Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
I thought it might be good to put this up here, since it is 14 years old, and itself reflects earlier discussion. From this you can see that we at BH have been considering this notion for quite some time. Clearly, the last word has not been said. — James…
Hopefully, my commentary on James will be out later this year. But here are a few chiasms for your consideration. I think the James 5 chiasm orginally came from Doug Jordan. The entire book of James is focused on how the pastors and leaders (“brothers”) of the church use their…
In my first post I noted that the parables of Jesus were not simply illustrative stories. They are really nothing like the kind of simple, homely illustrations that preachers often use to explain difficult concepts to their congregations. Just to be clear: there’s nothing wrong with illustrating one’s sermonic statements.…
Ephesians is often treated as a pure type example of the Pauline method that “the indicative preceds the imperative.” But what Paul does first is pray . Simply reading verse 3 and following involves readers in a prayer of thanksgiving to God–and much more so for those listening to the…
Yesterday, I took part with my oldest son in a church-sponsored city outreach project (not because I’m especially prone to such behavior but because my son has a Boy Scout requirement that this would help him meet). Before we were sent out on our various jobs, the leader gave a…
There is a scene in Prince Caspian , the second in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia that helps explain why it is we have four Gospels, that is four accounts of the Good News of Jesus Christ—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It is the account of Lucy’s longed-for experience…
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Jesus describes the activities of the unsuspecting preflood generation by listing four activities (Lk 17:27): eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage. He then describes the activities of the unsuspecting residents of Sodom by listing six activities (Lk 17:28): eating and drinking buying and selling planting and building. Several…
There’s an intriguing review of the work of James Welch in the January 26 Weekly Standard . Welch, who died last year, was a Montana-based poet and novelist, known as an “Indian poet” and “Indian novelist” for his focus on the lives and history of American Indians. The interest of…
Exhortation for January 25: Jesus concluded the parable of the “unjust steward” by saying, “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” Though Jesus’ words have a particular application…
Eucharistic meditation for January 25: Acts 2:41-47 In the book of Acts, we see the early church carrying out Jesus’ instructions regarding the proper use of wealth. After the Spirit was poured out on Pentecost, and 3000 were saved, the disciples begin to sell their possessions in order to share…
Baptismal meditation for January 25: Matthew 18:1-6 This passage in Matthew is parallel to the first part of Matthew 17 in our sermon text. As I mentioned in the sermon, Jesus’ reference to “little ones” in Luke 17 is not referring to little children, but to lowly people like Lazarus.…
Becoming civilized is a matter of gaining control over the body, and this bodily control is largely centered, as Mary Douglas recognized, on orifices. Infants have no control over their sphincters: They can’t hold urine or faeces, they fart and burp at inappropriate moments, they regurgitate milk and don’t care…
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