Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Misunderstanding “Galatianism” has caused several problems in the Reformed church. Because circumcision is at issue in the Galatian epistle, some have fallen into thinking that ritual per se, rather than anything uniquely Mosaic or Jewish, is the object of Paul’s critique. Likewise, his polemic against “works of the law” is…
Many texts in the NT become more perspicuous if we keep in mind the possibility — and indeed ubiquity — of Gentile God-fearers in the Old Covenant. After the special covenant with Israel is set up, Gentiles are not altogether excluded from the hope of salvation. Israel’s special status in…
I was once trying to get a sermon out of Ephesians 1.12-14 and it seemed obvious that I should look for two parallel statements both ending with the phrase, “to the praise of his glory.” Paul here begins talking about two groups of people (“you” and “we”), and he later…
WHY A DENOMINATION WITH SOUTHERN PRESBYTERIAN ROOTS SHOULD CAREFULLY CONSIDER THE “NEW PERSPECTIVE ON PAUL” In my denomination, the PCA, we are continually haunted by the sins of our racist Southern past. It has become an annual rite at General Assembly for the issue to be addressed one way or…
Recent debates over whether or not, “justification is central” to Paul’s theology have reminded me of a sermon I once heard by a Presbyterian seminary student. This African American student challenged his audience on the sin of racism and the ways it might manifest itself among us. Like any good…
In Charles Hodge’s 1853 article, “Idea of the Church,” his stated aim is to analyze the idea of the Church proposed in the Apostles’ Creed, in which, “the Church is declared to be “the Communion of the Saints.” He writes: The conception of the Church as the communion of saints…
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Sudanese artist Philip Makuei has used scrap metal from crashed MiG fighters to make decorative crosses. Isaiah 2:4.
Last week, I posted a critique of the argument of Cal Beisner and Fowler White concerning the connection between the covenant of redemption and the covenant of works. Beisner and White replied, and I post their reply here with their permission. We offer our sincere thanks to Dr. Leithart for…
A Transvaal hymn celebrates Jesus’ victory: Jesus Christ is Conqueror By his resurrection he overcame death itself By his resurrection he overcame all things He overcame magic He overcame amulets and charms He overcame the darkness of demon possession He overcame dread When we are with him We also conquer.
Jenkins comments a number of times on the prominence of Old Testament Wisdom literature and James in Southern Christianity. He notes that these books have been particularly important as inter-religious texts. The Galai Lama “provided an admiring introduction” for the letter of James, and Ecclesiastes has “acquired a significant following…
A Zulu song includes the line, “Aka na mandla uSathane/ S’omshaya nge vhesi.” Philip Jenkins translates: “Satan has no power/ we wil clobber him with a [biblical] verse.”
A number of writers have drawn up exposes of the “theocratic” agenda of evangelical Republicans over the past two years, and many find the darkly Armenian figure of RJ Rushdoony lurking behind every legislative proposal and protest march. They don’t know the half of it. By Philip Jenkins’s description (…
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