Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Why was Jesus Christ conceived in a virgin? The great Augustine, who never shrank from seeking to answer such questions, provided an explanation in his treatise On the Trinity (13.18.23). Though it was, Augustine believed, possible in marriage to "make a right use of the carnal concupiscence which is in…
And Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and became the father of Shelah . . . And Shelah lived thirty years, and became the father of Eber . . . and Eber lived thirty-four years and became the father of Peleg . . . and Peleg lived thirty years, and became the…
Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words Lest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar. Proverbs 30:5-6 We come now to Proverbs 30:5-6. The Sojourner (Agur) has already told us that he…
Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, `How have we robbed Thee?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be…
Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) was one of the most remarkable women of the 20th century. A devout Christian, she was the master teacher of composition at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau, France. She taught music and composition to two generations of students, and is regarded as one of the most influential…
When Ronald Reagan was elected to office in 1980, Christians were hopeful that there would be a real change in our national affairs. Reagan was known to be strongly anti-abortion — he even wrote a book against it. He was a fiscal conservative. He believed in Biblical morality. He was…
Showing page 306 of 309
Showing page 35 of 43
What hath Jerusalem to do with Athens? The worship of Greece with the worship of the temple? Quite a lot, in fact, argues David Biale in Blood and Belief (26): “Greek and Israelite sacrificial customs turn out to have been more similar to each other than the Israelite was to…
David Biale ( Blood and Belief ) argues that menstrual blood is not defiling because it is associated with death (as Jacob Milgrom, among others, argues). After all, menstrual blood doesn’t mean a woman is dying but that she is fertile. On the other hand, the sorts of bleeding that…
Durkheim said that “society” was the god to whom primitive peoples sacrificed, the totem standing in for the clan for which it served as totem. We might say, But of course. As FS Naiden ( Smoke Signals for the Gods , 277) has recently pointed out, by the time of…
John M. Lundquist argues that ancient temples were “associated with the realm of the dead, the underworld, the afterlife, the grave.” He states further: “The unifying feature here is the rites and worship of ancestors. The temple is the link between this world and the next. It has been called…
Paul says that everything that is in the light, everything that becomes visible, is light (Ephesians 5). He is writing about the light of the Father, Jesus, or the Spirit. If we are in that light, we ourselves become lights. But the claim is strictly true: Everything that the light…
John Lundquist claims that secrecy is one of the features of temples and temple rituals in the ancient world. All temples are sacred space, which means secret space, off-limits to any but the authorized. He cites Exodus 19:12-13, 21-24 in support. This is certainly true of ancient temples in general,…
Showing page 685 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
