Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The Blessing of the Father The narrative of the Exodus makes it clear that Yahweh is Israel’s Father. Moses is told to declare to Pharaoh that “Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, ‘Let my son go that he may serve me’” (Exodus 4:22-23). In contrast to…
When reading the Old Testament, the believer faces two dilemmas. First, there is a seemingly sharp discontinuity between the universal proclamation of the gospel to the whole earth and God’s singling out of the nation of Israel. Second, the New Testament says of Jesus that “there is no other name…
John 17 contains the longest prayer that we have from Jesus, and it shows us the intimate relationship between the Father and the Son in a way that few passages do. The prayer lays out the chiastic pattern noted by Athanasius (God became man so that man could become God),…
The following meditation on the incarnation is paraphrased and quoted from Karl Barth, The Doctrine of Reconciliation (Church Dogmatics, Vol. 4, Part 1) , pp. 185ff. In the incarnation, the eternal Son of God makes His way into a far country, and takes on the form of a servant. “But…
Peter says "baptism saves you" (1 Peter 3:21). Does the New Testament teach that "baptism justifies you"? I think the answer is Yes. That's a controversial answer, and demands some defense and explanation, but first some critical qualifications. No New Testament text states "baptism justifies you," so my argument will…
In his THI article “ Son of David, Son of Abraham ,” Peter Leithart notes that Matthew's genealogy “contains a summary of redemptive history.” This statement is only too true and one that deserves further elucidation. Biblos genese ō s. The first two words of Matthew's Gospel are usually translated…
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Another installment of my review of Naphtali Meshel’s The “Grammar” of Sacrifice at the Trinity House site .
An excerpt from a chapel homily at Tri-City Christian School, Somersworth, New Hampshire. Christians are always called to be witnesses, but in the world you enter your witness will take the form of martyrdom. You are called to be witnesses to the truth of God’s Word in the face of…
Adonis Vidu ( Atonement, Law, and Justice ) focuses much of his attention on the import that the “doctrine” of divine simplicity holds for our understanding of atonement. He denies that simplicity is a philosophical imposition on Scripture, but rather a rule of reading Scripture that preserves the unity of…
Adonis Vidu ( Atonement, Law, and Justice ) argues that “What simplicity, or the perfection of divine agency, helps us to understand, however, is that the most basic unit of divine action in history is not the ‘discrete’ actions (teaching, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension), but the whole mission of God in…
After Windsor, I predicted we would see the rise of “Good Republicans” who backed away from social issues, and from defending marriage in particular. The Good Republican Watch continues apace. The New York Times reported earlier this week on the “tidal” shift in the culture wars. Republicans are on the…
A decade ago, a critic at Christianity Today worried about U2’s “thin ecclesiology.” Though openly Christian, Bono and his crew have not associated with any church. Writing at The New Yorker , Joshua Rothman argues that the last several decades have bolstered the band’s theology. He connects their chariness about…
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