Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
21. Under three things the earth quakes. And under four, it cannot bear up. 22. Under a slave when he becomes king, And a fool when he is satisfied with food, 23. Under an odious woman when she gets a husband, And a maidservant when she supplants her mistress. The…
We have looked at the prima facie evidence for a short chronology in Ezra-Nehemiah, a chronology that assumes that the Artaxerxes of Ezra 7ff. and Nehemiah is in fact Darius. This month we examine the argument against the short chronology. There is only one argument, and that is that the…
The Priestly Genealogy Jeshua the high priest, who returned with Zerubbabel, was not a young man at the time. We know this because his father, Jehozadak, was taken into captivity (1 Chron. 6:15). Thus was 50 years before the decree of Cyrus (2 Kings 25:18-22, by implication). Jehozadak’s father Seraiah,…
Thomas C. Oden, After Modernity . . . What? Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990. Reviewed by Rev. Jeffrey Meyers. Reading Oden’s After Modernity . . . What? was tonic. There were passages that launched me out of my chair with a hoot to pace the office floor — of course, the…
Matthew records that Jesus "withdrew" to Galilee to begin His public ministry there after He "heard that John had been delivered up" (Mt. 4:12). Matthew’s typically matter-of-fact style veils the truly remarkable character of Jesus’ withdrawal. Matthew has been presenting Jesus as the Messiah, the Seed of Abraham and Son…
John Brown called this one of the most difficult passages in the entire epistle to the Hebrews, and Hebrews is no easy book. Several questions confront us as we read and meditate on these verses. First, in what sense did the Old Testament saints described in verses 4-38 not receive…
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Examining the contributions that the Abbey of la Trinite, Vendome, made to its local community, Penelope Johnson ( Prayer, Patronage, and Power: The Abbey of la Trinite, Vendome, 1032-1187 ,158-9) notes the abbey “was actively involved in providing sustenance to the hungry” and adds that “much of this monastic charity…
Ancient men worshiped by giving gifts to the gods. Modern humanitarians worship by giving gifts to men. It’s as if everyone thinks that true worship is the worship of man. It’s as if everyone is somehow knows that there is a man on the throne of heaven, even people who…
Gulliver doing his field work in Lilliput: “There are some laws and customs in this empire very peculiar; and if they were not so directly contrary to those of my own dear country, I should be tempted to say a little in their justification. It is only to be wished…
A thought or two on Ruth arising from student papers. The book begins with “a certain man ” (1:1) and introduces a couple of other men (1:2). In a few verses, the men are all dead, and the next time a man appears in the story it is Boaz (2:1).…
Lester K. Little ( Religious Poverty and the Profit Economy in Medieval Europe , 66-7) writes, “In Benedict’s Rule, the liturgy took up about one-fourth of a monk’s waking hours; by the late eleventh century it had expanded to fill practically the entire day. The original number of psalms to…
Some years ago, Jacques Le Goff argued in The Birth of Purgatory that the notion of Purgatory as a place distinct from heaven and hell emerged only in the late twelfth century. Notions of purgation after death appear much earlier, but Le Goff claimed that the linguistic evidence pointed to…
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