Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The Protestant-Catholic relationship has hardly been an untroubled one. And yet, the possibilities for various layers of reconciliation are better then at any time since the original schism 500 years ago. One of the symbols for the church that is used in Scripture is the church as a household (Ephesians…
Despite the layers of wiping, covering, and ransoming during the Day of Recoverings, true unity still has not been achieved. Divorce is still possible; God still might leave his people. Thus the Day of Recoverings must be repeated every year. The perpetual expression of unity between God and man in…
The events of Leviticus 16 are commonly known as “The Day of Atonement,” from the Hebrew phrase yom hakippurim, in Leviticus 23:27. However, it would be more accurate to say, “The Day of Atonements,” [i] since the word is plural. The plurality primarily relates to 16:33, which states five different…
Mary Douglas, against the common notion that primitive religious rituals were illogical and random asserts, “The analysis of ritual symbolism cannot begin until we recognize ritual as an attempt to create and maintain a particular culture … Any culture is a series of structures which comprise social forms, values, cosmology,…
Jesus holds seven stars. They are the angels of the seven churches (Revelation 1:20). For ancient readers and hearers, "seven stars" would evoke a number of associations - the seven planets, the seven stars of Ursa Major, and the seven stars that make up the Pleiades. The last makes a…
When he first arrives in Harran, at Paddan-Aram, the home of Laban his uncle, Jacob sees a well. Wells are mentioned frequently in Genesis. Twice Hagar finds a well in the wilderness (Genesis 16:14; 21:19). Philistines seize Abraham’s well (21:22-34), and Abraham’s chief servant finds a wife for Isaac at…
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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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