Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Summary In what follows, I will consider the “year-stamps” employed in Scripture, i.e., statements of the form, “Such-and-such an event took place in the Xth year of Y.” In the process, I will suggest some ways in which the Biblical narrative might relate to events in the extra-Biblical world, though…
In the first essay on the parable of the Prodigal Son, I suggested that the problems commentators and others encounter in interpreting Jesus three-part parable are not accidental. These are not just problems in our ignorance of cultural background. They are intentional features of the stories —stories designed to poke…
The story of the Prodigal Son is perhaps the most well-known story in the Bible. As others have observed, it may also be one of the most misunderstood. In two short essays, I will point out features of this story that are commonly neglected, aspects of Jesus’ parable that might…
The parable of Lazarus and the nameless rich man is not an independent story. It is part of a long context that begins in Luke 15:1, where Jesus is eating with tax collectors and sinners and the scribes and Pharisees grumble. In response to their hardheartedness, Jesus tells a three-part…
The Bible is written so that even when a reader cannot pick up on what might be deeper or more detailed aspects of a text, there is virtually always a message to be heard. In the ancient world, where the “reader” of Scripture would likely be a church official facing…
The distinction between garden (or vineyard) and field begins in Genesis 2. This relates to the ordering of the formless world. Plants of the field are contrasted with the garden planted by God in Genesis 2:5&8. Later on, under the Old Covenant the Israelites will be required to keep their…
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Kant viewed Judaism as a narrow, particular, hostile political entity. The fact that God promised that He would bless the nations through Abraham seems not to have registered with Kant. Kant’s treatment of Judaism has central importance in his construction of modern, Enlightened religion. And in this context, recent work…
Postmodernism is rigorous disbelief in eschatology, in final judgment. And this arises from and is a reaction to Kant, who (as Hamann recognized) believed he had somehow arrived at the eschaton ahead of schedule and spend his life sending back reports.
Postmodernism is rigorous disbelief in eschatology, in final judgment. And this arises from and is a reaction to Kant, who (as Hamann recognized) believed he had somehow arrived at the eschaton ahead of schedule and spend his life sending back reports.
Barth’s includes an extensive treatment of Kant in his history of 19th century Protestant theology. According to Barth, Kant represents the 18th-century’s coming to self-consciousness. He saw both the possibilities and the limits of the Enlightenment’s obsessions with reason. He announces that his age is the age of criticism, but…
Nicholas Wolterstorff analyzes the “conundrum” of atonement in Kant’s treatment of rational religion. We need to be forgiven for the evil we’ve done, and we are incapable of doing this ourselves. God has to do it. Yet, Kant assumes a radical form of autonomy, which makes our moral value depend…
Nicholas Wolterstorff analyzes the “conundrum” of atonement in Kant’s treatment of rational religion. We need to be forgiven for the evil we’ve done, and we are incapable of doing this ourselves. God has to do it. Yet, Kant assumes a radical form of autonomy, which makes our moral value depend…
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