Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Place names become fraught with meaning by association with people and events. The name “Wittenberg” calls to mind Luther and the Reformation for Protestants and Catholics alike. Geneva has a wider range of associations, but the Reformation Wall, with its four main statues of William Farel, John Calvin, Theodore Beza,…
“…a mystery without a solution, a horror story without savagery, a nightmare in which all the watches stop at noonday…” The Bestial Gardens of Men Then they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” (Luke 23:30) The following lines by Edgar Allan Poe,…
2 Samuel 11-12, which record David’s sin with Bathsheba and its aftermath, is structured chiastically: This arrangement highlights several things about the episode. It reinforces what is obvious from even a casual reading, that the transition in the story occurs with Nathan’s confrontation of David’s sin and David’s confession. Up…
Medieval bestiaries are packed with quaintly inaccurate information about animals, birds, and other created things. Foxes and snakes are devilish critters; stags, pelicans and elephants are Christlike in their various ways. Of course, the medievals picked this up from the Bible, where bestiary observations are fairly common. “Go to the…
What do Reformational Catholicism and craft beer have in common? The question seems to beg for a punchline. Better yet, it would be pretty good clickbait for an article on Katharina von Bora’s “spirited” contribution that helped spark the Protestant Reformation. Well, this is no joke and I am certainly…
Suffering Defined Suffering happens. We witness it all around us and experience it in our lives. It often comes from forces beyond our control. Suffering is inscrutable; it strikes unexpectedly, on a bright summer day or a cold winter night. We lament and are bewildered by suffering. But we are…
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Isaiah 66:3-17 is organized in a modified chiasm: A. Fourfold abominations, 3 (“blood of swine”). B. Punishment of enemies, 4-6 (begins with “hear the word of Yahweh”). C. Zion gives birth, 7-9 (“says your God” at end). D. Jerusalem’s joy, 10-11. E. Peace like a river, 12a (begins with “thus…
In an essay in a recent issue of Pro Ecclesia , Bruce Marshall observes that traditional Christological formulas no longer do the work they were designed to do in Hegelianized contemporary Trinitarian theology. Two sets of Christological distinctions are relevant. On the one hand, there is the creedal distinction between…
In an appreciative response to Bruce Marshall’s piece on Hegelian Trinitarian theology, Paul Molnar questions whether, as Marshall argues, we cannot affirm that the Son is abandoned by the Father without concluding that the Son has ceased to be God. Molnar writes, “The Father and Spirit remained one in being…
My head started spinning only a few pages into Andrew Dean Swafford’s Nature and Grace . He offered initial support for maintaining a distinction of nature and grace by appealing to 1 Corinthians 2:9 and arguing that the “original creation is surpassed by man’s new creation in Christ” (4). To…
We hear much talk of “cruciformity” these days: Christians participate in the suffering and death of Christ, not only imitating Jesus in taking up His cross, but sharing in His death. Cruciformity is true, but only a partial truth. Consider Jesus: He didn’t get to the cross until the end,…
Building on the work of David Kahneman ( Thinking, Fast and Slow ), and Cass Sustein ( Nudge ), and others, Max Bazerman of Harvard Business School discusses The Power of Noticing in a forthcoming book. He starts with the Youtube video that we’ve all seen: You’re asked to count…
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