Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Part 1 We do not understand the role of women in ministry because we do not understand the role of men in ministry. We do not understand the role of men in ministry because we do not understand the church. We do not understand the church because the consumer culture…
1. One structure The Creation account (G1:1-2:4) conspicuously conveys meaning using the literary shape of the text. The narrative is told with formulaic patterns, repetitions, and parallelism. The Garden account is different. It is viewed as a separate text, with its own author, employing its own structure. This second account’s…
I was reading James Jordan’s Creation in Six Days while also preparing for Trinity Sunday in which the gospel reading is John 3:1-15. As providence would have it Jordan dropped an easter egg for me along the lines of baptism. In chapter 5 he points out, “ On the second…
It's true. There is no verse in the New Testament that commands or records an infant baptism. This poses a problem for some Christians. Those who only look for explicit commands, or those whose theology is limited to the New Testament, will conclude that infant baptism is not biblical and…
1. Goal This paper’s goal is to identify and describe a literary strategy employed by scripture, namely using two episodes that cover similar territory or themes using details drawn from opposite ends of a number of spectrums. Once described the reader may recognize numerous other instances of this strategy in…
Numbers 14 records the tragic story of Israel’s decision to rebel against Yahweh and Moses. Twelve spies had been sent into the land to bring back a report to Israel. All twelve spies agreed: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey”…
Showing page 30 of 309
Showing page 33 of 43
Somewhat surprisingly, the first references to golden crowns in the Bible do not refer to kings but to priests. The high priest has a “crown of pure gold,” a “holy crown” on his turban (Exodus 39:30; Leviticus 8:9). Even as late as Zechariah 6:11, the silver and gold crown is…
David v. Goliath is the ultimate one-on-one showdown. By the end of 2 Samuel, though, that single combat has expanded. Goliath has four relatives: Ishbi-benob (2 Samuel 21:16); Saph (v. 18); Lahmi (v. 19; cf. 1 Chronicles 20:5); and a giant with twenty-four fingers and toes (v. 20). Goliath is…
In one of the loveliest images in the Bible, David describes the just rulers as “the light of the morning when the sun rises / a morning without clouds / the tender grass out of the earth / through sunshine after rain” (2 Samuel 23:3). What might this mean? Rulers…
Smoke ascends from the abyss, and out of the smoke come creatures that look like locusts but sting like scorpions (Revelation 9). John gives an extended seven- or eight-part description (vv. 7-10): 1) Appearance as horses. 2) Crowns of gold on head. 3) Faces like faces of men. 4) Hair…
I watched Disney’s Old Yeller (1957) with my youngest daughter the other night, and was left marveling at the effortlessness of it all. Though it’s nearly 50 years old, it doesn’t seem dated, partly because it’s a frontier movie whose setting was long outdated even when it was made. The…
Douglas Campbell argues convincingly that pistis in Galatians 3 has a christological sense ( Deliverance of God , 867-75). It seems an irrefutable point. In an extended footnote, Campbell deals with Moises Silva’s interpretation of the term in Galatians 3, which wobbles between christological interpretation and something else. Silva says…
Showing page 505 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
