Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The idea of atonement is not a distinctly Christian, or even Hebraic, concept. It also makes an appearance in ancient Greek thought (among other places). The Greek tradition is by no means monolithic, so it isn’t possible to speak of a “Greek” concept of atonement. But there are certain commonalities…
As we know, there are seven deadly or capital sins. Prior to the list of the seven deadly sins there was a list of eight evil thoughts or demons. It was made by an Eastern monk, Evagrius Ponticus. When the list was transposed to the West, one evil thought was…
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is one of those epistles in Scripture to which pastors and teachers resort to show the church everything that it shouldn’t be . There is, of course, good reason for this. The Corinthian church was filled with all sorts of problems. Personality cults (i.e., factions),…
Today is Ash Wednesday , and as many Christians of the Protestant formerly "low church" persuasion are reacquiring some of the good and ancient practices of the church, one question in particular comes to the front: to ash or not to ash? That is, while many of us are finding…
A murder of tweets. To observe Lent rightly, we have to be persuaded that we already stand in God’s favor. Ash Wednesday reminds us to number our days. It helps us gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). We keep Easter to manifest and deepen our prior share in resurrection.…
Dale C. Allison, Jr., The New Moses: A Matthean Typology (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993). Dale Allison 1993 book is a superb case study in the New Testament's use of the Old. Though he focuses on only a single typology (Christ as a new Moses) in only a single gospel (Matthew), Allison's…
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In a 2003 article in the Harvard Theological Review , Lori Peterson argues that “Schleiermacher, while criticizing Chalcedon for its supposed inconsistencies, nevertheless forges a Christology that has strong ‘Antiochene’ and ‘Alexandrian’ elements within it.” Specifically, “Schleiermacher’s Christology continues the ‘Antiochene’ tradition of protecting the absolute integrity of Jesus’ human…
Isaiah 54:11: O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted, behold I will set your stones in antimony, and your foundations I will lay in sapphires. When Yahweh rebuilds Jerusalem, He promises to make the city glorious. Her original stones were impressive, but the new Jerusalem will be built with sapphires,…
“Epiphany” means “manifestation,” and during this season of the church year we commemorate Jesus’ manifestation to the magi, the firstfruits of the Gentiles. Epiphany announces that Jesus is King of all nations. As Head of all things, Jesus is your Head. By manifesting Jesus as King, Epiphany also calls you…
My friend, Pastor Mike Kelly, who serves as Director of the NorthWest Church Planting Network of the PCA, offered this reflection after reading my piece on martyrdom in the current issue of First Things: “As I’ve watched so many urban ‘hipster-gelical’ Christians try to be part of this City and…
A couple more passages from Coloe’s very rich article. She notes that Pilate’s inscription on the cross identifies Jesus not as “a” but as “the” Nazarene. In John, Nazareth is barely mentioned (cf. 1:45-46), and suggests that Pilate’s titlon alludes to Isaiah 11’s prediction of a Messianic Branch ( netser…
“In my Father’s house are many mansions ( mone ),” Jesus says (John 14:2). It’s normally taken as a reference to a mansion in the sky. Mary Coloe ( Interpretation , 2009) disagrees. She points out that the chapter repeatedly uses the verb form of “dwelling” ( meno ), always…
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