Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The Paradosis Center at John Brown University in Siloam Spring, Arkansas, put on its first conference last week, it was a remarkable event. It was an ecumenical conference including Orthodox (John Behr, Edith Humphrey, others), Catholic (Rusty Reno, Michael Root, others), and Evangelical (Timothy George, David Lyle Jeffrey). Unusually for…
Naphtali Meshel observes in his new The "Grammar" of Sacrifice that scholars have been talking for decades about the "grammatical" character of ritual and sacrifice in general, but have never actually analyzed a specific ritual or sacrificial system grammatically. Some even talk about a "universal grammar" of sacrifice "even though…
Some Christians are rather breezy about the problem of evil. We shouldn't be. Do I need to remind you of the grisly beheadings that have taken place over the past few weeks? Do I need to remind you of the blood of innocents that’s been spilled in our own country?…
Have you ever been to a wedding where the heavens opened and a voice declared the couple “husband and wife”? Few of us have. Beautiful as they are, most marriages are quite mundane. Yet when Jesus talks about marriage, He describes it as something that God does: “What God has…
Jesus is the last and greatest of the Prophets. He is the Prophet that Moses predicted (Deuteronomy 18). That means He gives the final word, brings the blueprints for the final temple, speaks the final world into existence, and has complete and permanent access to the divine court, where He…
Paul stands against those who are “troubling” or “disturbing” the Galatians churches ( tarasso ; 1:7; also in 5:10). The reference seems to be two great troublers from the Old Testament. First, Achan is described as a “troubler” for the problems he causes in the aftermath of the battle at…
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The Word, the Bread, and the Nations, Luke 24:1-53 INTRODUCTION Jesus was condemned to death, but throughout Luke?s account various people declare that Jesus is innocent. Seven times, someone states that he is righteous or treats Him as not guilty (Luke 23:4, 14, 15, 22, 41, 47, 51). On the…
Robert C. Tannehill points out that the resurrection narrative in Luke 24 has a generally chiastic structure. First, there is an inclusio with the idea of “return” (23:56; 24:52), and the emphasis on the fact that Jesus’ disciples are observant Jews (23:56b; 24:53). Second, within that, there is a chiastic…
Who else but Melville could have written this line? He advises a sea captain examining a Portuguese for his crew to ask, “His knees, any Belshazzar symptoms there?”
Feminism is a case study in the need to define identity through relationship, rather than by cutting the bonds of relationship. In a brief review of Dr. Laura’s new book for the Weekly Standard (March 22), Tammy Bruce suggests that Dr L has grasped something that feminists, with all their…
As I’ve suggested in several recent posts, the turning point of Luke’s crucifixion narrative is the “conversion” of the criminal on the cross, and Jesus’ acceptance of Him into His kingdom. Jews and Romans had joined in mockery of Jesus’ claims to be “savior” and “king,” but the criminal entrusts…
Psalm 25:14 says that “the secret of Yahweh is for those who fear Him, and His covenant He will cause them to know.” The parallel structure of the verse indicates that “secret” and “covenant” are describing the same reality, and the parallel comes out more strongly in the Hebrew since…
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