Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Gambling The Bible nowhere condemns gambling, and so we need to be careful in our assessment of it. Let me begin by making a strong case against gambling. Then I will surprise most readers by pointing out that gambling may not always be sinful. The reader should bear in mind…
Tim Powers, The Stress of Her Regard (Ace Books, 1991). Reviewed by Jeffrey Meyers. Tim Power’s latest novel is now available in paperback. The story is set in early nineteenth century England and Italy, in the world of the poets John Keats, Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron. Michael Crawford, a…
A close supporter of Biblical Horizons asks whether it is proper and wise to get involved in all the boycotts that Christians are being asked to observe today. She raises the point that Paul’s advice about eating meat sacrificed to idols seems relevant to the discussion. I think she is…
Solomon began to build the Temple of the Lord in the fourth year of his reign, which was 480 years after Israel came out of Egypt, the year A.M. 2993 (1 Kings 6:1). Seven years later, in the year A.M. 3000, the Temple building was finished (1 Kings 6:38). The…
Several months back, a candidate for ordination was being examined for entrance into the Presbytery of which I am a member. The candidate had a good deal of trouble with the exam on the sacraments, stumbling badly as he tried to define the "nature of the sacrament." Apparently in an…
Exploring the influence of televangelism on American religion in his book, The Struggle for America’s Soul , Princeton sociologist Robert Wuthnow presents a typical, though hypothetical, case study: Mabel Miller. Mabel lives alone, thousands of miles from her family. She grew up in a Baptist Church, but now, approaching 65,…
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Paul calls circumcision a “seal of righteousness” in Romans 4:11, and that same phrase has historically been applied to baptism. But what does it mean to be a “seal of righteousness”? A seal (Greek sphragis ) is an identifying mark. The word is used to describe brands on animals, identifying…
An Epiphany meditation on Isaiah 60 at the Trinity House site.
Bacon compared different sorts of scientists to varieties of insect: “those who have handled sciencehave either been men of experiment or of theory. The men of experiment are like the ant; they only collect and use. Thetheorists are like the spiders who make cobwebs out of their own substance. But…
For Sedulius Scottus ( On Christian Rulers ), royal piety was both royal and pious. He urged rulers to practice Christian virtues in their political lives. He encourages kings to a life of prayer, giving several examples of how the Lord “shielded [men] from the dangers of death by holy…
Virginian Hughes reports at National Geographic that researchers at Emory have discovered that mice inherit the memory of certain smells from parents: They recognize smells “even when the offspring have never experienced that smell before,andeven when theyve never met their father. Whats more, their childrenare born with the same specific…
Sedulius Scottus ( On Christian Rulers , 66-7) offers this lyrical description of the beauty of good rule: “There are seven things more beautiful than God’s other creations, as wise men say: the cloudless sky, when it marvelously resembles the color of silver; the sun in its brilliance, when in…
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