Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Revelation 1: 7 states the theme of Revelation. It is a self-standing verse, beginning and ending with “Amen” (the “Amen” at the end of verse 6 should be taken as the beginning of the statement in verse 7). A double Amen as a double witness, and it becomes a threefold…
For many young people with safe and easy lives, the most heartfelt prayers often concern relationships with the opposite sex. I used to be embarrassed by this, since I felt a little panty-waisted praying for “wisdom” about “that girl” while reading: Be merciful to me, O God, for man would…
I’d like to start by thanking Peter for taking the time to read and review The Slavery of Death and for letting me share a few thoughts about some the questions and concerns he had about the book. Let me start with a confession. Interdisciplinary work is a scary thing…
The extension of rights to the Jews was one of the great achievements of the French Revolution, and in Out of Revolution: Autobiography of Western Man (219-29) Rosenstock-Huessy moves from a discussion of the resulting Jewish enthusiasm for liberalism to a digression dealing with the relation of Jews and Gentiles…
In two recent books, The Slavery of Death (2014) and Unclean: Meditations on Purity, Hospitality, and Mortality (2011), Richard Beck, a professor of psychology at Abilene Christian University, explores the connections of theology and psychology. Both books examine the overlap between biblical themes and psychological research. The Slavery of Death…
Epiphany is a season of light. The specific event celebrated during Epiphany is the visit of the magi to the Christ child, but the magi were always understood as the firstfruits of the nations. The magi were drawn to the Christ child by a light in the sky, a star…
Showing page 180 of 309
Showing page 2 of 43
Hans Schaller has some profound reflections on asking in his contribution to Asking and Thanking (Concilium) , p. 3 . Disputing Seneca, he says that asking is a fundamental human form of communication, for two reasons. First, “The strength of trust, whether between God and human beings or between human…
In his fourteenth-century Summa praedicantium, Johannes de Bromyard offers this lovely description of a creation returning thanks: “For if the flowers continuously taking in the rays of the sun ceaselessly render back bright colors and scent, it follows by a stronger reason that we who day and night constantly receive…
I offer some thoughts on the church’s response to the current debates and crises in American health care at http://www.firstthings.com/
Caleb Dalechamp wrote in his delightfully titled 1632 book, Christian Hospitalitie Handled Common-Place-Wise that “Hospitalitie falsely so called is the keeping of a good table, at which seldome or never any other are entertained then kynsfolk, friends and able neighbours . . . . This is no hospitalitie, though it…
In the aforementioned article on giving in the early church, Neil makes this intriguing comment about the Old Testament and Jewish understanding of “the poor”: “Justice for the poor is a strong theme in rabbinic texts. Injunctions to act justly towards the poor are evident in the earliest books of…
I n a 2010 essay on “Models of Gift Giving in the Preaching of Leo the Great” in the Journal of Early Christian Studies , Bronwen Neil answers the title question with a depressing, Not much. While the early church took over the Jewish and New Testament rhetoric on behalf…
Showing page 891 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
