Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
In this essay we will think about how the whole Bible is structured as one Word of God. To begin with, there is only one Bible, not two. While we divide the Bible into Old and New Testaments, that division has no more meaning than divisions into chapters and verse,…
How should one badly bruised and inadequate church relate to another? (I am not addressing the blessed possessors of absolutely perfect churches, naturally.) I believe there are three things to bear in mind. First, we must be open to the values in other Christian traditions - even Roman Catholic and…
The third and sixth day have a second creative act. Note the chiastic arrangement of the material in these special acts and the parallelism between them, see the figure below. The author arranges the description of each day as a chiasm. Each line in the chiasm is mated with a…
Now the two of them were naked, the man and his woman, and they did not sense shame (Genesis 2:25) The nakedness of Adam and Eve requires several comments. First of all, against those who think that nakedness is what God intended for humanity as a permanent estate, we have…
I’ve been reflecting on the meaning of integration, and our longing for integration in a fragmented world. I’ve been connecting my own covenant epistemology further with the thought of scientist-philosopher Michael Polanyi, artist Makoto Fujimura, and Classical Christian metaphysician D.C. Schindler. In my last post , and now in this…
Luke 13:31-33 is one of the strangest passages in the Gospel of Luke. It begins with a time note that sounds emphatic “At that very hour.” Then, we are told of Pharisees bringing a message that Herod wants to kill Jesus! In His answer, Jesus speaks of a three day…
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The first of seven speeches of instruction for the tabernacle covers over five chapters (Exodus 25:1-30:10). The second speech is a mere six verses (Exodus 30:11-16). It’s a simple chiasm: A. At census, atonement ( kopher ) required, v. 12 B. Half shekel as contribution, v. 13 C. Everyone twenty…
It’s easy to become maudlin and sentimental around Advent and Christmas because we’re surrounded by maudlin and sentimental celebrations of Christmas. When we sing Psalms of Advent, we’ll be reminded again and again that Advent is inherently political. Our desire for the Bridegroom’s arrival is a hunger and thirst for…
Our creeds, taking cues from Matthew 28:18-20 and other biblical texts, speak of the order of the Trinity as “Father, Son, Spirit.” This order is evident in the order of redemption as well: the Father sends the Son, who ascends to heaven to receive and send the Spirit. Luke 1,…
No one knows yet how the disputed 2020 election will play out. But we can pencil in some parameters for sorting through the mess. First, voter fraud happens. My brother-in-law uncovered election fraud in Alabama and spent more than a decade fighting off the vermin that came out from under…
Exodus 25:1-30:10 is one long speech from Yahweh. It begins “Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying. . . .”; Exodus 30:11 repeats that line, beginning the second of seven speeches about the tabernacle design. As I’ve noted before, the placement of the instructions for the altar of incense is odd. The…
Caveat: I am no scientist. If details of the following are in error, please let me know. Brain death is one of the conceptual foundations of organ transplantation. If the person from whom the surgeon takes a beating heart is not dead before surgery, he will be dead after and…
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