Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
First John 5.16-17: If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life–to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for…
A few years back I read Lesslie Newbigin’s little book Truth and Authority in Modernity . 1 I was particularly impressed with his argument in chapter 2 “The Mediation of Divine Authority.” Now, maybe this is old hat to many of you, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard it…
Baptism is not Christian circumcision. There’s a lot of loose talk to that effect in Presbyterian circles; but it’s not accurate. The old world rite of circumcision was fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Baptism unites us to Christ and therefore makes us participate in the circumcision of…
In recent years I’ve observed a number of Reformed-type churches trying to institute corporate handraising in certain sung parts of worship. This often does not seem to work very well. Some people don’t do it. Some do it half-way. Some do it with one hand. Some dramatically stretch to the…
Most modern scholars recognize that behind Arius’s campaign to differentiate Jesus from God was the Hellenistic theological conviction that the high God cannot suffer. Rowan Williams argues that Arius had the right idea about divine suffering, but the wrong idea of God, which “puts the unavoidable question of what the…
Charismatics have been much maligned for constantly “praising the Lord.” They would say if you hit your finger with a hammer, you should instantly say, “Thank you Jesus that You let me hit my finger…” This of course, as we all know, is stupid. There was once a lady who…
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To ordain is, in Hebrew, to “fill the hand.” Though in some passages the phrase describes priestly or quasi-priestly ministry, it normally refers to the rite of ordination itself. By the rite, Yahweh “fills their hands in order to priest” (Numbers 3:3) or “fills his hand in order to put…
In the third of his 2001 Stob Lectures, published as Common Objects of Love , Oliver O'Donovan explores the modern phenomenon of "publicity," the distinctly modern proliferation of images and information through advertising, news media, and entertainment. Publicity didn't exist in the ancient world. Kings had messengers and spies, but…
Exodus 29 lays out the instructions for the ordination rite for Aaron and his sons. Leviticus 8 describes the actual event of the ordination, and is organized by the eight-fold repetition of the clause, “as Yahweh commanded Moses” (Leviticus 8:4, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 29, 36), which effectively divides…
As soon as our kids could speak, we taught them little gestures of civility. Say "thank you" and "please." Don't hide your face when an adult talks to you. Say "Yes sir" and "Yes ma'am," not ironically or grudgingly, but respectfully. I don't think I ever told my boys, "Don't…
David Martin (1929-2019) was a secularization skeptic. He acknowledged that modern societies typically undergo a process of "differentiation," in which various sectors of social and political life free themselves from the oversight of religious authority. He acknowledged that in many modern societies religious institutions and values are "marginalized." But he…
Aaron the priest is dressed in holy garments of glory and beauty (Exodus 28:2). So are his sons: They have tunics, sashes, and caps “for glory and for beauty” (Exodus 28:40). Yahweh pours glory on the head of Aaron, but it runs down on his beard, down to the skirts…
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