Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Introduction Isaiah 21 can only be understood in the light of its placement in the architecture of the second “volume” of the prophecy (chapters 13–27). The contents are arranged in twin sevenfold “columns” that represent the great bronze pillars of Solomon’s Temple: Jachin and Boaz, priest and king. The priestly…
A Biblical Reflection on the Purpose of the Constellations The starry heavens hold a place of wonder in the hearts of men. Since man’s creation we have looked up into the heavens and have beheld its glory. This is particularly true of the night sky. The stars, in their shinning…
The case for there being five discourses within the Gospel according to Matthew is a hard one to challenge: surely the closing formula “when Jesus finished these sayings” as found in 8:1, 11:1, 13:53, 19:1, and 26:1 settles it once and for all. And by the five instances of the…
The Long Commission The Great Commission of Matthew 28 has long been a cornerstone of American Evangelicalism. It has formed and fashioned the American church’s missional impulse. Yet when viewed from the wide lens of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, the Great Commission is revealed as one of the pillars…
I am delighted to see that more and more churches in the Reformed tradition are now recognizing that all baptized children are members of the body of Christ and therefore ought to be communing with the rest of the body at the Lord’s Table. This has been decades in the…
Good leaders have always been rare. In today’s world, they seem extinct. Joe Rigney’s recent book Leadership and Emotional Sabotage digs into the spiritual reasons for the leadership epidemic and recommends cures. Rigney starts with a summary of a book by Edwin Friedman called A Failure of Nerve . Friedman’s…
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Uncritical advocates of gift societies should ponder Stefan Joubert’s summary of the benefactions of Augustus ( Paul As Benefactor: Reciprocity Strategy and Theological Reflection in Paul’s Collection (Wissunt Zum Neuen Testament, 2) , p. 26): “After inheriting the military Heeresclientel from his (step)father, Julius Caesar, he moved swiftly to enlarge…
It has been common, especially among some varieties of Protestantism, to take Paul’s statements about circumcision as pieces of a theology of ritual. Paul’s statement about inward and heart circumcision in Romans 2 is transferred to rites of entry in general, especially to baptism: ” Baptism is that which is…
INTRODUCTION Yahweh declares that He is the only God, Israel’s only Rock (Isaiah 44:8; cf. Exodus 17; Deuteronomy 32). He proves Himself by exposing the folly of idolatry. THE TEXT “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen. Thus says the Lord who made you…
In his introduction to his English translation of Ernst Cassirer’s The Question of Jean-Jacques Rousseau , Peter Gay comments (p. 27): “Rousseau’s ‘one great principle’ - that man is good, that society makes him bad, but that only society, the agent of perdition, can be the agent of salvation is…
Rousseau ( Emile: Or, On Education , 322-3 ) exults in “what the ancients accomplished with eloquence,” but notes that for them eloquence “did not consist solely in fine, well-ordered speeches.” Rather, “what was said most vividly was expressed not by words but by signs.” Romans were masters of the…
It is a joy to hear about the Trinity Institute and the involvement of Peter Leithart and Jim Jordan. Peter brings a powerful mind and a pastor’s heart to his calling to educate and train a new generation for pastoral ministry. Jim adds a remarkably creative mind and his penetrating…
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