Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
After Elijah’s battered and depressed howling in the wilderness it must have seemed like the new prophet came eating and drinking. Which is a pattern we see again in the New Testament—John is explicitly identified with Elijah (Luke 1.17, Matthew 11.14), howling the truth in the wilderness that the people…
Reading Robert Conquest’s biography of Stalin 1 has opened new lines of meditation on Paul’s command in Colossians 3:9. But before turning to that, let me briefly indicate what Paul is not saying. He is not saying that there is no such thing as righteous deception, such as Jael practiced…
You won’t find wild lions today in Israel. But lions used to range much more widely than they do now, and in biblical times they were a menace that shepherds in Israel had to contend with. David did as a shepherd boy, and Amos—who “ was among the sheepbreeders of…
I would like to remedy a flaw for English speakers in the book of Genesis. A flaw that may seem innocuous, but we must remember where the devil lives...in the details. If we are to fear the Lord, it behooves our translation committees to ensure that the fearfulness of God…
While reading at my son’s baseball game this week, a mom from our school approached me and asked if I was reading Dante. I wasn’t, but our sons are both reading Divine Comedy in their sophomore literature class, so it was a reasonable question. What unfolded was a quick conversation…
In the first two essays in this series, I addressed the question of how the nations would learn about Israel’s Torah, in the second essay especially emphasizing the aesthetic aspects of Israel’s testimony. For we naturally wonder: How would people in Mesopotamia or Egypt, not to mention the rest of…
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A s soon as David becomes king (1 Chronicles 13), he wants to bring the ark of God into Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 14). His plan comes to an abrupt halt when Yahweh kills Uzza fir stretching out a hand to touch the ark. The ark disappears from view for a…
I t’s the puzzle of the 2016 Presidential race. It’s the question that’s dominating European politics in the aftermath of Britain’s exit from the EU and after a summer of immigration turmoil. Everything was going so swimmingly toward a global future. Everyone seemed so happy. Suddenly, so it seems, nationalism,…
I n Psalm 139, David says that darkness and light are alike to God, night bright as the day (v. 12). Such a God can form a man in a secret place (v. 15). A God for whom night shines is a God who sees what cannot be seen, David's…
Maitre Frenhofer stands with Pygmalion and Orpheus in the pantheon of influential fictional artists. The painter of the Unknown Masterpiece (or Unrecognized Masterpiece ) in Balzac’s Le Chef-d’œuvre inconnu , Frenhofer’s utter devotion to his art inspired Cezanne, Picasso, and Rilke. The best-known testimony comes from Emile Bernard’s recollection of…
I t may look quaint to contemporary Christians, but once upon a time there were vigorous debates about the proper posture for receiving communion. Puritans and Presbyterians objected to the custom of kneeling to receive the elements, arguing that it perpetuated the Catholic practice of venerating the consecrated Host. In…
I n his study of the Symbolism of the Christian Temple , Jean Hani offers a brief analysis of the “numerical harmonies” of the Troyes Cathedral. The main building is constructed according to ancient “golden” proportions, but this is overlaid by “a yet more mysterious [harmony] of a mystical order”…
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