Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The doctrine of justification is precious among Protestants. And it should be. The fact that God has declared our sins forgiven and that we have a righteous standing in the sight of God united to Christ is comforting and brings great joy. Unfortunately, the biblical teaching on justification is, many…
The Old Testament priests were given a number of seemingly disparate duties. As everyone knows, the priests led the sacrificial worship of Israel; only the priests could sprinkle blood on the altar or within the tabernacle, and only they could approach the altar to turn sacrificial animals into smoke. But…
M issional ecclesiology is all the rage these days, but for many being “missional” means downplaying or even eliminating concern for the “internal” life of the church, particularly its liturgical life. Missional and liturgical, mission and communio , are locked in zero-sum combat. That cannot be right. The liturgy is…
An old friend of mine, now passed into Heaven, started to say this in relationship to his sometimes troubled family, in the last quarter of his life, "I just had to take responsibility for the whole thing..." That was the seed for a new reading of the Gospel for me,…
She departed the port, dressed in her best ceremonial regalia, with tassels and flags fluttering from her mast and rigging. She stood tall, robed in mist, crowned in white, and backlit by the rising sun. There she sat, shimmering and spotless; with a perfect ragtop, and a full tank of…
John the Baptist is presented in the gospels as the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise that God would send His messenger to prepare the way for the coming of the glory of the Lord (Is. 40), and the promise to send Elijah before Him to turn the people to…
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Jesus is the greater Jacob who rolls away a great stone to offer water to the world. Further reflections at the Trinity House site .
Jesus relished a good argument, and so did the Buddha. That is the premise of Michael Collender’s To End All Suffering . Collender relishes a good argument too, and he mounts one. He thinks that Buddhist-Christian dialogues ought to give way to something their founders’ would have recognized: Buddhist-Christian knock-downs.…
I reflect on Shakespeare and the Christian notion of tragedy over at the Colson Center site .
Discussing his book Christianophobia at the fathom journal, TLS religion editor Rupert Shortt suggests that there is a “hierarchy of victimhood” according to which “it’s just not very fashionable to be a persecuted Christian.” Shortt suggests that the reason is partly that Christians follow Jesus’ commandments: “a few years ago…
In 1863, James H. Hackett sent a copy of his Notes and Comments upon Certain Plays and Actors of Shakespeare to the White House . Abraham Lincoln wrote a note of thanks and revealed his Shakespearean reading habits. He had read some “as frequently as any unprofessional reader,” listed several…
No sooner is David anointed to be Saul’s successor than he starts plundering the king’s house. His victory over Goliath wins the admiration of the women of Israel, who praise him more highly than they praise Saul. Jonathan recognizes that David will be the next king, and he strips off…
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