Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Midwives are rarely mentioned in Scripture, but play a prominent role in the first chapter of Exodus. The word midwife is used seven times in verses 15-22, though it is used only twice elsewhere in the Old Testament. The reason, I think, is not merely that the midwives were heroic…
Leviathan (41:1-11) is the climax of the theophany, the culmination of the Lord’s speech. His final answer to Job’s injudicious charges against God’s justice. After hearing God rehearse the characteristics of Leviathan and His absolute power over him, Job instantly repents in dust and ashes. He confesses, "I know now…
Our purpose in this study is to lay out the chronology and history of the Kingdom of Judah from the reign of King Josiah to the completion of the exile of the Jews under Nebuchadnezzar, with particular attention to the events recorded in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The Empire of Assyria…
Protestants have always insisted that the sacraments bring no benefit without a response of faith, but this seems to undermine infant baptism, since infants do not appear to be able to exercise faith. Luther and Calvin held together their insistence on faith with infant baptism by claiming that infants can…
Traditional Presbyterian theologians regularly cite 1 Corinthians 11:28 as an argument against the practice of paedocommunion. Children must be able “to examine themselves” before they come to the table. Supposedly this text demands a certain level of intellectual capability as well as the capacity to engage in self-conscious introspection, both…
Yahweh’s two speeches at the end of the book of Job (38-41) should bring some closure to the book. The prologue has the whole cosmic order arrayed against the blameless and upright Job, "a man who feared God and shunned evil" (1:1, 8; 2:3). Yahweh’s capstone speeches affirm God’s absolute…
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The current issue of Semeia (#45) is devoted to “New Testament Masculinities,” and is a contribution to the growing academic study of masculinity. Jerome Neyrey has an interesting article here on Jesus’ masculinity in the gospel of Matthew. Two of his conclusions are particularly noteworthy: 1) “Matthew rarely locates [Jesus]…
A couple of thoughts on the Renaissance, inspired by Spenser: First, Spenser’s emphasis on the proper use of the body (Book 2 of the Faerie Queene , the book of temperance) highlights the anti-Platonic thrust of Spenser’s viewpoint. That was, if Greenblatt is to be believed, a central thrust of…
There are a number of allusions to the original creation account in the account of Babel in Genesis 11. First, there is the general point that Yahweh is destroying what men have built ?Ea rebellious creation “decreated” by Yahweh. Second, the creation echoes are strengthened by Yahweh’s sarcastic “let us”…
Here’s a thesis to explore: The problems of feminist theology are intertwined with issues of sacramental theology and theological semiotics. If the SYMBOLISM of male and female is epiphenomenal, then feminist theology makes sense. If symbol and essence are co-determining, then feminist challenges to the Christian tradition are basically off-track.
Eucharistic meditation for Third Sunday of Advent: Deuteronomy 12. During Israel’s wilderness wanderings, the tabernacle, Yahweh’s royal tent, was set in the middle of the Israelite camp, and was the place of worship and feasting. In the wilderness, an Israelite could not eat meat unless the animal had been slaughtered…
I want particularly to address our out-of-town college students this morning, though what I have to say has some application to everyone. So, don’t tune out. This coming week, most of you students will be returning home for the holidays, and as you return home you will be faced with…
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