Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Paul writes to Jews, “You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?” (Romans 2:22b) The English translation “rob temples” makes readers think of pagan temples. There was only one Temple for Israel, so robbing more than one would indicate other temples are in view. And if the Jews wanted to…
Two offerings Humanity’s first vocation involves guarding and serving the trees that emerge from the ground (Genesis 2:15). God provides these trees to humanity for food. A serpent appears and tempts the couple to eat from a special forbidden tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Humanity…
At the outset of the Torah (as Christians understand it), a triune God creates the heavens and earth over the course of a seven-day week. Why? What’s the connection between the three and the seven? Could a triune God have created the world over any period of time he chose?…
How relevant to the modern reader are the flying axe head of Deuteronomy 19:5 and the roof parapet of Deuteronomy 22:8? Indeed, how relevant were they to the daily lives of Israelites thirty-five hundred years ago? Suppose that accidental falls from rooftops were exceedingly uncommon in ancient Israel, or that…
1 For most of my life, the standing of the American church as a source of national social and political order was measured by reports from the front of the so-called “culture wars.” 2 Memory brings to mind battles over feminism and the ERA, so-called gay rights, the breakdown of…
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, ‘Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel…’ And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the…
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“You,” “we” and “us” are interesting in Eph 2: Let’s try “you” = Gentiles and “we” = Jews. This becomes explicit at least by verse 11, and I suggest that we read vv 1-10 in the same way: “You Gentiles were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you formerly…
When Paul says that the Gentiles do what the law requires because of the law written in their hearts, who is he talking about? Righteous pagans? Christians (as NT Wright and others have recently argued)? There seems to be an obvious third alternative: That is, Gentiles who are heirs of…
This from the TDNT on HELLEN: “In Hellenistic Judaism Hellenism was found to be the most dangerous form of paganism, but as yet there is no simple equation of HELLENES and Gentiles. Hellenism is the historically known magnitude of the Greek world with its language, customs and deities . .…
This from the TDNT on HELLEN: “In Hellenistic Judaism Hellenism was found to be the most dangerous form of paganism, but as yet there is no simple equation of HELLENES and Gentiles. Hellenism is the historically known magnitude of the Greek world with its language, customs and deities . .…
What does Paul mean by “Greek”? Though often taken as simply synonymous with “Gentile,” it seems instead to have the more specific force of “Hellene,” someone who is part of the Greco-Roman empire. ETHNOS means simply “nation,” and refers to nations other than Israel. A HELLEN is a member of…
What does Paul mean by “Greek”? Though often taken as simply synonymous with “Gentile,” it seems instead to have the more specific force of “Hellene,” someone who is part of the Greco-Roman empire. ETHNOS means simply “nation,” and refers to nations other than Israel. A HELLEN is a member of…
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