Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
There is nothing good Satan cannot pervert, and that fact extends to the Christian public witness against abortion just as it applies to everything else. As a Christian who has written, marched, and picketed against legalized abortion since 1970, I have been saddened to see the development of the anti-Christ…
(We are discussing the meaning of the phrase "cutting off of days" in Genesis 4:3, showing that it implies the turn of the year in autumn.) Two passages use the term "cutting off of years" to refer to the lunar year, beginning in the Spring. Exodus 12:41 – at the…
In the second year of Darius, near the end of the feast of booths, the prophet Haggai encouraged the Jews of the restoration to continue their work on the temple by assuring them that “the latter glory of this house will be greater than then former” (Hag. 2:9). To this…
G. K. Chesterton began Orthodoxy by describing the plot of a book that he had never written. Taking a page from Chesterton, below I will briefly map out the territory of a book (or books) that need(s) to be written. Had I but world enough and time–and a small army…
As long as Moses lived, Israel seldom worshipped other gods directly. She broke the First Word by breaking the Second, worshipping God through the calf. As we shall see, God always treats such Liturgical Idolatry as Covenantal Idolatry, but it is far more serious because it is committed by those…
In response to my article, " The Holy City " (in Biblical Horizons 55) James B. Jordan has made several suggestions about how I might expand on the ideas presented there. Several other readers have also contributed their insights. Below, I trace a few sketchy lines of thought. 1. The…
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Jim Jordan once again stole the show during our Pentecost Term course a few weeks ago. He’s still recovering from his strokes, moves slowly, gets tired easily, shakes when he stands too long – and he’s still the most stimulating teacher anywhere. Jim devoted several lectures to explaining how women…
David Bentley Hart has some very wise things to say about tradition and traditionalism in the opening section of his new Tradition and Apocalypse . The concept of tradition formulated in John Henry Newman’s 1845 Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine and updated by Maurice Blondel’s 1904 History and…
The following was originally published in 2013 at FirstThings.com . When Israel’s prophets predict the future coming of the Spirit, their next thought is almost always about the renewal of creation. According to Joel, the Spirit’s coming will turn Israel into Big Rock Candy Mountain”wine tricklin’ down the mountains, a…
I liked Sohrab Ahmari’s The Unbroken Thread more than I expected to. The subtitle refers to “the wisdom of tradition,” and I expected a book pointing to generic “tradition,” drawn from classical, Christian, and other sources, as our social Savior. We need to renounce that kind of Messianism as strenuously…
With the looming prospect that Roe v. Wade will be overturned, the old charge that Christians favor "theocracy" has, predictably, bubbled to the surface. Just as predictably, Christians repudiate the charge . This 2018 essay from FirstThings.com is once again (or still) relevant . Ever since the Religious Right burst…
Genesis 16 records the story of Hagar, Sarai’s handmaid, who bears Abram’s son, Ishmael. A number of scholars say this chapter is the center, or near the center, of the Abrahamic narrative (Genesis 12-25). That’s very odd. Hagar is never mentioned before chapter 16, but suddenly takes center stage. Her…
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