Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Figure: Literary structure of the Garden narrative The Garden narrative describes God forming the adam , resting him in his presence, then provisioning for his appetites of food, vocation, and mate. It continues to describe a snake, the introduction of death, and humanity's expulsion from the garden. The pages of…
I’ve spent the last few years studying the theology of St. Irenaeus (d. circ. 200ad). In particular, I’ve been gripped by the way that Irenaeus consistently resisted the anti-body emphasis that emerged in later Christian theology. His eschatology is remarkably focused on the resurrection of the body, and the renewal…
Details of Jesus in Exodus 1:22-2:25 Although there are a great many Christ-types in the Old Testament, it is hard to overplay the obviousness of some that seem to necessarily rise to the top before others. One of these is Isaac, with his near sacrifice by his own father after…
What can we say about Cain's wicked sanctuary-city of Enoch? First that it was built with a brother's blood as its cornerstone. The Church is also built such, for Jesus was the younger brother of the whole Adamic race, slain by that company of older brothers because they hated Him.…
In Genesis 2:9 the ground brought forth trees good for food, delightful to view, and in two cases, life-giving or rule-bestowing. Adam, made of the ground (2:7), would by implication bring forth new trees, and thus trees and plants are among the symbols for human beings throughout the Bible. The…
One of the must fundamental teachings of the Bible and of the Christian religion is that man does not have life in himself. Man must get life from outside of himself, in order to maintain his life. The way this is done is through eating and drinking. Apart from life,…
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Cristina Conti of th Salvation Army Seminary in Buenos Aires offers an interesting chiasm of James (Global Bible Commentary, Abingdon Press). Here is an abbreviated form of the chiasm: A. Joy in trial, 1:2-8 B. Rich fade, 1:9-11 C. Lustfulness, 1:12-15 D. Perfect Gift, 1:16-25 E. Restraining the tongue, 1:26…
Eric Enlow writes, in response to my post on Gary Gilmore: “The Law actually can and has done quite a bit about the Gilmore situation to address responsibility that flows to the family as a whole. For example, early Germanic law imposed criminal liability on families not individuals. Thus, each…
INTRODUCTION The split within Israel continues to widen. Chapter 12 ended with Jesus teaching about His re-constituted family (12:46-50), and the end of chapter 13 reiterates that a prophet is without honor in His home town (13:53-58). Jesus appears in “their synagogue” for the last time in 13:53-58. With Israel…
Matthew 12:42: The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. As I mentioned in the sermon, 1…
Matthew 12:45: the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Jesus spends most of the debate in our sermon text talking about the generation of Israel that saw His coming, witnessed the powerful signs He performed, heard the good news, and yet failed to repent. When he…
In our sermon text, Jesus repeatedly evaluates “this generation.” “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign,” He says in response to the scribes and Pharisees. The men of Nineveh will rise in judgment against this generation, along with the Queen of the South, the Queen of Sheba, to…
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