Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
My copy of Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1976: not so new, really) defines obscene as (1) "disgusting to the senses; repulsive" and (2) "abhorrent to morality or virtue; specif: designed to incite lust or depravity." Definitions such as this serve a useful purpose only when there is agreement on what…
An Overview Here begins a series of studies in the Abomination of Desolation, or Desolating Sacrilege. This month and next I shall set out an overview of what I regard as the best interpretation of the phenomenon. Later essays will look at it in more detail. (The original form of…
29. There are three things that are stately in their march, Even four that are stately when they walk: 30. The lion is mighty among beasts And does not turn back before any, 31. The strutting cock, The male goat, And a king with his army around him. 32. If…
We have seen that it is likely that the Artaxerxes of Ezra-Nehemiah is the same as Darius the Great. If this solution be correct, and I think it is, possibly there is another problem in Ezra that can be resolved by it. In Ezra 4:6 we are told that "in…
Czech novelist Milan Kundera, though hardly a household name in the English-speaking world, has achieved a certain notoriety in America in recent years, largely on the strength of the English translation and film version of his novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being. 1 The Unbearable Lightness of Being — the…
24. Four things are small on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise; 25. The ants are not a strong folk, But they prepare their food in the summer; 26. The coneys are not a mighty folk, Yet they make their houses in the rocks; 27. The locusts have no…
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Jesus is the greater Jacob who rolls away a great stone to offer water to the world. Further reflections at the Trinity House site .
Jesus relished a good argument, and so did the Buddha. That is the premise of Michael Collender’s To End All Suffering . Collender relishes a good argument too, and he mounts one. He thinks that Buddhist-Christian dialogues ought to give way to something their founders’ would have recognized: Buddhist-Christian knock-downs.…
I reflect on Shakespeare and the Christian notion of tragedy over at the Colson Center site .
Discussing his book Christianophobia at the fathom journal, TLS religion editor Rupert Shortt suggests that there is a “hierarchy of victimhood” according to which “it’s just not very fashionable to be a persecuted Christian.” Shortt suggests that the reason is partly that Christians follow Jesus’ commandments: “a few years ago…
In 1863, James H. Hackett sent a copy of his Notes and Comments upon Certain Plays and Actors of Shakespeare to the White House . Abraham Lincoln wrote a note of thanks and revealed his Shakespearean reading habits. He had read some “as frequently as any unprofessional reader,” listed several…
No sooner is David anointed to be Saul’s successor than he starts plundering the king’s house. His victory over Goliath wins the admiration of the women of Israel, who praise him more highly than they praise Saul. Jonathan recognizes that David will be the next king, and he strips off…
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