Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
I thought it might be good to put this up here, since it is 14 years old, and itself reflects earlier discussion. From this you can see that we at BH have been considering this notion for quite some time. Clearly, the last word has not been said. — James…
Hopefully, my commentary on James will be out later this year. But here are a few chiasms for your consideration. I think the James 5 chiasm orginally came from Doug Jordan. The entire book of James is focused on how the pastors and leaders (“brothers”) of the church use their…
In my first post I noted that the parables of Jesus were not simply illustrative stories. They are really nothing like the kind of simple, homely illustrations that preachers often use to explain difficult concepts to their congregations. Just to be clear: there’s nothing wrong with illustrating one’s sermonic statements.…
Ephesians is often treated as a pure type example of the Pauline method that “the indicative preceds the imperative.” But what Paul does first is pray . Simply reading verse 3 and following involves readers in a prayer of thanksgiving to God–and much more so for those listening to the…
Yesterday, I took part with my oldest son in a church-sponsored city outreach project (not because I’m especially prone to such behavior but because my son has a Boy Scout requirement that this would help him meet). Before we were sent out on our various jobs, the leader gave a…
There is a scene in Prince Caspian , the second in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia that helps explain why it is we have four Gospels, that is four accounts of the Good News of Jesus Christ—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It is the account of Lucy’s longed-for experience…
Showing page 215 of 309
Showing page 25 of 43
Jehoshaphat allies with Ahab of Israel by marrying his son to Ahab's daughter Athaliah (2 Chronicles 18:1-3). He follows up with a religious alliance, sharing a sacrificial feast with Ahab. That leads to a military alliance, as Jehoshaphat puts Yahweh's hosts on the field to fight for Ahab. It almost…
II. The Cross in Christian Experience How are the cross and resurrection reproduced in human life since Jesus’ cross and resurrection? Essentially, Jesus incorporated death into life. Christian faith means faith in a God who makes death into a positive feature in life. Rosenstock-Huessy observes that life is suffering, battle,…
For a general introduction to the life and work of Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, see my "The Relevance of Rosenstock-Huessy." “The Crucifixion is the fountainhead of all my values,” wrote the German-American philosopher and historian Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, “the great divide whence flow the processes most real in my inner life, and my…
I grew up taking piano lessons. My mother, a college music teacher before her marriage, made sure of that. I didn't care much for it, and gave it a lot less attention than my free throw technique. Tristesse . I wish I had believed my teachers who told me I'd…
Maxwell Johnson ends a chapter on "the Apostolic Tradition" in the Oxford History of Christian Worship with a reflection on the challenge of identifying the content of the "liturgical tradition": "it has become extraordinarily difficult in the light of contemporary liturgical scholarship to say clearly from within this formative period…
Worship, Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) says, orders everything in human life: "It is only . . . when man’s relationship with God is right that all of his other relationships . . . can be in good order . . . . Worship . . . is essential for the…
Showing page 143 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
