Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
In our first essay we looked at Kline’s flawed exegesis of Genesis 2:5 as it relates to Day 3 of creation. Now we turn to Kline’s new argument against a chronological reading of Genesis 1, as found, again, in "Space and Time in the Genesis Cosmogony," Perspectives on Science and…
One of the advantages of paying very close attention to the details in the Bible, especially chronological and genealogical details, is that they can shed light on situations that don’t seem to make much sense apart from them. One such situation is that of Bathsheba. It appears that Bathsheba willingly…
Once upon a time, Jeff Meyers and Tony Rollins–old friends who had not seen each other for a few years–met in the parking lot of a neighborhood church. They were dropping off their pre-school children at the church for Mother’s Day Out. They were such conscientious and helpful fathers. As…
Years ago, when I was at the briefly-existing Geneva Divinity School, I taught a course in the Apocrypha. One thing that struck me at that time is that two of the stories are almost certainly religious allegories (as well as moral tales): Judith and Susanna. Since "Susanna" means "Lily," this…
Peter’s essay inspires me to write up some similar thoughts about the flower of the field. Rightly does Peter associate the almond with Yahweh’s garden, because the Garden of Eden is symbolically positioned as parallel to the Holy Place of the Tabernacle and Temple. To wit: Since Aaron’s rod blossomed…
We have had occasion to discuss the views of Meredith G. Kline previously in these newsletters, and now it is time to do so again. Kline teaches at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and also at the Westminster Theological Seminaries (Philadelphia and San Diego). He is the author of some interesting insights…
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Jesus’ quotations from Genesis 1-2 in Matthew 19:4-5 resemble the pattern in a number of days of creation. On some days, God spoke and made, or made something by speaking. But there are occasions when God first made something and then spoke to it. He made the dry land appear,…
Between Matthew 4 and 19, Jesus ministers in Galilee, never in Judea. As soon as He enters Judea again (19:1-2), He is attacked - just as He was when He was first in Judea, when wise men came looking for the king of the Jews. This is the first Sunday…
If we follow the traditional interpretation in taking “eunuch” in Matthew 19 as a figure for someone who has renounced family and progeny and “manhood” for the sake of the kingdom, then we can surmise that Jesus intends to refer to Himself above all as the one who has become…
In a 2005 article in JSNT, J. David Hester challenges the view that Jesus’ eunuch saying in Matthew 19:12 is an endorsement of celibacy. Part of his argument rests on an analysis of ancient conceptions of eunuchs, who were regularly feared because they confused gender distinctions. Eunuchs must be understood,…
The always-fascinating Spengler predicts the extinction of languages and peoples over the next two centuries: “Half of the world’s languages will disappear by the end of the 21st century, and up to 90% by the end of the 22nd. The majority of these are spoken by a few hundred people…
Between Matthew 4 and 19, there is no mention of Judea or the region “beyond the Jordan.” Once He hears of John’s arrest, Jesus withdraws to Galilee (4:12), and doesn’t come back until 19:1. As soon as He steps back into Judea, the Pharisees come to “test” Him. Apart from…
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