Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Mrs. Marguerite Lane of Grand Rapids writes to ask if I have ever noticed a correlation between the eight beatitudes of Matthew 5 and the eight woes of Matthew 23. I confess that I have not. A glance at various commentators reveals that such a correspondence does not seem to…
1. The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, the burden. The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal: 2. Surely I am more stupid than any other man, And I do not have the understanding of a man. 3. And I have not learned wisdom, But I have…
Psalm 137 is widely regarded as one of the meanest of the imprecatory psalms. Certainly as we read it it is seems to be a song of pure vengeance. The exiles in Babylon, in grief over the judgment that Babylon has brought upon them, pray for the destruction of that…
In the Levitical law, the priests received two particular portions of each peace offering: the "wave offering" of the breast and the "heave offering" (or better, "contribution") of the right thigh. The purpose of this essay is to attempt to determine the reason why the second of these, the thigh,…
The story of Jesus’ visit, early in His ministry, to the synagogue in His home town of Nazareth is recorded for us in Luke 4:16-30. You may remember that Jesus read from Isaiah about how the Messiah would preach the gospel, care for the poor, work miracles, and bring in…
(The essay that follows concerns a rather touchy subject: how the Lord’s Supper is to be done. I am not writing to insult or offend, but to challenge. To that end I have not "held back" but have "gone ahead" and said what I think needs to be said —…
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Pastor Rich Lusk observed in a sermon that the name “Jairus” (Mark 5) means “Yah awakens” ( yah ‘ur ). Others have suggested an etymology that connects ”-rus” with the verb “to give light - “Yah illumines.” Both fit with the baptismal symbolism of the passage. Jesus comes to a…
George Friedman doesn’t think so . Putin’s posturing over Ukraine continues his strategy of expanding Russian power and, just as importantly, of projecting the image of Russian power: “The Russians cannot simply allow [Ukrainian independence] to stand. Not only does it create a new geopolitical reality, but in the longer…
Near the end of his The Great Degeneration , Niall Ferguson quotes Geoffrey West’s analysis of the increasing economies of scale that come with urbanization. West argues, “the bigger the city, the more wages you can expect, the more educational institutions in principle, [the] more cultural events, [the] more patents…
What do we think with? wonders Craig Keen in After Crucifixion (xii). We think we think with the brain, that “elongated sphere suspended on a thin neck between the brilliant, ethereal blue sky far above to which it is drawn, and the thick, heavy torso with its stabilizing limbs held…
Ancient worshipers inspected entrails to see if their sacrifices had been accepted. Israel apparently never did so. There was nothing visible to tell them that Yahweh received them. Only His word: “that he may be accepted.” In this as in other ways, sacrifice was a pedagogy in faith and humility…
Maya Jasanoff reviews Rose George’s Ninety Percent of Everything , a study of the gigantic and largely unnoticed shipping industry. Shipping is one of the key factors in globalization, and today’s shipping is cheap and efficient as a result of “containerization”: “In the 1960s, the shipping industry was transformed by…
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