Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The first commandment given in the Levitical sacrificial legislation has to do with the animals appropriate to sacrifice: "When any man of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of cattle ( behemah ), from the herd or the flock" (Lev. 1:2). Cattle alone were…
This post was originally posted in 2004 The ultimate condemnation of a position in Reformed circles is to show that it “leads back to Rome.” Indeed, one gets the feeling that Rome is a worse destination for a Presbyterian than even hell itself. The accusation of Rome stings deeply, of…
There are countless scholars who have helped me in my reading of various passages of Scripture. I have gleaned insights and keys from them that have unlocked texts that once perplexed me. However, no scholar has done so much to teach me how to read the Scripture more generally than…
The Tortoise and the Hare is perhaps the most well-known of the Greek fables. Its story has been present in every era of human history. From the Indigenous retellings with hummingbirds and cranes to the Biblical account of David and Goliath, the basic furniture of an unlikely hero tale is…
Sexual sins are perhaps the most shame-inducing sins experienced by Christians and non-Christians alike. All sins can bring shame, but sexual sins are deeply personal and affect us in profound ways. For example, adultery leaves its victim devastated by betrayal; porn addiction leaves men feeling gross, pathetic, and lazy; losing…
If the mark of a good book is how many times a person can re-read it with pleasure, Richard Adams’ novel Watership Down is one of the best books of the 20 th century. I’ve taught this book in my middle school literature class for the past three years, and…
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Perhaps Sigurd, like Orestes, marks the beginning of a new order. Before Sigurd, the only absolute loyalties in the world of the Volsungs were family loyalties, loyalties of blood. Signy has no loyalty to her husband and encourages Sigmund to kill her sons. But Sigurd seems as loyal to his…
In Italy, there is a raging debate over a judge’s ruling that crucifixes need to be removed from schools. Seems that Europe, where religion (or religions) is still often a part of government education and where state churches still exist, is beginning to play catch up with American secularism.
In the introduction to his translation of the Volsung Saga, Jesse Byock points out that the scene of Sigurd slaying the dragon was employed on numerous churches throughout Scandinavian countries. The Christological dimensions of a dragon-slayer are obvious, but there is even more going on with Sigurd: He not only…
In an essay on “The Hermeneutics of Difference” in a volume edited by Merold Westphal, Garrett Green offers this helpful summary of Derrida’s conception of supplement: “The fundamental hermeneutical situation in which we all find ourselves as users of signs, which Derrida indicates by the word DIFFERANCE, means that no…
From Dr. Johnson’s dictionary, a definition of “Oats”: “A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.”
In his book “Is There A Meaning in This Text?” Kevin Vanhoozer explains Derrida’s dictum that “there is nothing outside the text” by saying that everything is part of a signifying system or classification system that is constituted by differences. He offers this illuminating illustration: “a Ford has its particular…
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