet at the same time “we have a strong statement…
Gordon Lathrop’s The Pastor: A Spirituality is a wise and beautiful book, to be savored slowly. It’s not perfect; it’s marred here and there by a form of lefty Lutheranism. But it’s such a lovely book that it seems almost obscene to review it. I’ll limit myself to quoting a…
A recent addition to Oxford Studies in Historical Theology, Richard Snoddy’s Soteriology of James Ussher offers a detailed study of an important but neglected figure. If he is known at all, Ussher is known today as a chronologist. Snoddy’s is one of several recent works that shows the breadth of…
As legal affairs correspondent for the Nation , David Cole is no apologist for the NSA. But he argues in his Washington Post review of No Place To Hide that Glenn Greenwald undermines a compelling argument by hyperbole and his failure to acknowledge the limits on NSA activity: “Greenwald’s descriptions…
Theodore Jennings doesn’t think that traditional notions of atonement speak to the contemporary world. We are “no longer familiar” with the language of sacrifice, and that is partly because of Christianity itself: “the Letter to the Hebrews is an essay that largely aims at the destruction of the notion of…
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