Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
For many people the date October 31 is significant not only for being the Eve of All Saints (All Hallows Eve, Halloween) but as the day in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg. These theses were a list of…
It has become routine in October for some Christian schools to send out letters warning parents about the evils of Halloween, and it has become equally routine for me to be asked questions about this matter. "Halloween" is simply a contraction for All Hallows’ Eve. The word "hallow" means "saint,"…
The following is an excerpt from Peter Leithart's forthcoming two-volume commentary on Revelation (T&T Clark). Y ou must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings,” a voice tells John (Rev. 10:11). Then someone gives him a “reed like a rod” and instructs him to measure (11:1).…
Josiah is an ideal Davidic king in many ways. He not only “did right,” but he “walked in the ways of his father David” and “did not turn aside to the right or to the left” (2 Chronicles 34:2). At the age of 16, he began to seek Yahweh, and…
One of the best discussions of Augustine’s views on time comes from Jeremy Begbie’s Theology, Music, and Time (ch. 3). Following Paul Ricoeur, Begbie claims that Augustine’s distentio “is conceived as the three-fold present, and the threefold present as distentio . The distentio consists in the non-coincidence of the mind’s…
This has always been the position of the Christian Church, and from an historical perspective the present situation in evangelicalism is appalling. The early liturgies of the Church, which are still used in Episcopal and Lutheran worship, are laced with psalm phrases. The early hymns, such as the Te Deum…
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Keith Bodner examines the story of Elisha and the bears in his Elisha's Profile in the Book of Kings (58-9). He observes that the boys' insult "go up, you bald head" is ironic: "Elisha is mocked for his head, having just lost his head, Elijah (2:3). It is unclear whether…
In a 2008 essay in Policy Review , PayPal founder Peter Thiel analyzes an "optimistic thought experiment" about globalization. The root idea is "apocalypse," mostly of the secular variety. Thiel thinks that political actors and investors ignore the possibility of apocalypse, dangerously so. Along the way, Thiel traces the links…
Rene Girard ( I Saw Satan Fall Like Lightning ) quotes Colossians 2:14-15, and makes this observation: "The principal metaphor is triumph in the Roman sense, which is the reward that Rome bestowed on its victorious generals. Standing on his chariot, the victorious general made a solemn entrance into the…
George Monbiot ( Out of the Wreckage ) points out that both our travel to work and our work itself undermines community: "The activities that once brought us together now drive us apart" (60). People used to travel to work on buses and trains, but as public transport has declined…
After defeating the Cushite invader Zerah, Asa leads Judah in covenant renewal (2 Chronicles 15:8-15). The people assemble in Jerusalem, offer sacrifice, and enter a covenant to seek Yahweh with all their heart and soul, on pain of death. Verse 14 says that they made the oath "with a loud…
Trust in the major institutions of modern society has declined dramatically over the past several decades. George Monbiot cites an Edelman Corporation survey of 28 countries that found that "fewer than 50 per cent of respondent now trust mainstream business, government, media and non-governmental organizations to 'do what is right'"…
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