Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day. If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready (Psalm 7.11, 12). David’s inspired lyrics do not sound very encouraging to modern ears–especially to modern Christian…
The story of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:25-37) is one of the best known and most loved of Jesus’ parables. I am not going to attempt to exegete the passage, as that has been done admirably and ably by others. Rather, I want to briefly examine what bearing the passage…
In Romans 2.6-16, Paul writes, He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there…
It was still dark as David approached the crest of the little ridge. The eastern horizon was not even gray. It was early. But he knew this trail well. Every morning before dawn and every evening before dark, he would walk down to the well and carry water back to…
The theme of Romans is the righteousness of God (Rom. 1:16-17). That is to say, Romans is something of a theodicy. Paul is defending God’s covenant faithfulness, particularly in light of Jewish unfaithfulness. How does it work? Without getting into exegetical details, we can still sketch out the big picture.…
The New Perspective on Paul (NPP) is a loosely defined movement held together primarily by a common understanding of Second Temple Judaism. All NPP theologians basically adhere, with varying degrees of intensity and consistency, to Ed Sanders’ claims with regard to the nature of pre-70 A.D. Judaism. Sanders has sought…
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Newton and the Origin of Civilization by Jed Buchwald and Mordechai Feingold is a search for the historical Newton, an effort to show the single man who could create modern physics while spending his spare time with apocalyptic and biblical chronology. Along the way, the authors provide a treasure chest…
In an appendix to Why Priests? Garry Wills translates the letter to the Hebrews, and explains some of his translation choices. They are spot on. Pistis he translates as “fidelity,” and he explains: “The point of the famous praise of pistis in Hebrews 11.1-40 is established by what immediately precedes…
Euhemerism - the belief that ancient gods were original human beings - was popular during the early modern period, and most euhemerists were biblical euhemerists, keen to show how pagan myths grew out of biblical characters and episodes. Samuel Bochart was a master, relying on etymological connections to harmonize Scripture…
Adopting a Hebraic literary technique, Revelation 1:9-20 repeats key words. “Voice” ( phone ) is used four times. John hears a voice (v. 10), turns to see it (v. 12), and the central feature of the glorified being he sees is a “voice” like the “voice” of many waters (v.…
Why Sochi for the Olympics. Christian Caryl explains that it’s Putin’s declaration of victory over Chechen rebels, the subjugation of the northern Caucasus: “Russia launched its Olympic bid in 2006, a moment when Putin was basking in his hard-won status as the leader who had finally vanquished the long-running rebellion…
In an essay in Temple in Antiquity , John Lundquist outlines some features of the common temple ideology of the Ancient Near East. Among these, he argues, is the tree of life, “an integral part of the ‘primordial landscape’” that temples reproduced. From this, it was a natural conclusion to…
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