Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Thus says the Lord: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more” (Jer 31:15). The Night of the Hunter belongs on every Christian’s Christmas list. My family has even…
One important part of Jesus's birth narrative is the presence of angels. The angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary, announcing that she would bear a son. And then, on the night Jesus was born, a whole host of angels appeared to the shepherds. Angels are mysterious creatures to us.…
I was settled nicely into my chair and listening to the conversation in an undergrad religion seminar, my last required course to graduate. Though a few Christians sat scattered around the room, the course itself was dedicated to poking holes in traditional understandings of the Bible: our readings deconstructed notions…
God’s symbols belong to Him and to His people. They are constantly at work in the world, including the world of film, music, painting, architecture, and other artforms. You cannot escape God’s symbols or the meaning He has woven into the created order. Artists use and borrow God’s symbols, whether…
For centuries, Christians identified Israel in the Old Testament as a single, literal ethnic group, often called “the Jews.” Even supersessionists – those who believed the Church superseded Israel – assumed the clear-cut, technical definition of “Israel” in the Bible is the ethnic group. However, a deeper dive into Genesis,…
Misreading Intent In the opening verses of Matthew 11, the reader is confronted immediately by John the baptizer who has been imprisoned since 4:12. John poses a question to Jesus, inquiring from prison as to whether or not he is Israel’s awaited Messiah or if they should anticipate another: “Are…
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In his Copyrights and Copywrongs , Siva Vaidhyanathan traces the history of copyright legislation in Britain and America. In the US, Mark Twain’s advocacy was important, but the US lagged behind Britain, where writers in the Romantic mold played a crucial role: “As the British author rose in status, British…
David Reynolds’s The Serpent in the Cup is a study of the role of temperance in American literature. Hawthorne, for instance, drew on themes and images from temperance reform in his story. In the short story, “A Rill from the Town Pump,” which Reynolds describes as an “ur-source of some…
I explore the links between unity and glory in Jesus’ prayer (John 17) at the Trinity House site .
Jeffrey Herf begins his study of Weimar and Third Reich views on technology and culture ( Reactionary Modernism ) with the observation that “There is no such thing as modernity in general” (1). There are instead “national societies,” each of which becomes modern in its own way. German modernity provides…
It has nothing to do with any twinge of conscience about my coffee intake, but I’m always intrigued by the latest research on caffeine. I’m also always looking for whatever weapons I can find to defend the ancient habit of taking an afternoon snooze. When I see a headline containing…
It’s no surprise that William Kristol is critical of Obama’s response to the murder of James Foley. But some of the reasons for Kristol’s opposition are disquieting ( Weekly Standard , September 1). He chastises the President for speaking as a citizen of the world instead of as the American…
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