Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). The famous definition of faith with which the eleventh chapter of Hebrews opens has received a number of different interpretations. The crux of the problem is the interpretation of the words translated in…
This essay is an exploration of one element of the final of the four Gospels, the Gospel of John. My thesis is that the Gospel of John answers the issue of "friendship" being a homoerotic category. It challenges the "Greek Way of Love and Friendship" 1 It is indeed the…
"And I also way to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it" (Matthew 16:18). Matthew 16:13ff. has historically been one of the most oft-cited passages of Scripture. Throughout the Middle Ages, it was used…
Matthew 8-9 records three clusters of miracles, interspersed with snatches of Jesus’ teaching about various aspects of discipleship. Just as the Sermon on the Mount displays the authority of Jesus’ Word in teaching, these chapters display the authority of Jesus’ Word over sickness, uncleanness, the creation, demons, and death. In…
The association of women and wells in the Scriptures has long been noted by theologians, a symbolism closely connected to marriage which begins in Genesis and climaxes in Revelation. There is a lesson drawn in the water of wells that I’d like to explore, but before that I must trace…
Of course, since the Israelites had agriculture, Solomon was not paleolithic as that term is used today. But "paleo" is simply a prefix meaning old or previous , the opposite of "neo." In that sense, I wonder if we might understand Solomon better if we interpret his statements and riddles…
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Religions, Milbank ( Beyond Secular Order ) argues, do not necessary aim for the ultimate. “Many human religions relate themselves, both theoretically and practically, to a cosmic level which they talce to be less than ultimate - often marked by a mythically narrated violent ‘brealc’ which leaves a reserved space…
Phillip J. Long’s study of Jesus the Bridegroom traces the origins of Jesus’ imagery of the eschatological wedding banquet. Isaiah 25 is typically identified as the background, but Long demonstrates that this passage is part of a rich tapestry of expectation. He draws from historical accounts to describe the hints…
Rosenstock-Huessy offers a test for distinguishing between humanism and faith ( Die Sprache des Menschengeschlects ): Whenever “man” is used in the singular without reference to God, the speaker or writer is giving voice to humanism. The easy liberalism that says “Man creates God is false” not only because man…
Isaiah pronounces a woe against those who “add house to house and join field to field, until there is no room” (5:8). He warns that the houses of the land-greedy elites will be left desolate (v. 6). We can imagine that wealthy landowners took a page from Ahab, who manipulated…
We don’t have to reach back to antiquity to find apologists for bestiality. Midas Dekkers begins his Dearest Pet with some musings that blur the difference between human sex and bestiality: “Back at the boys’ school girls seemed like beings from another planet, so different were they in our eyes.…
Leviticus is full of numerical designs, often using repeated leitworten to highlight themes in a particular section. Chapter 3, for instance, uses the word “fat” ( chalev ) twelve times, and the divine speech that lays out the torot for the various offerings (6:1-7:38) uses the word blood ( dam…
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