Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Several weeks ago, a picture of a man working at Trader Joe’s went viral. At first glance, it was hard to tell what was worthy of note in the picture—a man simply standing near a cash register. It turns out, the picture went viral not because of what the man…
Among the many allusions in the transfiguration story, one allusion, or rather, one group of allusions, is especially prominent — allusions to Mt. Sinai. The first and least obvious of the allusions to Mt. Sinai is the expression “high mountain” in Matthew and Mark and “the mountain” in Luke. Ancient…
The revelation of Jesus’ glory at the transfiguration is one of the most important stories in the synoptic Gospels. At Jesus’ baptism — the inauguration of New Covenant baptism with the Holy Spirit and the paradigm for Christian baptism — God the Father spoke from heaven: “You are My Son,…
The first section of Proverbs (chapters 1-9) contains two lengthy descriptions of temptations that a young man should resist and avoid (1:10-19 and 7). The two temptations are recruitment into a robber gang and being enticed by an adulterous wife. I've argued before that these are the two perversions of…
Is there a Gospel invitation? To many evangelical Christians, the answer to that question is an unqualified "yes." Some calvinists, reacting against the misleading character of the "altar call," seem less interested in inviting men to anything than they are in sending men away to think about the message they…
Effective pastoral care helps people progress to maturity. Historically, the Christian church worked out the sacramental system to assist people with the various conversions of life. While we Protestants believe in only two sacraments, it is helpful for us to look at the sacramental system, because there is some wisdom…
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Four things puzzle Agur the son of Jakeh, elusive author of Proverbs 30: eagles in the sky, serpents on rocks, ships on the sea, and “the way of a man with a maid” (v. 19). Agur is thinking of the mysteries of attraction and passion. There are plenty of puzzles…
Paul Veyne, When Our World Became Christian, 312-394 (trans. Janet Lloyd; Cambridge, UK: Polity, 2010). Paperback, 248 pages; $24.95. Paul Veyne is one of France’s leading classical scholars, an Honorary Professor at the College de France and author of recognized classics like Bread and Circuses and Did the Greeks Believe…
Doug Jones won a "stunning" victory in the Alabama Senate race. It was a stinging "rebuke" to Trump. Those were the headlines following the raucous Alabama Senate runoff on Tuesday. Jones is the first Democratic Senator in Alabama for a quarter century, and the first Democrat elected in a state-wide…
Augustine, Paula Fredriksen found ( Augustine and the Jews ), radically revised the common Christian views on the Old Testament and Judaism, embodied in the adversus Iudaeos tradition that stretched back to Justin’s treatises against Trypho the Jew. It started with a public debate with the Manichean Fortunatus. Though he…
Post-liberal movements in Europe are often denounced as "fascist," "racist," or "far-right." Timothy Less disputes this. Populist parties - "France’s National Front, the Alternative for Germany, the Danish People’s Party, Poland’s Law and Justice, Hungary’s Fidesz and the Austrian Freedom Party" - usually cut across existing left-right divides. He concedes…
Why would God bring the Savior into the world through a female virgin? Anselm offers some answers ( Cur Deus Homo , 323-4): "is extremely appropriate that, just as the sin of mankind and the cause of our damnation originated from a woman, correspondingly the medicine of sin and the…
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