Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
One of the major themes of the book of Acts is that Christ’s servants follow in His footsteps. For instance, if we compare the lives of Jesus and Paul, we find that each engaged in several years of travelling and preaching. Each set his face toward Jerusalem. In each case…
(This continues a discussion of the Biblical and Assyrian chronologies, begun in earlier posts. You can click on the category, "Biblical Chronology," to see the previous posts. Was Ahab at Qarqar? Allis writes: "According to his Monolith Inscription, Shalmaneser III, in his sixth year (854 B.C.) made an expedition to…
I am not infrequently asked for advice on how to implement the kinds of things I’ve discussed in Rite Reasons and in my book The Sociology of the Church. To that end I’m providing in this essay some nuts and bolts that grow out of more than ten years of…
The first commandment given in the Levitical sacrificial legislation has to do with the animals appropriate to sacrifice: "When any man of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of cattle ( behemah ), from the herd or the flock" (Lev. 1:2). Cattle alone were…
In the first week of November, the voters of the state of Washington were asked to approve or disapprove physician-assisted suicide. This has led to a good deal of comment on the issue of euthanasia in the press, and provokes the following reflections. 1. From a social policy standpoint, the…
We come this month to one of the most pernicious problems in the reconstruction of Ancient Near Eastern chronology, the problem of the Assyrian King Lists. We cannot proceed further with our survey of the chronology of the kings of Israel until we remove this roadblock from our path. We…
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Ackerman points to an intriguing phenomenological difference between our dependence on air and our dependence on food. We breathe involuntarily; if we try to suffocate ourselves, we will pass out before we die, and we’ll begin breathing again. But (under normal circumstances) we don’t get food unless we seek it…
Proverbs 9:1-6, 13-18: Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars; she has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table; she has sent out her maidens, she calls from the tops of the heights of the city: ?Whoever is…
The always-interesting Diane Ackerman gives this wonderful list of aphrodisiacs: “Looked at in the right light, any food might be thought aphrodisiac. Phallic-shaped foods such as carrots, leeks, cucumbers, pickles, sea cucumbers (which become tumescent when soaked), eels, bananas, and asparagus all have been prized as aphrodisiacs at one time…
hordes rushing at me armed to the teeth from the future
Robert S. Miola’s article on Shakespeare’s Rome in the Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare’s History Plays is superb. Here are a couple of excerpts: ?The spectacle of such bloodshed and death defines Shakespeare?s ancient Romans as other, as deeply alien and strange. But Roman violence had other significations for original audiences,…
Robert S. Miola’s article on Shakespeare’s Rome in the Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare’s History Plays is superb. Here are a couple of excerpts: ?The spectacle of such bloodshed and death defines Shakespeare?s ancient Romans as other, as deeply alien and strange. But Roman violence had other significations for original audiences,…
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