Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
When might the Gospel according to Matthew have been written? Of course, any answer can only be speculation, but that does not mean we are reduced to groundless opinion. In this series of articles I point the way to an approach different from the general consensus among scholars today which…
In my first essay on “synopticity” I offered a rather rough definition of the phenomenon and important, though not exhaustive examples. In this essay, I want to introduce broader aspects of the phenomenon of “synopticity.” The first example that I have in mind is conventional stories, stories of different historical…
Since the judgment of Babel was followed by the initiation of the circumcision, the impending end of the circumcision in AD70 explains the significance of the first century miracle of foreign tongues. Except for a few Aramaic “teasers” in the book of Daniel, the Word of God was monolingual and…
To the best of my knowledge “synopticity” is not a word used in theology or Biblical studies, but it seems an appropriate word to describe the kind of phenomena associated with the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These three Gospels tell essentially the same story with significant — sometimes…
Humor is a funny thing. It is altogether familiar yet also mysterious. What makes us laugh? Why do we find things funny? There are academic fields of study dedicated to discovering what makes things humorous. These academicians even have a journal entitled International Journal of Humor Research . No joke.…
Out of all the characters in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales , the Pardoner has been called the “one lost soul.” The pious Parson, who closes out the collection of tales with a sermon on the seven deadly sins and how a sinner can absolve himself of them, connects the…
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Stephen Meyer’s magisterial Darwin’s Doubt examines the Achilles heel of Darwinian theory, the “Cambrian explosion.” He makes a compelling case that the phenomena cannot be explained within a standard Darwinian account. In the final chapters, he turns to an alternative, an ID explanation of the Cambrian explosion, in the course…
Apocalyptic texts speak of stars falling from heaven. We moderns typically think of individual falling stars hurtling to earth, but the ancients thought of something else. In his Thyestes , Seneca’s Chorus describes the descent of the constellations, a disturbing possibility indeed: “Trembling, trembling are our hearts, sore smit with…
Bible knowledge is at a low ebb, even among self-professed “Bible-believing Evangelicals.” What’s missing is not only knowledge of the details of the contents of the Bible but a grasp of its overall movement and shape. Joe Anderson and Tim Nichols of have provided a valuable service with their recent…
The Arden early modern drama guides serve as introductions to Shakespeare’s plays. Each volume focuses on a single play, and contains a timeline of the play and its most important productions, a brief stage and screen history, several original interpretative essays, resources for students, and extensive bibliography. Some of the…
Adam Hamilton’s conclusions in Making Sense of the Bible are predictable. Is the creation story true? Yes, but the truth is theological not scientific. Was there really a flood and did Noah really save animals in an ark? Probably not; but the flood story is still true, since it teaches…
R. Scott Smith takes aim at the fact-value dichotomy in In Search of Moral Knowledge . Along the way, he argues that naturalist materialism makes knowledge of reality impossible. David Dennett is his main target, but he does a nice little jiu-jitsu move that leaves Dennett indistinguishable from Jacques Derrida:…
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