Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Midwives are rarely mentioned in Scripture, but play a prominent role in the first chapter of Exodus. The word midwife is used seven times in verses 15-22, though it is used only twice elsewhere in the Old Testament. The reason, I think, is not merely that the midwives were heroic…
Leviathan (41:1-11) is the climax of the theophany, the culmination of the Lord’s speech. His final answer to Job’s injudicious charges against God’s justice. After hearing God rehearse the characteristics of Leviathan and His absolute power over him, Job instantly repents in dust and ashes. He confesses, "I know now…
Our purpose in this study is to lay out the chronology and history of the Kingdom of Judah from the reign of King Josiah to the completion of the exile of the Jews under Nebuchadnezzar, with particular attention to the events recorded in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The Empire of Assyria…
Protestants have always insisted that the sacraments bring no benefit without a response of faith, but this seems to undermine infant baptism, since infants do not appear to be able to exercise faith. Luther and Calvin held together their insistence on faith with infant baptism by claiming that infants can…
Traditional Presbyterian theologians regularly cite 1 Corinthians 11:28 as an argument against the practice of paedocommunion. Children must be able “to examine themselves” before they come to the table. Supposedly this text demands a certain level of intellectual capability as well as the capacity to engage in self-conscious introspection, both…
Yahweh’s two speeches at the end of the book of Job (38-41) should bring some closure to the book. The prologue has the whole cosmic order arrayed against the blameless and upright Job, "a man who feared God and shunned evil" (1:1, 8; 2:3). Yahweh’s capstone speeches affirm God’s absolute…
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Reader Jay Horne writes in response to my earlier post quoting Charles Morris, “After working on mechanical trading systems for the past several years (and having some success), I would suggest that it is the lumpiness, the human factors, that exactly create the opportunity for success with a mathematical system.…
Barbara Adam ( Time ) summarizes the work of archaeoastronomists who have studied the astronomical design of ancient buildings around the world. She says, “Evidence from across the world suggests that the moon was the earliest planetary source of cultural forms of time reckoning and associated rhythmic practices that integrated…
Proverbs 21:9 and 19 both speak of the difficulties of living with a contentious woman. Both put me in mind of the post-exodus conduct of Israel, when Yahweh’s bride acted like a contentious woman, grumbling about her good Husband’s provision and care. In response, Yahweh threatened to do what the…
During a student presentation on Dunn’s article on the New Perspective on Paul, it struck me that there’s a nature/grace debate going on in Galatians and in the Judaizer conflict. Judaizers say that grace has come, but the “cultural” or “natural” (cf. Gal 2:16) form of covenant life remains the…
On the first page of Arthur Phillips recent “ghost story,” Angelica , we read: “The burst of morning sunlight started the golden dust off the enfolded crimson drapery and drew fine black veins at the edges of the walnut-brown sill. The casement wants repainting, she thought. The distant irregular trills…
Tom Perrotta has written some popular coming of age novels, not quite innocence-to-experience (since no one is quite innocent even at the beginning) but from experience to greater experience, from adolescent confusions to greater clarity. Everyone seems wiser and calmer at the end. But the comic trajectory is cheaply bought.…
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