Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
This is Part II of a 2-part essay. For Part 1, click HERE . Covenant context Most Bible teachers apply the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles directly to Christians today without any thought of the historical – and more importantly, legal – context. The ministry of Christ and the…
Introduction The book of Revelation polarises Christians. Some become obsessed with ‘cracking its code’ while others throw it into the too hard basket. Thankfully, recent advances in biblical theology enable us to liberate this enigmatic book from both mistreatment and obscurity. The prophecy is attractive to some because of its…
I'm considering the possibility that the life of Abraham as recounted in Genesis contains a typological prophecy of the history of Israel; that is, that the events in Abraham’s life broadly anticipate events in Israel’s history. This kind of pattern is seen in the case of Moses, for instance, because…
According to this recent article in The Atlantic , teenage promiscuity is decreasing. Apparently there is a general "decline in dating" which also "tracks with a decline in sexual activity." The figures are startling: The drop is the sharpest for ninth-graders, among whom the number of sexually active teens has…
"Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'" - Matthew 22:37 Jesus says that this is the most important commandment: to love God with our heart, soul, and mind. If we obey this command,…
At the last supper, Jesus took bread and, having given thanks, He broke it and gave it to His disciples while saying, "Take, eat, this is My body given for you. Do this for My memorial." What Jesus did was recognized by the disciples, because it took place every morning…
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W hat is the thrust of the argument in Romans 4? Is Paul mainly concerned to present Abraham as an example of individual belief and trust in God? Or is the argument mainly about Abraham as father of both Jews and Gentiles? Is Abraham's faith presented as the means by…
A ttacked by his enemies, David cries out, asking God to judge. He prays for favorable judgment for himself, or, in Pauline terminology, for justification. In the Psalms, justification is a drama that has a consistent shape—threat, anguished protest and prayer, God's intervention, rescue and punishment, rejoicing. I have examined…
F rom Whitman's Preface to the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass : The Americans of all nations at any time upon the earth, have probably the fullest poetical nature. The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem. In the history of the earth hitherto the largest and most…
I n what context does “justification” fit? Does the word describe what happens to sinners when they are restored to the favor of God in their individual experience? Or is it instead, or also, a description of something that happened in the life-history of Jesus, as He lives a life…
L ike many Americans, I've spent an inordinate proportion of the past two years thinking about Donald Trump. I've written more about the 2016 Presidential election than about any other political event in my lifetime. Recently, someone said he thought I was a Trump supporter. That surprised me, but on…
L uke Bretherton argues ( Christianity, Democracy and the Shadow of Constantine ) that “For the church, listening is the constitutive political act” (71). This is true in part because “Through listening and responding to the Word of God, the Church is assembled as a public body—the ekklesia —out of…
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