Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
In the first post of this series, I proposed that the sacraments of baptism and communion are the nexus point for the evangelical and ecumenical movements. In the following post , I proposed a new orientation for ecumenism – a conciliarity of the cross – with the necessary confession of…
“Contextualization” is now, and has been for a long time, the buzzword for the day. 1 Missionary effort in non-Western countries is all about “contextualization” — making our communication of the Gospel, if not the Gospel itself, fit into the culture to whom we from the West speak. 2 There…
In my previous post , I highlighted the sacraments as the point of convergence between evangelicalism and ecumenism arguing that baptism and communion are presented in the New Testament as signs of the gospel that simultaneously enact and remember union with Christ and the unity of Christ’s body. I concluded…
Click HERE for Part I of this series. What does baptism have to do with culture? As I said in the previous essay, the short answer is “everything!” To begin with, baptism is baptism into Jesus’ death (Romans 6:3). Paul explains this as the crucifixion of the “old man” (“old…
In the accounts of our Lord’s nativity and early childhood, so familiar to us from many years of Advent and Christmas services, we often fail to recognize in them the gentle intimations of a greater nativity that is yet to come. The attentive ear, however, can discover in these passages…
Isaiah warns that Yahweh is coming to remove Judah’s leaders in every area of social, economic and political life so completely that there will be no one left to lead besides children (3:4) and women (v. 12). As Isaiah goes on, however, it becomes clear that the women of Judah…
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Luther assaulted the enthusiasts of the Reformation era with vigor: “enthusiasm lurks in Adam and his children from the beginning up to the end of the world, as a poison placed in them by teh ancient serpent, and it is the source, power and might of all heresy . .…
Interpreting the Psalmist’s cry for understanding, Luther discusses the need for understanding to grow over time: “The Psalmist prays for an understanding against the mere letter,for the Spirit is understanding. For as the years have passed, so has the relationship grown closer between letter and the Spirit. For what was…
In Emma, as U. C. Knoepflmacher has pointed out, the writing of letters is an index of character. Writing letters is itself less manly and direct that face-to-face speech, and the kinds of letters one writes reveal the person. Frank is said to write long, “pretty” letters; Robert Martin writes…
PD James devotes a considerable amount of space to Austen in her autobiography, including biographical details about Austen and an appendix where she analyzes Emma as a “detective story.” She notes that detective stories don’t need to have murder, but only mystery: “facts which are hidden from the reader but…
As Claire Tomalin points out, Austen had two bursts of creativity during her lifetime. The first came in her early twenties, when she wrote the early versions of Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice within about a three year period from 1795-1798. None of these was published…
The volume edited by McCormack includes a final chapter by NT Wright. Like a good Calvinist, Wright summarizes his views on Paul and justification under five points. He begins where he says Paul begins, with the gospel. For Paul, Wright argues, the gospel is not a message of individual salvation,…
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