Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Introduction Isaiah 21 can only be understood in the light of its placement in the architecture of the second “volume” of the prophecy (chapters 13–27). The contents are arranged in twin sevenfold “columns” that represent the great bronze pillars of Solomon’s Temple: Jachin and Boaz, priest and king. The priestly…
A Biblical Reflection on the Purpose of the Constellations The starry heavens hold a place of wonder in the hearts of men. Since man’s creation we have looked up into the heavens and have beheld its glory. This is particularly true of the night sky. The stars, in their shinning…
The case for there being five discourses within the Gospel according to Matthew is a hard one to challenge: surely the closing formula “when Jesus finished these sayings” as found in 8:1, 11:1, 13:53, 19:1, and 26:1 settles it once and for all. And by the five instances of the…
The Long Commission The Great Commission of Matthew 28 has long been a cornerstone of American Evangelicalism. It has formed and fashioned the American church’s missional impulse. Yet when viewed from the wide lens of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, the Great Commission is revealed as one of the pillars…
I am delighted to see that more and more churches in the Reformed tradition are now recognizing that all baptized children are members of the body of Christ and therefore ought to be communing with the rest of the body at the Lord’s Table. This has been decades in the…
Good leaders have always been rare. In today’s world, they seem extinct. Joe Rigney’s recent book Leadership and Emotional Sabotage digs into the spiritual reasons for the leadership epidemic and recommends cures. Rigney starts with a summary of a book by Edwin Friedman called A Failure of Nerve . Friedman’s…
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Jehoshaphat allies with Ahab of Israel by marrying his son to Ahab's daughter Athaliah (2 Chronicles 18:1-3). He follows up with a religious alliance, sharing a sacrificial feast with Ahab. That leads to a military alliance, as Jehoshaphat puts Yahweh's hosts on the field to fight for Ahab. It almost…
II. The Cross in Christian Experience How are the cross and resurrection reproduced in human life since Jesus’ cross and resurrection? Essentially, Jesus incorporated death into life. Christian faith means faith in a God who makes death into a positive feature in life. Rosenstock-Huessy observes that life is suffering, battle,…
For a general introduction to the life and work of Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, see my "The Relevance of Rosenstock-Huessy." “The Crucifixion is the fountainhead of all my values,” wrote the German-American philosopher and historian Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, “the great divide whence flow the processes most real in my inner life, and my…
I grew up taking piano lessons. My mother, a college music teacher before her marriage, made sure of that. I didn't care much for it, and gave it a lot less attention than my free throw technique. Tristesse . I wish I had believed my teachers who told me I'd…
Maxwell Johnson ends a chapter on "the Apostolic Tradition" in the Oxford History of Christian Worship with a reflection on the challenge of identifying the content of the "liturgical tradition": "it has become extraordinarily difficult in the light of contemporary liturgical scholarship to say clearly from within this formative period…
Worship, Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) says, orders everything in human life: "It is only . . . when man’s relationship with God is right that all of his other relationships . . . can be in good order . . . . Worship . . . is essential for the…
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