Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt…
Part 5: Laying New Foundations in a Dying World As I mentioned above, the history of Israel involved several centuries as a church-without-a-culture, and then several centuries as a culture-without-a-city. To be sure, there was an informal culture around the church of the Patriarchs, but the civilization of free farmers…
In the Reformation Tradition we baptize both professing believers and their children. In the case of infants it is now commonly insisted that this is done because the children are already in covenant with God. Baptism is a sign and seal of a previously existing reality. Despite the popularity of…
Concerning Sex & the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the loaf of bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one loaf, we who are many…
Protestant-Catholic debates about the sacraments have usually taken the form of debates about sacramental efficacy. Protestants claim that Catholics believe that sacraments work ex opere operato, virtually a magical view of the sacraments. A priest goes through the motions and says the mumbo-jumbo and — presto! — the sacraments confer…
In 27.2, the Westminster Confession says that because of the “spiritual relation” between sacraments and the things they represent, “the names and effects of the one are attributed to the other.” Applied to baptism, this means that when the Bible says that we are baptized into Christ (Rom. 6), it…
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During 324-5, Constantine, in Timothy Barnes’s summary, “outlawed the performance of animal sacrifice, ordered that no new cult statues of the traditional gods be dedicated, and forbade magistrates and governors to begin official business with the traditional act of casting incense or some other similar offering on an altar standing…
One of the delicious results of McCain’s Palin pick is that it exposes Obama as just another politician, willing to get down and dirty with the rest of them. No more Obama the transcendent, Obama the supra-partisan, Obama the inventor of a new politics. Of course, nothing wrong with being…
David Garland notes that the transfiguration narrative in Matthew is chiastically structured: A. Narrative introduction, 17:1 B. Transfiguration of Jesus, 17:2-3 C. Peter’s response, 17:4 D. Divine Voice, 17:5 C’. Disciples’ response, 17:6 B’. Jesus speaks, 17:7 A’. Narrative conclusion, 17:8 Garland also notes that the transfiguration shares a number…
INTRODUCTION Death shadowed Jesus from His infancy, when Herod slaughtered the children of Bethlehem. After Peter’s confession, though, Jesus begins to talk openly about the cross that awaits Him (16:21). Predictions of the cross replace Matthew’s summary statements of Jesus ministry (17:22-23; 20:17-19; 26:1-2; cf. 4:23-25). Jesus doesn’t withdraw anymore,…
Revelation 19:6-7: And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, Hallelujah, for the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to…
Americans always want a formula. We want 12 steps to serenity and 12 to sobriety and 12 to fitness and 12 to happiness. And we want a step-by-step process to ensure success in courtship and marriage. It’s true that many lives have been transformed by the original 12-step program created…
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