Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
When God created Adam, He gave him both a vision and a responsibility. The big vision was the Dominion Mandate. The more specific calling was to cultivate and guard the Garden. God also told Adam about the gold of Havilah, which was good and beautiful (that is how the Hebrew…
After the death of Jan Hus (1369–1415), his successors, the Hussites, began to develop his thoughts on the theology and practice of the Church, particularly on= the question of the lay chalice. This time, however, it was not a question of whether this should be permitted at all—after all, this…
Imagine a friend of yours got involved in a commune, one of the really crunchy ones that does their own farming and such along with poetry nights and music and art. They’re pretty good at all this, actually. They’re using some really interesting permaculture practices at the communal farm, the…
Genesis 22, the story of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac, is one of the more well-known typologically dissected passages in the Bible. But just for the sake of dotting “i”s, here is a quick rundown: The promised son’s appearing was awaited a very long time (Genesis 12:4; 15:2–3; 16:16; 17:17; 21:1–5;…
A Narrative Sermon on Luke 22:24-46 As Luke walked through the rain toward the corner house he was apprehensive. That surprised him. He knew all along that this was the climax of the process—that he would have to present his work to these men before it could be copied and…
In 2004, an article by Slavoj Žižek appeared in Psychoanalytic Review entitled, ‘What Can Psychoanalysis Tell Us About Cyberspace?’ One of the answers that Žižek offers is that cyberspace creates an environment within which the consumer gets to play in a world where there is no God. In his use…
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Transgression in Paul’s terminology refers to violation of specific commandments. Mostly. But Galatians 2:17 has a radical redefinition of transgression. J. Louis Martyn says, when Paul says that re-erecting the wall of separation between Jew and Gentile makes him a transgressor, he implies that “the Law can play a role…
There does appear to be a positive connection between justification and nature in Galatians 2. It’s elusive, but it seems to be there. In verse 17, Paul argues that those who seek justification in Christ cannot be found sinners without implying that Christ Himself is a minister of sin. Me…
What is the logic of Paul’s argument in Galatians 2:15-16? This breaks down into several questions: Where does “justification” come from? How does Paul move from Jews-by-nature as opposed to Gentile-sinners to justification by the faith of Christ rather than the works of the law? And, of course, verse 16…
We instinctively distinguish nature and nurture, genes and training, and the Greeks did too with their distinction of physis and nomos . Paul’s use, though, doesn’t fit easily into this binary. Paul at times uses physis in a sense close to our own, describing what is given to a thing…
INTRODUCTION Jesus enters the temple twice. The first time, He symbolically destroys the temple, pronounces it a robbers’ den, and sets up a ministry of healing ( 21:12 -14). When He comes back the following day, the priests and elders go on the attack ( 21:23 ). Jesus gave them…
Jesus’ triumphal entry fulfills the typology of 2 Samuel 6 and 1 Kings 8, the ark’s entry into Jerusalem. Jesus is in the center of a procession, as the ark was in Israel’s wanderings, preceded and followed by cheering crowds (Matthew 21:9). Jesus sits, strangely, on the back of two…
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