Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
“And it shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land,” declares the Lord, “they shall say no more, ‘The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.’ And it shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they miss it, nor…
Elsewhere, I have argued that there is grace in the so-called covenant of works (see, e.g., my colloquium essay, “A Response to ‘The Biblical Plan of Salvation,’” in The Auburn Avenue Theology: Pros and Cons , edited by Calvin Beisner (pages 118-148). It may be equally surprising to find justice…
Years ago, as a layman, I had the privilege of attending a Bible study led by a gifted teacher. His story was interesting: back when he was a student he had been severely sanctioned for affirming that one must repent in order to be saved, that one must trust Jesus…
Believing that God really exists Defining “faith” is sometimes made too complicated. The theologian, Louis Berkhof, for example, distinguishes “faith in general” from “faith in the religious sense and particularly saving faith.” Berkhof’s core definition of saving faith is not so bad. He says that it is “a certain conviction,…
It is generally acknowledged that when Paul wrote letters to churches, he expected his letters to be read in the worship service to the congregation. It is interesting, then, that when Paul wrote letters to a congregation he could feel free to address children and tell them to obey their…
Book 4 of Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion is a classic work of ecclesiology. This book is the longest section of the Institutes , showing Calvin’s deep interest in and love for the church. Among its many salutary features is a full scale exposition of those ecclesiastical leaders Calvin…
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And built Yarav?am Shechem in the hills of Ephraim. And he lived in it. And he went out from there and built Penu?el. And said Yarav?am in his heart, ?Now returns the kingdom to the house of David. If this people ascends to make sacrifices in the house of Yahweh…
David Bentley Hart contests Thomas Oden’s claim that Kierkegaard is the most humorous of Western philosophers, offering Hamann as an alternative. In challenging Oden’s nomination, Hart has this important comment about Kierkegaard’s attack on Christendom, particularly K’s complaint about Christian “whoremongers”: Yes, in fact there are “Christian” whorehouses, and whoremongers,…
Now here’s news: A Catholic cardinal putting in a good word for Jefferson’s deism. Avery Cardinal Dulles ends an article in the January 2005 issue of First Things with this: “Jefferson would probably have insisted on the positive articles of deism as a required minimum. For him and the other…
1 Kings 12:15: So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a twist from Yahweh, that He might establish His word. A ?twist from Yahweh.?EThat?s what the writer of Kings calls the division of the kingdom. Yes, Rehoboam acted stupidly, brazenly, with foolish bravado. But the…
The book of Kings is important because it sheds on our situation in the contemporary church, in which the church is divided into myriads and myriads of denominations and sects. Our sermon text, which describes the division of the kingdom of Israel, offers several insights into the causes and nature…
I had never heard of Marilynne Robinson until I saw a review of her recently published second novel, Gilead , a few months ago in The Atlantic . That review inspired me to get a copy of her first novel, Housekeeping , which is one of the most bizarre, funny,…
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