Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The Protestant-Catholic relationship has hardly been an untroubled one. And yet, the possibilities for various layers of reconciliation are better then at any time since the original schism 500 years ago. One of the symbols for the church that is used in Scripture is the church as a household (Ephesians…
Despite the layers of wiping, covering, and ransoming during the Day of Recoverings, true unity still has not been achieved. Divorce is still possible; God still might leave his people. Thus the Day of Recoverings must be repeated every year. The perpetual expression of unity between God and man in…
The events of Leviticus 16 are commonly known as “The Day of Atonement,” from the Hebrew phrase yom hakippurim, in Leviticus 23:27. However, it would be more accurate to say, “The Day of Atonements,” [i] since the word is plural. The plurality primarily relates to 16:33, which states five different…
Mary Douglas, against the common notion that primitive religious rituals were illogical and random asserts, “The analysis of ritual symbolism cannot begin until we recognize ritual as an attempt to create and maintain a particular culture … Any culture is a series of structures which comprise social forms, values, cosmology,…
Jesus holds seven stars. They are the angels of the seven churches (Revelation 1:20). For ancient readers and hearers, "seven stars" would evoke a number of associations - the seven planets, the seven stars of Ursa Major, and the seven stars that make up the Pleiades. The last makes a…
When he first arrives in Harran, at Paddan-Aram, the home of Laban his uncle, Jacob sees a well. Wells are mentioned frequently in Genesis. Twice Hagar finds a well in the wilderness (Genesis 16:14; 21:19). Philistines seize Abraham’s well (21:22-34), and Abraham’s chief servant finds a wife for Isaac at…
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Newbigin ( Faith and Power: Christianity and Islam in ‘Secular’ Britain ) endorses Os Guinness’s idea of “chartered pluralism,” but argues vigorously that the gospel provides the only framework within which it can be realized. “What is unique about the Christian gospel,” he says, “is that those who are called…
In his contribution to Faith and Power: Christianity and Islam in ‘Secular’ Britain , the late Leslie Newbigin gives an eschatological perspective on the notion of a Christian society: “The focus of the biblical vision is on the final vindication of God in the gift of his perfect reign, symbolized…
The Greek koilia can mean belly (Matthew 15:17) or womb (Mathew 19:12). What happens when we try out the second translation on passages that normally use the first? John 7:38 now reads, “He that believes on me . . . out of his womb shall flow rivers of living water.”…
In the “jealousy rite” of Numbers 5, a woman suspected of adultery has to drink a concoction of holy water and holy dust and a written curse. If she is an adulteress, the water will go into her and cause bitterness, swelling in the thigh, and a wasting in her…
Do sacraments have power “in themselves”? The question is often posed in a confusing fashion. One confusion is the assumption that non -sacramental things do have power to accomplish things “in themselves.” Created things have powers only because of God’s continuous gift, so in an absolute sense nothing created has…
Peter Leithart and James B. Jordan have been highly influential in my life and ministry. Leithart’s book The Kingdom and the Power was an important book in my journey, giving me a solid foundation to see a biblical churchly vision, at a time when I was majoring on minors. Couple…
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