Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
When might the Gospel according to Matthew have been written? Of course, any answer can only be speculation, but that does not mean we are reduced to groundless opinion. In this series of articles I point the way to an approach different from the general consensus among scholars today which…
In my first essay on “synopticity” I offered a rather rough definition of the phenomenon and important, though not exhaustive examples. In this essay, I want to introduce broader aspects of the phenomenon of “synopticity.” The first example that I have in mind is conventional stories, stories of different historical…
Since the judgment of Babel was followed by the initiation of the circumcision, the impending end of the circumcision in AD70 explains the significance of the first century miracle of foreign tongues. Except for a few Aramaic “teasers” in the book of Daniel, the Word of God was monolingual and…
To the best of my knowledge “synopticity” is not a word used in theology or Biblical studies, but it seems an appropriate word to describe the kind of phenomena associated with the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These three Gospels tell essentially the same story with significant — sometimes…
Humor is a funny thing. It is altogether familiar yet also mysterious. What makes us laugh? Why do we find things funny? There are academic fields of study dedicated to discovering what makes things humorous. These academicians even have a journal entitled International Journal of Humor Research . No joke.…
Out of all the characters in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales , the Pardoner has been called the “one lost soul.” The pious Parson, who closes out the collection of tales with a sermon on the seven deadly sins and how a sinner can absolve himself of them, connects the…
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Matthew Mason of Capitol Hill’s Church of the Resurrection argues for using biblical language in our talk about sex at the Trinity House site.
Time and change are persistent puzzles in metaphysics. How can something be “the same” when all of its properties have changed? A number of philosophers defend a “four-dimensional” metaphysics that incorporates temporal change into the very definition of an object. For four-dimensionalists, things have not only spatial but also temporal…
In The Marrow of Theology , William Ames describes the relationship between Christ and the Church: “The relationship is so intimate that not only is Christ the church’s and the church Christ’s, Song of Sol 2:16, but Christ is in the church and the church in him, John 15:4; 1…
Edwards writes: “Christ’s love – that is, His Spirit is actually united to the faculties of their souls. So it properly lives, acts, and exerts its nature in the exercise of their faculties.” There’s a great deal to say, and to like, and to wonder at, about that statement. Christ…
Revelation 22:14 provides a brief ordo salutis : “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.” (Note: There’s a textual variant here; the Majority Text has “blessed are those who…
Isaiah 49:2 is arranged in a neat ABAB pattern: A. He has made My mouth like a sharp sword (weapon) B. In the shadow of His hand He has concealed ( chava’ ) Me (hiding); A’. And He has also made Me a select arrow (weapon), B’. He has hidden…
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