Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
I live in an area where Mardi Gras is in full swing, and I can remember from my upbringing that Fat Tuesday was a last ditch effort at debauchery before the pseudo-spiritual practice of “giving something up for Lent” really began. In my youth I would give up some kind…
Part 1: Observations from the Texts (Matthew 9:14-17, Mark 2:18-22, Luke 5:33-39) The precipitating context for the new wine/old wineskins discussion is people asking Jesus why His disciples did not fast. His immediate answer is that you can’t get the friends of the groom to fast at the bachelor party…
Simply, “progress” means to move forward. In that sense, a slug can progress from one end of the sidewalk to the other. But for us in twenty-first century America, progress means something else. For us, it is almost a synonym for goodness. The slug can only “progress” if the other…
I have the privilege of being able to counsel a lot of women who are seeking abortions. I can tell you that the majority of them are seeking to end their pregnancies not because they feel like it would be a fun thing to do, but because they are scared…
Last night, along with a few online friends, I watched this debate on the meaning of life between William Lane Craig, Rebecca Goldstein, and Jordan Peterson, hosted by Wycliffe College. While watching it, and reflecting upon Peterson’s work more generally (about which I’ve written in the past ), I was…
I’m glad to have been invited to contribute regularly to the Theopolis Institute website. Thank you, readers, for welcoming and joining what I hope will be a venture of integration. Integration itself is what I want to explore. And for me personally, this is the shape of my current integrative…
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Balzac has often been coopted by leftist critics of capitalism, since he depicts so vividly the corrosive influence that money has on social life, including family life. Several of my students, having read Cousin Bette , point out that Balzac sees money more as a means for the achievement of…
A student, Jeremy Downey, has pointed to the parallels between ancient epic and modern comic book heroism. In both cases, you’re dealing with men of superhuman strength, who have specialized areas of expertise, and one really cool weapon or tool. This is exactly right, and helps explain the feel of…
I’ve been using Sinclair Ferguson’s book on the Holy Spirit (IVP, 1996) for several years in my theology class, and each time I review it in preparation for class I’m reminded of what a wonderful book it is. Ferguson is well known as a popular writer on Reformed theology and…
On the eighth day of the rite of ?filling the hand,?EAaron began his service at the altar. His first offering was a ?calf?E(Heb. ?egel ), which served as a purification offering for himself and (apparently) his household (Leviticus 9:2, 8). This is striking for a couple of reasons. First, Leviticus…
Leviticus 21:10-15 describes the particular regulations governing the priest who is ?highest among his brothers,?Eand justifies these regulations by saying that ?the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him?E(v. 12b). The word ?consecration?Etranslates nzr , elsewhere used of the ?holy crown?Ethat was placed upon the high…
In Theology after Wittgenstein , Fergus Kerr (1986) launched a Wittgensteinian attack on the modern, Cartesian gnosticism that he found operative in Karl Rahner, Hans Kung, and Don Cuppitt. According to Kerr?s account, Wittgenstein challenges the Cartesian occlusion of the body and community, the ego?s effort to transcend particular human…
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