Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
When God created Adam, He gave him both a vision and a responsibility. The big vision was the Dominion Mandate. The more specific calling was to cultivate and guard the Garden. God also told Adam about the gold of Havilah, which was good and beautiful (that is how the Hebrew…
After the death of Jan Hus (1369–1415), his successors, the Hussites, began to develop his thoughts on the theology and practice of the Church, particularly on= the question of the lay chalice. This time, however, it was not a question of whether this should be permitted at all—after all, this…
Imagine a friend of yours got involved in a commune, one of the really crunchy ones that does their own farming and such along with poetry nights and music and art. They’re pretty good at all this, actually. They’re using some really interesting permaculture practices at the communal farm, the…
Genesis 22, the story of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac, is one of the more well-known typologically dissected passages in the Bible. But just for the sake of dotting “i”s, here is a quick rundown: The promised son’s appearing was awaited a very long time (Genesis 12:4; 15:2–3; 16:16; 17:17; 21:1–5;…
A Narrative Sermon on Luke 22:24-46 As Luke walked through the rain toward the corner house he was apprehensive. That surprised him. He knew all along that this was the climax of the process—that he would have to present his work to these men before it could be copied and…
In 2004, an article by Slavoj Žižek appeared in Psychoanalytic Review entitled, ‘What Can Psychoanalysis Tell Us About Cyberspace?’ One of the answers that Žižek offers is that cyberspace creates an environment within which the consumer gets to play in a world where there is no God. In his use…
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I've noted before that the word “voice” appears seven times in Psalm 29. That suggests a link with creation, and we can see a general creation sequence in the Psalm: Days 1-2: In Genesis, the Spirit hovers over the waters, and then the Lord divides the waters above and below…
The Greek word “plague” ( plege ) is used 16 times in the book of Revelation, but twice we get a count of plagues. The hyacinth army of Revelation 9 breathes out the “ three plagues” of fire, smoke, brimstone (9:18). Those plagues show up later (14:10-11 [all three]; 19:20;…
Derrida revived the ancient myth of Thoth, told in the Phaedrus , according to which the invention of writing was like a fall of man. Writing things down destroyed the personalism and in-placedness of speech, and eventually would destroy memory. Being a book, the Bible is understandably pro-book, and the…
In a 2001 article in Evangelical Quarterly , Ralph Bowles argues that Revelation 14:10-11 does not teach that the wicked are eternally punished in hell, as many have thought. The text says that beast-worshipers will be tormented in fire and brimstone and “the smoke of their torment goes up forever…
Suppose denominations are declining in importance. Suppose other patterns and groupings are taking their place. What form will those other patterns and groupings have? The short answer is: We don't know. No patriarch could have imagined the Mosaic system, and no priest serving the tabernacle could have anticipated all the…
Princes didn't start the Reformation, but Mark Greengrass ( Christendom Destroyed ) says that they benefited most from it: “The empire's evolution allowed them to present themselves as its primary law-makers and keepers of the peace” (314). It was beginning already before the Reformation: “Princes and imperial cities attempted to…
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