Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Who were the company of singers who sang in the Temple built by Solomon? I think many people might answer “the Levitical singers.” That is not correct, because the Levites were not allowed inside the Temple; only the priests were. The Levitical choir and orchestra performed for Yahweh outside the…
Dear Congregation, Social media is awash with rants for and against the ruling from the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) yesterday regarding homosexual marriage ( Obergefell v. Hodges ). My contribution on Facebook was simply to quote relevant sections of the dissents written by the four judges in the minority. Even though…
After the Civil War, the hobbled nation and fractured races looked about for leadership; animosity was high and envy was crouching at the door. Booker Taliaferro Washington, up from slavery, surveyed the rising tension and injustice, foreseeing civil unrest and chafing inequalities, eschewed, remarkably, a legislative remedy and advised a…
The ruling on Obergefell v. Hodges “came down” on Friday morning, June 26, 2015, like a bolt from Zeus. Many who refuse to bow to the dictates of our Olympians will write trenchant legal, theological, and cultural/political analyses of the court’s ruling. What I’m comfortable contributing to the historical record,…
Orthodox Christianity has lost all cultural potency in the U.S. No one defending traditional marriage before the court dared raise the fundamental question: Who creates marriage, God or the state? Theology has no public standing, no persuasive force in the culture at large. Obergefell is another nail in the coffin…
One will rarely come upon a classical allusion in a Robert Frost poem. His poetic scheme was to follow the speaking patterns of common folk, to use their words and images to achieve his point. Despite this simplicity, there is a depth and richness to his poetry that can be…
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A t a recent Theopolis Institute course on Leviticus, James Jordan argued that the skin disease described in Leviticus 13-14 is a “touch of affliction” (the word translated as “mark” is nega' , from a verb for “touch”). It describes a touch from God, and skin disease defiles when the…
“C hicken Fried” by the Zac Brown Band is a paean to everything a Southern man loves—cold beer on a Friday night, jeans that fit just right, the radio turned up, sunrise, the “touch of a precious child,” Moma's love, and, of course, chicken. Near the end, the song turns…
T he list of Benjamites who come to David at Ziklag (1 Chronicles 12:3-7) is punctuated by names of men identified by their hometown or clan (Sara Japhet, 1 & 2 Chronicles , 261): 1. Ahiezer, Joash, sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite (3 names). 2. Jeziel, Pelet, sons of Azmaveth,…
M any critiques of technology are technological critiques of technology. That is, they weigh technology by technological standards and find it wanting. So argues Antonio Lopez in an essay in Retrieving Origins and the Claim of Multiculturalism . Lopez spies a technological mindset behind the question: “ what do we…
I n Leviticus 18 and 20, the one specific sexual sin that is described as an “abomination” is “lying with a male as lying-with a woman,” that is, male homosexual acts. An abomination is an act that makes the land sick so that it drives Israel into exile. At the…
L eviticus 18:23 describes male or female bestiality as tebel , a noun related to the verb balal , the word used to describe the confusion of languages at Babel. Tebel is often translated as “confusion.” That makes sense; bestiality crosses created boundaries between animals and human beings. It is…
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