Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Figure: Literary structure of the Garden narrative The Garden narrative describes God forming the adam , resting him in his presence, then provisioning for his appetites of food, vocation, and mate. It continues to describe a snake, the introduction of death, and humanity's expulsion from the garden. The pages of…
I’ve spent the last few years studying the theology of St. Irenaeus (d. circ. 200ad). In particular, I’ve been gripped by the way that Irenaeus consistently resisted the anti-body emphasis that emerged in later Christian theology. His eschatology is remarkably focused on the resurrection of the body, and the renewal…
Details of Jesus in Exodus 1:22-2:25 Although there are a great many Christ-types in the Old Testament, it is hard to overplay the obviousness of some that seem to necessarily rise to the top before others. One of these is Isaac, with his near sacrifice by his own father after…
What can we say about Cain's wicked sanctuary-city of Enoch? First that it was built with a brother's blood as its cornerstone. The Church is also built such, for Jesus was the younger brother of the whole Adamic race, slain by that company of older brothers because they hated Him.…
In Genesis 2:9 the ground brought forth trees good for food, delightful to view, and in two cases, life-giving or rule-bestowing. Adam, made of the ground (2:7), would by implication bring forth new trees, and thus trees and plants are among the symbols for human beings throughout the Bible. The…
One of the must fundamental teachings of the Bible and of the Christian religion is that man does not have life in himself. Man must get life from outside of himself, in order to maintain his life. The way this is done is through eating and drinking. Apart from life,…
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A student, Sara Whear, noted the inclusio around Galatians 6: Those who are “spiritual” restore one who is caught in a trespass (v. 1) matches the blessing on the “spirit” in v 18. “Bear one another’s burdens” matches Paul’s claim that he “bears the brand-marks of Jesus” (vv. 2, 17).…
A student of mine, Brian Marr, has produced a fascinating study of the literary and structural features of Acts 6-9. One of the things that emerges from Brian’s study is the way Luke highlights parallels between Stephen and Saul, making Saul/Paul a new Stephen, destined for a future martyrdom that,…
Take a look at the addendum to Mark Horne’s introduction to Romans at the Trinity House site.
At the beginning of February , I noted that Good Republicans who are accommodating to current trends in liberal sexual politics are going to help Democrats marginalize Bad Republicans (the religious right). At the New York Daily News James Kirchick simultaneously reports on the latest from the Good Republicans and…
Jesus’ sufferings could not have been the most painful of all because, as the Stoics say, moral virtue mitigates pain and Christ was virtuous. Thomas responds to this objection (III, 46, 6) by insisting that the Stoics are wrong: “the Stoics held all sadness to be unprofitable, they accordingly believed…
A few weeks ago, I noted (citing Galatians 4) that Paul does not observe the common Protestant stricture on drawing doctrinal conclusions from types and allegories. Not surprisingly, the same is true of Thomas. Thomas answers the question of whether Christ ought to have suffered on the cross ( ST…
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