Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
I believe hymnals should be shorter than they are. Much shorter. 100 hymns at most, let’s say. I imagine that this will be a hard one to swallow for most of my readers, so I will attempt to bolster my argument as best I can. I can’t think of any…
Joshua is never called a king in the Bible. Yet while lacking the title, Joshua possesses the trappings of biblical kingship to a degree that it seems warranted to consider him a royal figure. There are lots of reasons for thinking this. In a 1981 Journal of Biblical Literature article,…
God speaks. He is not silent. He has designed humanity for reception of such communication and also to speak on His behalf. This speaking is not simply happenstance. It is not just a curious quirk about humanity. It is intrinsic to who we are that we speak and shape the…
One evening, years ago, home from college for Christmas break, I dreamt that I was playing the piano, passionately and well, in the church sanctuary beneath the parsonage in the renovated mansion in rural New Hampshire where my father was the minister. It was something of a lucid dream because…
I’m a big worrier. Always have been. Some of my earliest memories are of being anxious to the point of getting sick, sometimes for trivial reasons. My mind moves a million miles a minute, wondering what will happen in 5 minutes, or tomorrow, or next week, or in ten years.…
“The sun had gone up on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. And the LORD rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD from heaven, and he devastated those cities and the whole valley and all those dwelling in the cities and the growth of…
Showing page 50 of 309
Showing page 35 of 43
At Aeon magazine, Rebecca Giggs reflects on sakura , Japan’s cherry blossom season, and draws some conclusions about the lack of environmental imagination in environmental politics. “Gazing into the throats of flowers is surely one of the most trite, and universal, acts of environmental appreciation. From hand-picked posies displayed on…
John ascends through a door in heaven, powered by the Spirit and the trumpet-voice of Jesus (Revelation 4:1-2). A complicated scene greets him in the heavenly temple/throne room. There are several pieces to the tableau: a throne, a rainbow, 24 additional thrones, seven lamps, a sea like glass, and four…
“For you first,” Peter tells the people at the portico of Solomon, “God raised His paida and sent Him to bless you by turning every one from your wicked ways” (Acts 3:26). This “raising up” ( anistemi ) might be a reference to the incarnation: the Father raised Jesus up…
The songs of praise in the heavenly temple are tradically structured (Revelation 4). The first (Revelation 4:8) is the most obvious; it is a triad of traids. A triple sanctus , followed by a triple name of God ( kurios , theos , pantokrator ), followed by the name of…
The living creatures in heaven give glory, honor and thanks to the Enthroned One (Revelation 4:9). But when the elders sing, they don’t offer “thanks,” but praise the worthiness of God to receive “glory, honor, and power” (4:11). This isn’t glory, honor, and power given by one Person of the…
Click here for a lecture I gave on Dostoevsky a few weeks ago in Colorado Springs. The event was co-sponsored by the Anselm Society and the John Jay Institute.
Showing page 631 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
