Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The god of Israel was not just any god. Two thousand years of Christian history, with it’s besetting philosophical temptations, and full-blown deist and transcendentalist and universalist problems, have obscured the fact that, in itself, the identity of the true god (or gods) cannot be predetermined, any more than the…
Jacob and Solomon God gave wealth and possessions to Jacob, and then threatened to take them all away at Peniel. Jacob wrestled with God, and through prayer Jacob saw through the crisis by faith and was made victor (Hosea 12:4). The Kingdom period in Israel concerns the same themes. We…
In our study of the historical impact and unfolding of the Ten Words of God, we now arrive at the Third Word. The Third Word prohibits hypocrisy, and when we realize this, we can see right away that disobeying the Third Word is closely tied to the situation of Israel…
Abraham and Joshua In our previous two essays, we considered aspects of the lives of Abraham and Jacob, as these display how God works with men in history. These two men carry in themselves all the future of Israel, so to speak, and their lives at the individual level correspond…
Part 5: Laying New Foundations in a Dying World (continued) Physical Training Though it is seldom recognized any more, the fact is that no liberal arts and no science is possible apart from peace, and peace is only possible if there is a strong military presence that protects a nation.…
Last month, in our essay " Patriarchal Dominion ," we observed the flow from Abraham to Jacob to Joseph. Our concern here is to advance our understanding of that narrative flow. I should mention that I am assuming much that is found in my book Primeval Saints: Studies in the…
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Do Protestants concede infallibility to the church when we affirm the canon of Scripture? Some Catholics argue so: The church created the canon, and so when we accept the canon we are implicitly accepting the church's infallible decision-making power. It's inconsistent to accept the canon, and then go off with…
Trace the development of the Hebrew massa' ("burden") through the Bible. In Torah, it refers to the physical labor of the Levites, carrying the furniture of the tabernacle and especially the ark. In Chronicles, it refers to the Levitical "burden" of singing (1 Chronicles 15:22, 27). They no longer carry…
Creation has a musical quality both in its origin and in its very nature. Genesis 1 sets out a melody: The act of creation is musical, a patterned, recurring sequence of speech acts. As product of God's creating activity, creation is also melodic, rhythmic, musical. Creation is not a fixed…
A few items from the archives about Lutheran theologian Robert W. Jenson, who died earlier this week . Here’s my best effort to summarize Robert Jenson’s take on God-and-time, written with faux-Jensonesque pithiness. Is God eternally and infinitely the eternal and infinite God that He is? Of course. He’s God.…
The following is an excerpt from my commentary on 1-2 Samuel, A Son To Me . Saul was rejected from being king before the battle of Michmash (1 Samuel 13-14), but a replacement was immediately introduced, his son Jonathan. Just as Eli was replaced by his “son” Samuel and just…
Genesis never says that Yahweh "chose" Abram. In some English translations, Genesis 18:19 speaks directly of Abram's election, but the Hebrew verb is yada’ , “know.” Nehemiah 9:7, though, does use "chose" with reference to Abram, the one "chosen" and therefore "brought out" from Ur and given the name Abraham.…
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