Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Inspired by our recent podcast on Christmas and Advent music recommendations, we offer here a list of excellent recordings that are sure to enrich your Advent and Christmas season. Praetorius: Mass for Christmas Morning Paul McCreesh with the Gabrieli Consort and Players Amazon | Spotify | Apple Music 2. Christmas…
In the year 1483 in the city of Nuremberg, the leaders of the renowned Saint Lawrence Church were seeking to redesign their altar, and above the table where the priests presided over the eucharist, they wanted new art installed above the prestigious Krell altar. What they decided on took everyone…
The consequences of disobedience start with exile from the garden of God and the Tree of Yahweh, but they do not end there. They cascade down through the structure of the dynastic order. Everything which had previously been given in the Kingdom of Elohim is either taken back or curtailed…
Parallelism: A Course Correction If you have ever studied Hebrew poetry, you have probably heard its basic poetic feature described as “parallelism.” Hebrew poetry is not metered, it does not rhyme, it does not employ many of the common poetical tropes, but its distinctive (and almost universal) feature is commonly…
In The Crown and the Courts , David C. Flatto traces the development of the idea of judicial independence in Jewish commentaries on the Scriptures – particularly Deuteronomy 17 – from the Second Temple and early rabbinic periods. These periods roughly span 400 BC to 300 AD. Flatto does not…
A curious feature of the Infancy Narratives in the Gospel of Luke is the naming of John the Baptist. When the angel appears to Zechariah, he is instructed to give his promised son the name John (Luke 1:13). On the day of John’s circumcision, Luke tells us that “they [presumably…
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Jesus silences the Sadducees with his question from Exodus 3, but then the Pharisees hear about it and “gather” together to ask Him further questions. The verb is doubly significant: On the one hand, it’s the verbal form of the word for synagogue; the Pharisees form a synagogue in opposition…
STRUCTURE There is a fairly clear chiasm in verses 11-17: A. Dog returning to vomit, v 11 B. Man wise in his own eyes, v 12 C. Sluggard, vv 13-15 B’. Sluggard wise in his own eyes, v 16 A’. Taking dog by the ears, v 17 Perhaps the chiasm…
The arch of Constantine in Rome depicts a bear and boar hunt that ends with a sacrifice to Hercules. Architectural historians suggest that the hunt represents Constantine’s taming of the forces of civil disorder and chaos. One (Mark Wilson Jones) suggests that the sacrifice represents pre-Constantinian pagan religion, while Constantine’s…
A. N. Wilson has recently returned to Christianity. He’s asked in an interview, “What’s the worst thing about being faithless?” “The worst thing about being faithless? When I thought I was an atheist I would listen to the music of Bach and realize that his perception of life was deeper,…
In the Reformed tradition, election is a secret decree. Interestingly, though, the first time Yahweh calls Abraham his “chosen” He goes on to reveal secrets to him: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? . . . For I have chosen him” (Genesis 18:17, 19). God…
Abraham’s story moves from a priestly phase (setting up altars in the land) through a kingly phase (conquering the kings) to a prophetic phase (arguing with Yahweh and interceding for Abimelech). His life previews the history of Israel. At each transition, there is an exodus, a thwarted threat to the…
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