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Writing

Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.

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Biblical Chronology

Meredith G. Kline Strikes Back, Part 2

In our first essay we looked at Kline’s flawed exegesis of Genesis 2:5 as it relates to Day 3 of creation. Now we turn to Kline’s new argument against a chronological reading of Genesis 1, as found, again, in "Space and Time in the Genesis Cosmogony," Perspectives on Science and…

by James B. JordanMarch 29, 1997
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Hermeneutics

Bathsheba: The Real Story

One of the advantages of paying very close attention to the details in the Bible, especially chronological and genealogical details, is that they can shed light on situations that don’t seem to make much sense apart from them. One such situation is that of Bathsheba. It appears that Bathsheba willingly…

by James B. JordanMarch 28, 1997
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Church Calendar

Is the Church Year Biblical? | A Parking Lot Parable

Once upon a time, Jeff Meyers and Tony Rollins–old friends who had not seen each other for a few years–met in the parking lot of a neighborhood church. They were dropping off their pre-school children at the church for Mother’s Day Out. They were such conscientious and helpful fathers. As…

by Jeff MeyersMarch 20, 1997
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Daniel

The Allegory of Susanna

Years ago, when I was at the briefly-existing Geneva Divinity School, I taught a course in the Apocrypha. One thing that struck me at that time is that two of the stories are almost certainly religious allegories (as well as moral tales): Judith and Susanna. Since "Susanna" means "Lily," this…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1997
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Biblical Horizons

A Blossom of Yahweh’s Field

Peter’s essay inspires me to write up some similar thoughts about the flower of the field. Rightly does Peter associate the almond with Yahweh’s garden, because the Garden of Eden is symbolically positioned as parallel to the Holy Place of the Tabernacle and Temple. To wit: Since Aaron’s rod blossomed…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1997
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Biblical Chronology

Meredith G. Kline Strikes Back, Part 1

We have had occasion to discuss the views of Meredith G. Kline previously in these newsletters, and now it is time to do so again. Kline teaches at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and also at the Westminster Theological Seminaries (Philadelphia and San Diego). He is the author of some interesting insights…

by James B. JordanFebruary 28, 1997

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Theology

Shoes

Explaining the first article of the creed, Luther’s small catechism says taht “I believe that God made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members . . . also clothing and shoes . . . .” Is there a…

May 7, 2006
History

Promise, Justification, Sacrament

Oberman says that Luther moved toward his reformation insights by exploring what he described as the “theological grammar” of Scripture, which involved letting God define his own terms, on the assumption that nomina sunt ad pacitum Dei . Through this, he realized that the God of Scripture was the “bonding…

May 7, 2006

What Did Sennacherib Hear?

In response to Hezekiah’s query, Isaiah promises that the Lord will “put a spirit” in the Assyrian king and that Sennacherib will “hear a rumor and return to his own land” (2 Kings 19:7). The following verse tells us that Sennacherib had gone from Lachish to Libnah, perhaps upon hearing…

May 6, 2006

Hezekiah’s prayer, and ours

Because of Hezekiah’s prayer (2 Kings 19:14-19), the Lord delivers Jerusalem, kills 185,000 Assyrians, and sends Sennacherib packing back to Nineveh. That’s what one calls an effective prayer. What made it so effective? Among other things, it is firmly based on the promise and word of God. He makes explicit…

May 6, 2006

Hezekiah’s prayer, and ours

Because of Hezekiah’s prayer (2 Kings 19:14-19), the Lord delivers Jerusalem, kills 185,000 Assyrians, and sends Sennacherib packing back to Nineveh. That’s what one calls an effective prayer. What made it so effective? Among other things, it is firmly based on the promise and word of God. He makes explicit…

May 6, 2006
History

Sola scriptura

According to Oberman, Luther’s great discovery regarding Scripture was not that Scripture alone can be trusted without question and is the final judge of controversy: “the maxim of sola scriptura . . . was the fundamental principle of the entire scholastic disputation tradition.” What Luther discovered instead was that “the…

May 5, 2006

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