Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The sin of Ham in Genesis 9 continues to elicit comment, since it seems mysterious. We read in 9:21-23 that Noah uncovered himself inside (the covering of) his tent, that Ham (entered the privacy of Noah’s tent) and saw his father’s (not “Noah’s”, n.b.) nakedness, that Ham told his two…
Recently the magazine Tabletalk published a series of essays against Calvinist theologian N. T. Wright. The black cover of this issue lets us know just how dangerous this man is. But how dangerous is N. T. Wright? Well, he’s dangerous to some people, but not to others. Let’s see: He…
You need to read Rob Rayburn’s defense of his presbytery to the PCA SJC (Standing Judicial Committee). If you’ve been out of the loop on this, that’s okay. But what has happened in the last few years is that people have made accusations against Peter Leithart, and in response the…
What does it mean to read the Bible as inspired literature? The method is not new nor is it uncommon in Dutch Reformed circles. Exegesis must be Christocentric, plenary (all the text serves a theological purpose), respect the context in God’s redemptive plan, and plumb the full literary depth of…
Reading in John Calvin’s sermons on 2 Samuel today, I came across this wonderful statement. This comes from a sermon preached on July 3, 1562, “The True Worship of God,” an exposition of 2 Sam. 6:1-7. Calvin is discussing the implications of the affirmation that Yaweh, the God of Israel,…
A great deal of confusion about the relative value of “virginity” and marriage can be avoided if one pays careful attention to the text of Paul’s advice in 1 Corinthians 7. The two most important observations are: 1) that Paul’s specific recommendations are made because of the “impending crisis” (v.…
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Isaiah 57 begins with a chiastically arranged fragment of wisdom literature. Verse 1 begins and ends with “righteous one” ( tzaddiyq ): A. The righteous man perishes B. there is not a man there of heart C. men of loyalty taken away B’. there is not consideration A’. for from…
Ralph Smith continues his series of studies in Deuteronomy at the Trinity House site.
Creation is threefold: Heaven, earth, sea. Alternatively, creation is sixfold, because each zone has things in it: Heaven and things, earth and things, sea and things (Revelation 10:6). A nice symmetry: The sixfold creation was formed over six days. At the origin and end of the sixfold creation, there has…
For seven periods of time, Nebuchadnezzar lived like a beast, eating grass, his hair growing like wings (Daniel 4:28-33). Then he became human again. Like an Enlightenment philosopher, Daniel describes this as a restoration of “reason,” that most distinctive human trait. Twice, the king declares, “my reason (Ar. manda ‘)…
NT Wright has sparked controversy for saying that Jesus announces the kingdom as the end of exile. It’s hardly a new thought. In his discussion of the “particular and general” in his Tyconius: The Book of Rules , Tyconius observes an alternating movement in the prophets. Prophets speak of the…
Exodus says that Israel was in Egypt 430 years, Genesis says 400. Can we just round them off to make them coincide? Tyconius ( The Book of Rules ) isn’t satisfied with that. Perhaps, he suggests, “they were not in slaver for the whole time? We need to find out,…
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